Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Interpersonal Attraction & Relationships - Coggle Diagram
Interpersonal Attraction & Relationships
Universal nature of physical attractiveness
Bilateral symmetry
evolutionary viewpoint
more symmetrical-> less likely to have genetic mutations that imply poor health
stronger in hunter-gatherer populations
Hadza population in Tanzania suffer from higher rates of infant mortality than industrialised societies -> stronger attraction to bilateral symmetry
Average features (BUT doesn't apply to bodies)
why
evolutionary
average features are less likely to be a result of genetic deviants
cognitive
we have easier time processing smth closer to a prototype than one further from it
easy processing->fluency->feels familiar and familiar things trigger pleasant feelings-> interpreted as attractive
study
faces with average-proportioned features are more attractive than faces that deviate from average
when jap & australian faces were averaged into Eurasian faces, "culturally blended faces" were rated as more attractive than component faces
Clear complexion
evolutionary viewpoint
Skin quality ->useful indicator of presence of diseases
our ancestors who were attracted to blemish-free skin had a selective advantage
attraction to healthy mates is adaptive trait
to men, skin quality also indicates youth and fertility
prefer no moles, lumps rashes -> more physically attractive
distinction between cultures beyond individualism/collectivism
Relational mobility & physical attractiveness
independent cultures
if you're attractive, others come to you and you get to decide who to keep
hence, if high relational mobility-> attractive ppl enjoy greater life satisfaction
physical attractiveness is useful as it allows new r/s to be formed very quickly
interdependent cultures
difficult for people who come to you to enter your social circle
being good looking can even invite unwanted comparisons, envy and ingroup exclusion & the attractive individual cannot opt out from such toxic intentions
since relational circles are rigid and involuntary with fewer chances for new ties -> attractiveness is less useful
thus, in relation to Ghanians, got -ve correlation between life satisfaction and attractiveness
Friends and enemies
low relational mobility
ppl don't get to choose who to keep as ingroup members -> enemies are likely to emerge from within who warrant constant caution
Ghanians compared to Americans
feel that having many friends is foolish
friends are perceived as meant to help an individual and provide practical support
having many friends would mean needing to fulfill more obligations
think enemies are more common in social life as they are not free to cut ties with people they feel dangerous to hang out with
have fewer friends and smaller social circles
high relational mobility
ppl choose who to keep as ingroup members-> have easier time avoiding people who can be enemies
Relational mobility across cultures
independent cultures
due to need for autonomy & weaker boundaries between ingroup vs outgroup -> they get to be "pickier" in deciding who to include or exclue in their interpersonal circles
lots of opportunities for creating new social ties
high relational mobility
Voluntary affiliation
how firm the social bubbles stick with each other depends on the willful choice of both sides
highly flexible in keeping and dropping unwanted others from social lives
interdependent cultures
unconditional kinships
many interpersonal bubbles are intrinsically fused with one another, thus involuntary in nature
teasing them apart is a cultural taboo
fewer opportunities for creating new social ties
due to shared identity with ingroup and sharper boundary against outgroups-> can't really decide who to include in their interpersonal circles
many significant r/s exist by default and are due to cultural obligations
low relational mobility
def
how easy or hard to form, maintain and leave social r/s in a culture
Romantic love
marriages based on romantic love NOT universal
western ideal of love could be disruptive in cultures with large kin networks because such feelings can interfere with ppl's abilities to respect the wishes of their family members
existence of strong kin relations provides a lot of social pressures for a couple to stay tgt
the weaker the extended family ties, the more romantic love would become more important
the larger the number of impt family r/s that one needs to consider, the more problematic it becomes to ignore their concerns and follow the passions of their heart
love is universal & confirmed in 89% of known societies
marriage & satisfaction
study
compared marital satisfaction and time spent in marriage between Indian couples who were in either arranged or love marriages
arranged marriages that start off with less love ended up with more love
those in arranged marriages are as satisfied with their marriages as those in love marriages
4 elementary structures of social relationships
Authority ranking
lower on ranking
homogenous, less privileges and social power BUT entitled to protection and care from those above
eg. within military
higher on ranking
unique, more privileges and social power BUT more social responsibilities
people are linearly ordered along a social hierarchy from top to bottom
Equality matching
follows a turn-based social structure
keep track of what is exchanged, and we are expected to pay back any favour received to restore balance
social structure based on balance and reciprocity over time
eg. christmas card exchanges, CNY dinner treats
communal sharing
everyone is treated the same way
Contributions are based on abilities; distribution based on need
members of a group emphasise common identity
resources to be pooled for use by everyone
eg. within a family
market pricing
exchanges in market pricing are expected to occur immediately and systematically
things being exchanged are dictated by proportionality and ratio
social structure that emphasises input/output ratio and immediate trading principles
eg. trading or 2 strangers making a transaction over eBay
Benefits of being attractive
Benefits not universal
participants rated how satisfied they were with various life outcomes eg. (career, friendship, abilities)
researchers took photo of participants & each photo was rated for physical attractiveness by raters blind to hypothesis
study examining role of attractiveness in life outcomes in US vs Ghana
results
physically attractive Americans were more satisfied with their lives (+ve correlation between satisfaction and attractiveness)
Physically attractive Ghanians were more dissatisfied with their lives whereas those with high life satisfaction tend to be modest in physical attractiveness
effects of physical attractiveness on life-satisfaction may be largely restricted to independent countries
examples
Prettier people get better jobs and paid more
attractive defendants receive lighter sentences
good-looking political candidates get more votes
cuter babies are healthier from receiving more attention and better care from nurses
Other bases of interpersonal attraction
propinquity effect
mere exposure effect
the more we are exposed to a stimulus the more we are attracted to it
appears to be cultural universal, even in attraction among chickens
ppl are more likely to become friends with people with whom they frequently interact
eg. study on friendships among recruits in a police academy
New recruits lined up in alphabetical order of last names -> sitting position in class and dorm rooms based on this order
results
alphabetical ordering played a large role in who they chose as friends
similarity-attraction
not fundamental across species
chicken study
However, they were NOT any more attracted to similarly coloured chickens than diff coloured ones
chickens were dyed either green/red while still in eggs
cultural differences
participants were then shown the personality/social background measure of the stranger
However, profile being seen were rigged by the experimenter where responses are highly similar or dissimilar to that of participant
Canadian & Jap participants briefly met a stranger before going to separate rooms to complete personality measure & social background
participants then indicated how much they felt they would like the stranger
results
Canadian liked the highly similar person more than the dissimilar one
for Jap, liking for stranger was unaffected by apparent similarity
similarity attraction effect is stronger among North-americans than japanese
ppl tend to be attracted to those who are most like themselves