Lecture 9 - Affiliation and Likeability

Question 1

Why are humans considered affiliative animals? (include research)

Answer 1

• Humans are deeply affiliative by nature - we prefer the company of others
• Larson et al. (1982) showed teens and adults spend 70% of their time with others
• Ainsworth’s attachment theory further explains how early caregiver interactions shape later social behaviour

Question 2

What is Ainsworth’s Attachment Theory, and how does it relate to affiliation?

Answer 2

Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation” paradigm showed different attachment styles:
- Secure: distressed at separation, comforted upon return
- Avoidant: indifferent to separation, avoids return
- Anxious-Ambivalent: clingy and difficult to soothe
These styles predict how we form affiliative bonds later in life (e.g., romantic relationships)

Question 3

What is the difference between loneliness, aloneness, and aloneliness?

Answer 3

• Loneliness: subjective discomfort due to lack of emotional or social connections (Weiss, 1973)
• Aloneness: objective state of being alone
• Aloneliness: Feeling distressed when desiring alone time but being unable to get it (Coplan et al., 2019)W

Question 4

What did Schachter’s (1959) “Zilstein” study demonstrate about fear and affiliation?

Answer 4

• Participants expecting painful electric shocks were more likely to prefer waiting with others than alone
• Fear increases the tendency to affiliate, likely for social comparison or distraction from anxiety

Question 5

What additional findings support Schachter’s fear-affiliation hypothesis?

Answer 5

Kulik & Mahler (1989) found that people prefer to affiliate with others who have shared their experience, e.g., patients about to undergo surgery preferring roommates who had the same surgery

Question 6

What is functional propinquity, and what did Festinger, Schachter & Back (1950) discover?

Answer 6

• Functional propinquity refers to how likely people are to interact, not just how close they physically live
• They found that residents in the Westgate West apartments were more likely to form friendships with those next door (41%) than those further away, even on the same floor

Question 7

What did Berscheid et al. (1976) find about anticipated interaction and liking?

Answer 7

People liked individuals more when they believed they were likely to interact with them in the future (e.g., potential date), demonstrating the effect of anticipated interaction on likeability

Question 8

What did Newcomb (1961) and Byrne (1971) find about the effect of similarity on likeability?

Answer 8

• Newcomb (1961): Students assigned to roommates with similar attitudes/demographics were more likely to become friends
• Byrne (1971): Participants liked attitude profiles more if they matched their own. This supports the similarity-attraction hypothesis that we are drawn to those who validate our worldviews

Question 9

What did Moreland & Beach (1992) find about the effect of familiarity on likeability?

Answer 9

• Repeated exposure increases liking, even without interaction
• Female confederates who attended class more often were rated as more likeable by students
• This demonstrates the mere exposure effect

Question 10

How does loneliness vary across age groups?

Answer 10

Loneliness is more common in young people than older adults (Perlman, 1990), who tend to have tighter, more meaningful social circles and present-focused relationships

Question 11

What are the four primary motives for affiliating with others, according to Hill (1987)?

Answer 11

1) Emotional support
2) Closeness/intimacy
3) Attention/recognition
4) Social comparison and information

Question 12

Schachter’s “Dr. Zilstein” study showed that the _____ the fear, the ____ the tendency to affiliate

Answer 12

the MORE the fear, the MORE the tendency to affiliate

Question 13

In Festinger, Schachter, & Back (195), what best predicted friendship patterns? (short answer)

Answer 13

Functional distance

Question 14

What did Moreland & Beach (1992) show about familiarity? (short answer)

Answer 14

Mere exposure increases likeability

Question 15

According to Byrne (1971), participants liked others more when they shared similar… (short answer)

Answer 15

Attitudes

Question 16

What is aloneliness? (short answer)

Answer 16

A subjective discomfort from not getting alone time

Question 17

What did Berscheid et al. (1976) discover about anticipated interaction? (short answer)

Answer 17

Anticipated interaction increased liking

Question 18

Which of the following is not a dimension of attachment style from Ainsworth? Secure, Avoidant, Fearful, Anxious-ambivalent

Answer 18

Fearful