HDF 313 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Interpersonal Attraction, Human Sexual Activity, Longitudinal Study
23 May 2018
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HDF Final Exam Study Guide - Lecture Notes
Links:
Exam 1 Review
Exam 2 Review / Reading Set
Exam 3 Review
Final Exam Essays ~
Attraction
● Interpersonal attraction: We are attracted to people whose presence is rewarding to us.
● Short-term attraction focuses on looks
● Long-term attraction focuses on attributes
● Rewards
○ Direct reward: material gifts, attention, affection, sex, smiles, laughter, kisses,
etc.
○ Indirect reward: things that connect people to us, like similar names or birthdays.
● Misattribution of arousal: Arousal comes from a stimulating environment or situation, and
a person may think that arousal is caused by their partner that they are sharing the
environment/situation with. The partner seems more attractive through positive
associations.
● Attraction to similar others
○ easier to relate to them
○ we like ourselves
○ better communication
○ no cultural barrier
○ greater similarity is associated with greater compatibility
● Attraction to opposites
○ trading assets (ex. wealthy older man and a younger woman)
○ novelty
● Attraction to people that complement us
○ they meet our needs, even when we are different
● Adult Attachment Theory (developed from birth)
○ secure, avoidant, and anxious types
○ Anxious and avoidant actually tend to work out well because expectations are
met, even if the expectations are bad.
○ When expectations are met, there is more attraction.
● Things we can’t have
○ a.k.a. the Romeo and Juliet Effect (there is no empirical evidence to support the
Romeo and Juliet effect)
○ we like our freedom and want to exercise it
○ When told we can’t have something, we want it more.
● Closing Time Effect
○ the mad dash to find someone at the end of the night
○ either lower your standards or see everyone as more attractive
○ The bar study and possible the later you wait to find a marriage worthy partner
Do we need to know the He Loves Me He Loves Me Not paper/study? Yes, you can find
it in the review session document.
Relationship Initiation
● A Model of Relationship Beginnings
○ Stage 1: Appraisal of Initial Attraction
■ Salient Motives - what kind of relationship are you looking for?
■ Attraction - the fit between the individual’s motives and the other’s
attributes
○ Stage 2: Decision to Make an Overture
■ Assessing probability of acceptance
○ Stage 3: Strategic Self-Presentation
■ Moderate confidence → strategic self-presentation (bring out best
qualities)
■ High confidence → self-expression (more natural)
○ Stage 4: Build-Up of Rapport
○ The level of fear of rejection determines a lot of the chart flow.
Love
● Companionate love vs. Passionate love
● “Passionate love is a fragile flower - it wilts in time. Companionate love is a sturdy
evergreen - it thrives with contact.”
● Companionate love = deep friendship, understanding of each other, “my partner is my
best friend”
● Passionate love
○ a.k.a. intense romantic love
○ physiological arousal (heart racing, butterflies in stomach)
○ belief that partner is the cause of that arousal
○ physiological responses
■ increased energy
■ intense emotions and emotional dependency
■ euphoria
■ obsessive thinking
■ sexual desire and expression
○ considered to be a cross-cultural universal phenomenon
■ natural and basic
■ evolved as primary aspect of human mating system
● Behavioral aspects of love similar to rewarding/addictive aspects of cocaine
○ exhilaration
○ excessive energy
○ sleeplessness
○ loss of appetite
○ VTA (ventral tegmental area) of the brain (strongly linked to reward-motivation
system)
● How do you know when you’re in love with someone?
○ you’re jealous for the other person
○ get nervous around them
○ crave their company
○ constant smiling, happiness
○ willingness to make sacrifices/do anything for them
● Research
○ MRI study where you show Beyonce a picture of Jay and a picture of Kanye to
see which one triggers her VTA
○ Passionate love may have evolved to stimulate partner choice, thereby
conserving courtship time and energy.
● Maintaining passion takes effort.
○ The same repeated “reward” eventually ceases to be rewarding. It becomes
habitual, and the novelty wears off. You stop noticing it.
● Long-distance Relationships
○ LDRs tend to last a little bit longer because there’s a greater rush when the
partners reunite.
○ Because of this, couples therapists often suggest that struggling couples take a
vacation together. Newness is novel and novelty is arousing and the arousal gets
associated with the person you’re with.
● Passion and Intimacy
○ Longitudinal study - “A Dyadic Analysis of Variety in Intimacy” daily diary
assessments
■ Expected daily increases in intimacy to be linked with increased levels of
relationship passion, including increased sexual frequency and sexual
satisfaction.
■ Variables
● Independent: intimacy
● Dependent: passion
● Dependent: sex and sexual satisfaction
● Measured every day for 21 days
■ Changes in intimacy led to positive results.
○ Like a loaf of bread, relationships can go stale. Habituation is the enemy of
relationships.
Document Summary
Hdf final exam study guide - lecture notes. Interpersonal attraction: we are attracted to people whose presence is rewarding to us. Direct reward: material gifts, attention, affection, sex, smiles, laughter, kisses, Indirect reward: things that connect people to us, like similar names or birthdays. Misattribution of arousal: arousal comes from a stimulating environment or situation, and a person may think that arousal is caused by their partner that they are sharing the environment/situation with. the partner seems more attractive through positive associations. Greater similarity is associated with greater compatibility. Anxious and avoidant actually tend to work out well because expectations are met, even if the expectations are bad. When expectations are met, there is more attraction. We like our freedom and want to exercise it. When told we can"t have something, we want it more. Either lower your standards or see everyone as more attractive. The bar study and possible the later you wait to find a marriage worthy partner.
