Social Relationships
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Social Relationships
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Social Relationships
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Social Relationships
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Social Relationships
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Social Relationships
Questions
1.
Outline Physical Attractiveness.
2.
What is the matching Hypothesis?
3.
What role does ‘Proximity’ play in Social Relationships?
4.
Explain Sociobiological therories.
5.
Describe the Social Exchange theory.
6.
What is commitment?
7.
OUTLINE Levinger’s Stage theory of maintenance.
8.
In Social Relationships what is dissolution of a relationship in terms of the Duck’s phase model?
9.
Name different topics in sub-cultural differences in Relationships.
10. Explain the Three-factor theory of love.
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Social Relationships
Answers
1. Physical Attractiveness:
In the past and modern day life people tend to agree with each other whether someone is physically attractive. The first
thing people generally notice when meeting a person for the first time is that person’s physical appearance. This ties into the
Halo effect which is the tendency of a person to be judged upon by the impression which is formed by their physical
appearance.
2. The matching Hypothesis:
People who become romantic partners tend to have a similar level of physical attractiveness. This also tends to be true about
normal friends.
This does not work when one person has particularly low self-esteem. If I don’t like myself, then I won’t like other people
who are like me. Also, in times of uncertainty, we may prefer someone different who is more likely to be able to handle the
uncertainty.
Source: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/matching_hypothesis.htm
3. Proximity is one of the many important factors in a social relationship. The idea of being close to a group of friends plays a
very fundamental role in relationships. The reasons for this are due to the fact that the person gets to spend more time with
that certain group of friends or certain individual. So the closer the proximity, the better chances of a relationship occurring
increase. Friendships and relationships are much more common between individuals or groups, which live close to each
other. This can be seen in various studies such as Bossard in 1932 who concluded that the importance of proximity leads
from a romantic relationship to marriage in some cases.
Proximity basically allows you to meet people who are close to you, which is a key factor in social relationships.
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Social Relationships
4. Sociobiology can be seen as the application of evolutionary theory to human behavior. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural
selection explains adaptation, the functional ‘fit’ of organic form to its conditions of life, by linking differential adaptation to
differential reproductive success. Traits less adapted to particular conditions of life will not persist in a population, because
organisms with those traits will tend to have lower rates of survival and reproduction. Sociobiologists model the evolution of
human behaviors in much the same way, using various ‘behavioral strategies’ as the relevant traits. However, in addition to
the assumptions of standard evolutionary theory, sociobiology contributes several theoretical components of its own. For
example, sociobiologists assume that humans, like other organisms, have behavioral control systems with particular functions
whose evolutionary history can be individually traced. That assumption entails certain views about the modularity of
cognitive, psychological, and neurophysiological systems. Other, more general commitments include the following:
Evolution encompasses not just genes and bodies, but also psychological, social, and cultural features.
When humans reproduce, offspring inherit the genes of their parents and, when the relevant genetic, developmental,
physical, and social environments of parents and offspring are shared, offspring inherit the gene-effects of their parents.
Differential reproductive success is related in most cultures to differential wealth, social status, and power within that culture.
In their crudest form, sociobiological explanations seem overly simplistic: Human behavior X exists because it maximizes
biological fitness. Even within evolutionary biology, the relevant explanatory factors include far more than average fitness
advantages. Such simplified explanations border on being unfalsifiable, as well, because one can imagine a fitness benefit for
almost any behavior. Nevertheless, a more illuminating account of human behavior is possible when we distinguish between
proximate and distal explanations for particular behaviors. Complicated processes involving the mind and culture are
certainly involved in the ‘proximate’ causes of human behaviors, which likely have little to do with reproductive success (at
least directly). Sociobiologists are instead interested in giving ‘ultimate’ explanations of why the relation between the
behavior and the proximate factors exist.
Source: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sociobiology/
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Social Relationships
5. The Social Exchange Theory:
All relationships have give and take, although the balance of this exchange is not always equal. Social Exchange theory
explains how we feel about a relationship with another person as depending on our perceptions of:

The balance between what we put into the relationship and what we get out of it.

The kind of relationship we deserve.

The chances of having a better relationship with someone else.
In deciding what is fair, we develop a comparison level against which we compare the give/take ratio. This level will vary
between relationships, with some being more giving and others where we get more from the relationship. They will also vary
greatly in what is given and received. Thus, for example, exchanges at home may be very different, both in balance and
content.
We also have a comparison level for the alternative relationships. With a high such comparison level, we might believe the
world is full of lovely people just waiting to meet us. When this level is low, we may stay in a high-cost relationship simply
because we believe we could not find any better elsewhere.
Source: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/social_exchange.htm
6. Commitment:
This is simply the strength of mind in which someone tries to continue a relationship and keep it lasting. Some factors which
help commitment include, satisfaction which in this case means what is beneficial about the relationship, are they positive in
order to keep the commitment going? or negative in which the commitment tends to break down and bring an end to any
type of social relationship. Another important factor is the investment which is brought into any sort of social relationship,
these could include the amount of affection shown towards the other person or in some cases how much money is used in
order to keeps the relationship going.
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7. Levinger's Relationship Stage Theory:
Relationships go through a series of stages as they mature. Levinger's model has ABCDE stages.

A = Acquaintance/attraction. We meet other people and feel an initial attraction, often based on physical beauty and
similarity.

B = Build-up. We become increasingly interdependent as we reveal more and more about our private selves. We get
irritated by one another, but the more pleasant aspects may well keep the relationship going.

C = Continuation/consolidation. Longer-term commitments are made, such as marriage. The partnership enters what
may be a life-long stable relationship.

D = Deterioration. Many relationships decay, due to several factors. These include relative effort, rewards, barriers to
exit (such as marriage and social obligation) and the availability of alternatives.

E = Ending. The relationship ends when partners agree to separate or one leaves.
Source: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/stage_theory.htm
8. There are several ways to break up a relationship. The results of some research are given here.
Cody’s survey of experience showed alternative strategies:

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Positive tone: ‘I still like you, but…’
Social Relationships

Verbal de-escalation: ‘I’m don’t love you anymore.’

Behavioral de-escalation: Avoiding contact. Seeing them less often.

Negative identity management: ‘We each should see other people…’

Justification: ‘This relationship is not giving me what I want.’
Duck shows a four phase model:
 Relationship phase. The relationship is fairly healthy, but dissatisfaction builds up with feelings of ‘there’s something
wrong.’ Eventually The ‘I can’t stand it anymore’ feelings build up to a point which catapults you into the breakdown
stages.
 Intrapsychic phase. Nothing much is said, but now the focus is on the faults of the other partner. Evidence is sought
by which they can be blamed for any problems. When enough evidence is accumulated, the person feels justified in
withdrawing.
 Dyadic phase. The breakdown now comes out into the open, either with one person saying ‘I’m leaving’ or ‘I’m
thinking of leaving’. Reality must now be faced by both partners and intensive discussions may ensue. The focus here
is on the partnership. Eventually the pressure of ‘I really mean it’ breaks out and it becomes a public issue.
 Social phase. Now the focus turns outwards to the perceptions of other people. Friends may be recruited to either
camp and entire social groups may break into open battles of who is to blame and what should be done. Eventually, it
becomes inevitable that the split will happen and things move on to the next phase.
There can also be a fifth phase:
 Grave-dressing phase. The relationship now gets its official burying, with explanations all in place (true or otherwise).
Source: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/terminating_relationships.htm
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9. Topics in Sub-cultural Differences in Relationships:
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
Gender Differences

Social Class differences

Historical Differences

Ethical Differences

Religious Differences
Social Relationships
10. In this article, Sternberg proposes that love can be conceptualised as consisting of three primary components: passion,
intimacy and commitment. These can be conceptualised as a `love triangle` with the three components forming the vertices.

Passion

Intimacy

Commitment
These components may be combined to characterize eight kinds of love.
Kind of love
Passion
Intimacy
Commitment
Nonlove
-
-
-
Liking
-
X
-
Infatuation
X
-
-
Empty love
-
-
X
Romantic love
X
X
-
Companionate love
-
X
X
Fatuous love
X
-
X
Consumate love
X
X
X
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Sternberg notes that the relative emphasis of each component changes over time as an adult romantic relationship develops.
Passion
Passionate arousal tends to occur at the beginning of relationships, peaks relatively quickly
and then reduces to a stable level as a result of habituation. Following relationship
termination, an individual’s capacity for passion appears to go negative for a period of
time, as the individual overcomes feelings of loss.

Intimacy
Intimacy tends to peak slower than passion and then gradually reduces to a relatively low
level of manifest intimacy as interpersonal bonding increases. Changes in circumstances,
however, tend to activate latent intimacy, which can cause the manifest level of intimacy
to return or exceed its earlier peak.

Commitment
In successful relationships, the level of commitment rises relatively slowly at first, speeds
up, and then gradually levels off. Where relationships fail, the level of commitment usually
decreases gradually and descends back towards the baseline.

Sternberg goes on to compare his theory with existing research and to consider a how partners love triangles could be
compared, that an individual may have both ideal and real triangles, self and other triangles and interactions between all
these
Source: http://www.cofc.edu/~langleyt/217triangulartheoryoflove.html
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