SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Interpersonal Attraction

WHAT IS INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION?

It is the desire to approach other people.

WHY DO WE HAVE THIS DESIRE?

Social Comparison Social Exchange

The theory that proposes that we evaluate our thoughts and actions by comparing them with those of others.

The theory that proposes that we seek out and maintain those relationships in which the rewards exceed the cost.

TWO REASONS FOR AFFILIATION

“When people are deciding whether to remain in a relationship, they will not

consider the rewards and cost in isolation.”

(Thibaut & Kelley, 1959)

• The information that social comparison provides is used to evaluate the self.

• Social comparison is most likely when we are in a state of uncertainty concerning a relevant self-aspect.

• We generally prefer to compare ourselves with similar to others.

• The more similar people are to us, the more likely we will be to use the information gained through social comparison in better understanding ourselves and future actions.

• We use social comparison not only to judge ourselves, but also to judge our emotions and choose our friends.

MAXIMIZE PLEASURE AND MINIMIZE PAIN

Because we are hedonists. People are attracted to those who

reward them.

People keep track of the goods they exchange,

and on some level they know whether their

rewards are exceeding their costs.

The level of costs and rewards accruing in the current relationship will be compared with the possible rewards and

costs available in alternative

relationships.

If no alternative relationships are available, or none

appear appreciably more rewarding than the current one, the person will make no

changes.

Five Core Social MotivesBELONGINGNESS

Need for stable and strong relationships

UNDERSTAND

Need for shared meaning and prediction

CONTROLLING

Need for perceived contingency between behavior and outcomes

SELF-ENHANCING

Need for viewing self as basically worthy or improvable

TRUSTING

Need for viewing others as basically benign seeing the world as a benevolent place

BELONGINGNESS

UNDERSTANDING

SELF-ENHANCING

TRUSTING

CONTROLLING

WE NEED TO BELONG

When this need is unfulfilled due to

social exclusion or rejection, we react in a variety of negative

ways, including increased stress, anxiety, and self-

defeating thinking and behavior, which are often followed by decreased physical

health.

What factors affect attraction?• Close proximity

fosters liking.

• When anxious or fearful, we often seek out others who are also experiencing similar feelings.

Anxious people affiliate with others who are

similarly anxious in order to compare emotional

states.

Sometimes when anticipating a fearful

event, people prefer not to be those who are also

fearful.

They prefer someone who has already experienced

the fearful event and who can tell them something about it >> People seek

cognitive clarity.

PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS STEREOTYPE

The belief that physically attractive individuals possess a socially desirable personality traits and lead happier lives than less attractive persons.

Good looking people do tend to be less socially anxious, more socially skilled, and less lonesome than those who are unattractive (Feingold, 1992).

There is a self-fulfilling prophecy involved in the physical attractiveness stereotype.

The apparent reason physically attractive people tend to be socially poised and confident is that those interact with them convey the clear impression that they truly are interesting and sociable individuals.

Matching Hypothesis

The proposition that people are attracted to others who are similar to them in particular characteristics.

The greater the proportion of similar attitudes held by people the greater their attraction to one another.

Birds of a feather, flock together.

DESIRE FOR SOCIAL COMPARISON

Meeting others who share our views on

important issues makes us feel better because it

reassures us that the essential aspects of our self-concept have social

validity.

When others validate our own self-beliefs through agreements, we should

develop a positive attitude towards them.

AFFINITY WITH SIMILAR OTHERS IS

PART OF EVOLUTIONARY

HERITAGE

Our ancestors may have used similarity cues to detect those who are genetically similar to

themselves.

WE LIKE THAT WHICH IS FAMILIAR

It may have been evolutionary adaptive to

perceive unfamiliar others with caution and distrust because of the

dangers inherent in dealing with the

unfamiliar.

We perceive similar others as attractive because they mimic

familiarity.

BALANCE THEORY

Matching hypothesis is due to the need for the consistency.

Balance Theory states that people desire cognitive consistency or balance in their thoughts and feelings and social relationships.

We are attracted to others who share our attitudes,

values, and beliefs, and we may even enter into a

committed relationships with these individuals.

Once committed to these relationships, people with

similar personalities may be better able than those with different personalities to

coordinate their daily activities and thereby avoid the friction and conflict that

lowers relationship satisfaction.

LIKING THOSE WHO LIKE US

How does this work?• If we think others like us, we tend

to act in ways that increase the likelihood that they will indeed like us.

• If we think that they dislike us, our subsequent interaction style may fulfill the negative prophecy even if it is based on false information.