Social Psychology
Lecture 7: Attraction
(Chapter 13; Hogg & Vaughan)
At the end of the lecture . . .
• Why do we find people Attractive?
– Proximity
– Reciprocity principle
– Similarity of attitudes
– Assortative Mating
• Theories of Attraction and Relationships
– Reinforcement Affect Model
– Social Exchange
– Equity
Why Affiliate?
• The need to affiliate is a
powerful human motive
that causes people to
seek out other people
(affiliative behaviour).
• People’s need to be with
others fluctuates over time
and context and also
differs between people
Humans belong in groups.
Groups provide us with
aspects of our identity.
They also can offer
support networks,
friendships and partners.
Why Affiliate?
• The consequences of not being
able to be with people are highly
aversive, with a range of
deleterious effects. Long-term
social isolation can lead to
depression, apathy, and
hallucinations, similar effects to
those produced by sensory
deprivation.
• Impoverished social interaction, or
separation from one’s mother
(maternal deprivation) in early
childhood, can retard
development and produce apathy
and depression (hospitalism).
Does physical attractiveness matter?
• Despite what we would like to think, physical
attractiveness really matters. Within cultures,
people agree on who is attractive, and
attractive people are judged more positively
on a wide range of dimensions.
– Judged as more honest
– Judged as less maladjusted and disturbed
– Judged as more likely to be hired after a
job interview
– Rated as happier, more successful, better
personality
– Given an easier time by jurors, if they were
female
– Evaluated more highly on their written
work, if they were female
Figure 13.1
Effect of perceived attractiveness on grades given to essays of varying
quality
Source: Based on data from Landy & Sigall (1974)
Evolutionary Social Psychology?
• Evolutionary biology and evolutionary
psychology have made strong
arguments for the power of human
genetic inheritance in accounting for
what attracts people to each other
– Assessment of ‘good’ genes
– Reproductive fitness
– Mating Strategies
• Concentrate on social and cultural
explanations
Why do find people attractive?
• Proximity is important: We tend, initially
anyway, to like people who are physically close
to us. These are people who we see everyday,
work with, live nearby, and so forth.
– Availability: people who live close by are
accessible, so interaction with them requires
little effort or reward
– Expectation of continued interaction: This
can be exciting, seeing someone again.
Equally if you think you’re not going see
someone again, then you rate them as less
attractive
Figure 13.4
Mere exposure and attraction
Source: Based on Moreland & Beach (1992)
•This study tests
‘mere exposure’ in
a university class
setting
•Four new women’
students’ took part
in the class on 0,
5, 10 or 15
occasions
•At the end of the
term, students in
the class rated
slides of the
women for several
characteristics
•Weak effect for
familiarity but
increasing effect
for attractiveness
Why do find people attractive?
• reciprocity principle: We tend to like
those who like us
• Studies have shown that when placed
in discussion groups in which they
were led to believe they were liked or
disliked, participants who were liked
were more attracted to the
group(Dittes and Kelley, 1956)
• We prefer those who grow to like us
more than those who’s liking for us is
on the wane (gain-loss hypothesis).
• Particularly effected by self-esteem. If
our self-esteem is low we tend to put
more credence in people who like us.
Why do find people attractive?
• Similarity of attitudes: We also like
those whose attitudes and values are
similar to our own. Overall, relationships
tend to rest on a broad-based similarity
match between people.
• Byrne and Clore (1974) came up with
the ‘law of attraction’. He argued that
there was a positive correlation between
the proportion of attitudes associated
with a person and an attraction towards
that person.
• Clore (1976) argues that this follows an
reinforcement principle. More they
agree, the more they like each other, the
more one person likes the other, that
other person then likes then more…..
Why do find people attractive?
• Assortative Mating:
• We tend to see people
mating with people who
are of a similar size, or
similar in their ‘goodlookingness’. This is called
positive assortative mating.
• People are ‘evenly
matched’ in their physical
appearance, social
background and
personality.
Why do find people attractive?
• Mutual self-disclosure, sharing of intimate feelings and
information, is a critically important factor in long-term,
close relationships.
• Taylor’s (1973) model of social penetration.
• We share more intimate topics with a close friend than
casual acquaintance or a stranger
• Based on the reciprocity principle
– We disclose to those we like
– We like those who disclose to us
– We like those to whom we have disclosed
• Leads to positive affect
• Also enables trust in relationships: If tell you a secret, you
might tell me a secret
Table 13.1
Determinants of initial attraction in three types of relationship
Theories of attraction and relationships
• A simple reinforcement model of attraction states
that we like people who reinforce us.
• The reinforcement-affect model states that we
also like people who are present when we are
reinforced: They become associated with the
positive reinforcement and are viewed positively.
– People identify stimuli as rewarding or punishing
and seek out the former while avoiding the latter
– Positive feelings are associated with rewarding
stimuli and negative feeling with punishing
stimuli
– Neutral stimuli that is associated with reward will
elicit positive feelings, and that is associated
with punishment lead to negative feelings
The reinforcement–affect quality model: attraction is influenced by
conditioning
Figure 13.7
Source: Based on Clore & Byrne (1974)
Theories of Attraction
• Social Exchange Theory
• How people feel about a relationship depends
on their perceptions of the rewards and costs
of the relationship, the kind of relationship they
deserve, and their chances for having a better
relationship with someone.
• Rewards: Pleasing to have our attitudes
validated, thus the more similar our attitudes
are with another person the more reward. It is
rewarding to be around someone who likes us
and is physically attractive.
• Costs: Emotional turmoil. Time
• Out come = Rewards – Costs (negative is a
problem)
Theories of Attraction
• Social Exchange Theory
• Initial Attraction: Social Exchange theory suggests
how people feel, positively or negatively about their
relationships will depend on their perception of the
rewards they will receive from the relationship and the
costs they will incur, as well as the perception of what
kind of relationship they deserve, and the probability
that they could have a better relationship with
someone else.
Theories of Attraction
• Social Exchange Theory
• Extends to satisfaction with relationships
• Rewards, Costs and Comparison(Secord &
Backman, 1964)
• Rewards and Costs….
• Comparison: You amass a history of
relationships with other people. This history has
led you to have certain expectations, as to what
your current and future relationships should be
like, Some people have high comparisons (lots
of rewards – few costs). If expectations don’t
meet comparison level you are likely to be
dissatisfied.
Theories of Attraction
• Equity theory (Walster, Walster, & Bersceid, 1978)
• People are just not out to get the most rewards and
least costs; they are also concerned about the equity in
their relationships, wherein the rewards, costs and
contributions they make to the relationship are roughly
equal to the rewards, costs and contribution of the other
person.
• Equitable relationships are the happiest and the most
stable, while inequitable relationships result in one
person being over benefited and one under benefited.
• In inequity relationships both partners should seek
equity. This makes sense for the unbenefited people –
why continue to be unhappy. However, over benefiting
from the relationship is an uncomfortable social norm,.
At the end of the lecture . . .
• Why do we find people Attractive?
– Proximity
– Reciprocity principle
– Similarity of attitudes
– Assortative Mating
• Theories of Attraction and Relationships
– Reinforcement Affect Model
– Social Exchange
– Equity