Interpersonal Relationships

Examine biological, psychological and social origins of attraction.

Biological origins of attraction
Neurobiology of love
Love is universal and evolution has produced three distinct motivational brain
systems to direct mammals to eventual parenting: attraction, sex drive and
attachment. All of these systems interact to produce the combination of emotions
described as love.
Selection based on genes
Natural selection favors couples which have genes that will mutually enhance their
offsprings chances of survival.
Neurotransmitters and Hormones
Vasopressin, released by males after sex, important in attachment; serotonin,
explains continuous focus on beloved; oxytocin, released by both men and women
during sex, deepens feelings of attachment; adrenalin, high energy, increased focus
on mate
Fisher 2003
AIM: to investigate neural mechanisms associated with the attraction system (i.e.
romantic love)
PROCEDURE: 10 females and 7 males aged 18-26 reported being in love for an
average of 7.5 months. They did a questionnaire (The Passionate Love Scale) to
investigare how they felt about the relationship. Participants were then placed in an
fMRI scanner, where they looked at a photo of their partner, and performed a
distraction task of counting backwards. They were then shown a photograph of a
neutral acquaintance. This was repeated 6 times.
FINDINGS: Increased activity in dopamine-rich brain areas, associated with reward,
motivation, and goal orientation when participants looked at their lovers. Thus one
can conclude that romantic love is seen as a long-term addition to ones life.
Cognitive origins of attraction
The extent to which people perceive another as similar to themselves may be
one explanation for attraction. Couples tend to be similar in age, religion, social
class, etc., and people assume that those similar to them are more likely to like
them.
Morry 2007The Attraction-Similarity Theory
When people are attracted to others they tend to perceive them as similar (possibly
due to projection.) They prefer friends and partners who are similar in terms of
attitudes and traits but the perceived similarity may not always be accurate. It is
the main factor in attraction and relationship satisfaction as perceived similarity
validates ones own views (reinforcement)
Markey et al 2007

AIM: investigate the extent to which similarity is a factor in the way people choose
partners.
PROCEDURE: Researchers asked a large sample of young people to complete a
questionnaire based on describing the ideal psychological characteristics, values,
and attitudes of their ideal romantic partner without thinking of anyone in particular.
Participants were asked to describe themselves after the questionnaire.
In a follow-up study, 106 couples who had been together for a year were asked to
fill out questionnaires about their own and their partners characteristics.
FINDINGS: The researchers found significant similarities between the descriptions
the participants and their ideal romantic partners. In the follow-up study,
participants described themselves in a way that was similar to the way they
described their partner.
Sociocultural origins of attraction
Proximity to each other and familiarity can create attraction simply due to the fact
that they are seen around often (exposure effect.) Positive social interactions
influence attraction as well. Similarity can also be considered a sociocultural factor
in liking, and social comparison may be a factor as a person may seem more
attractive to an individual if they have been exposed to less attractive people
beforehand. One is more likely to like someone if there is an initial dislike but one
changes their mind according to the gain-loss hypothesis. Reward theory also states
that one is more inclined to spend time with people who make us feel good or look
good in society.
Festinger 1950
AIM: to find whether proximity affects relationships.
PROCEDURE: surveyed university students about their friendships.
FINDINGS: 65% of pairs of university friends live in the same building as one
another, and 44% live next door to each other. As the distance between the
students increased, the number of friendships drops. Thus, proximity (and by
extension the ease of seeing one another) influences attraction, as well as possibly
familiarity since many people are friends with those who live next door rather than
simply someone in the same building.
Buss 1994
AIM: to investigate mate selection within 37 different cultures.
PROCEDURE: two questionnaires regarding mate selection were given to over 10000
respondents.
FINDINGS: In 36 out of 37 cultures, women ranked financial prospects higher than
males did. In all the cultures men preferred younger mates whereas women
preferred older ones. In 23 cultures, men rated chastity as more important that
women did. In the USA, love ranked as the most important factor, but in other
cultures it was ranked as less important. Buss concluded that due to the significant
trends cross-culturally that there are certain universal mate preferences that arise
from different evolutionary pressures on males and females.
Discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships.

Communication plays an important role in the maintenance of relationships. There

are four main aspects of communication that are relevant in a happy relationship.
1. Communication attribution: positive behavior is seen as dispositional,
negative seen as situational
2. Social penetration theory: close relationshops are formed by a gradual
process of self-disclosure
Self-disclosure: the sharing of facts about ones life as well as thoughts,
feelings and emotions with a significant other
3. Gender differences in communication: gender-based differences in
communication can lead to errors
Bradbury and Fincham 1990
AIM: to determine if communication attributions played a role in maintaining a
healthy relationship.
PROCEDURE: conducted a meta-analysis on the attributions married couples make
about each others behavior.
FINDINGS: Spouses in unhappy relationships tended to see their spouses negative
behavior as dispositional, whereas their positive behavior was seen as situational.
Spouses in happy relationships attributed positive behavior to dispositional factors
and negative behavior to situational factors.
Collins and Miller 1994
AIM: to determine if self-disclosure played a role in maintaining a healthy
relationship
PROCEDURE: conducted a meta-analysis of self-disclosure studies.
FINDINGS: People who disclosed intimate information about themselves are more
liked than people who dont. Disclosing something about yourself makes both
strangers and friends like you more. Self-disclosure leads to self-validation, which is
the feeling of being truly known and accepted by the listener. It creates a deeper
mutual understanding and trust.
Explain the role that culture plays in the formation and maintenance of
relationships.
Culture is the norms and values that define a society. (talk about collectivistic vs.
individualistic cultures: gender roles, family, marriage, etc.)
use Buss 1990
Ahmad and Reid 2008
AIM: to investigate whether special communication styles were required to maintain
arranged marriages.
PROCEDURE: researchers measured marital satisfaction using the Revised
Relationship Adjustment Survey. The degree of traditionalism in the marriage was
measured on the Traditional Orientation to Martial Relationship Scale specifically

constructed for the study. Listening styles were measure with the Listening Styles in
Committed Relationships scale.
FINDINGS: researchers found significant correlations between scores on the scales.
There was less satisfaction among the arranged relationships, and there was a
tendency to listen in order to respond rather than to understand.
Analyse why relationships may change or end.
Social exchange theory: relationships are maintained through a cost-benefit
analysis. The costs of a relationship must not outweigh the benefits and the more
one invests in a relationship, the greater the returns are expected to be. Nonequivalence may be tolerated in the short term, but the balance must be restored in
order to maintain the relationship.
Evaluation: exchange theory fails to take into account emotions which may override
profit motive, theory is rooted in a capitalistic interpretation of society which may
not apply cross-culturally, difficult to quantify costs and rewards
Attachment style, if it does not match to that of ones partner, may cause issues in
communication that cause damage to the relationship.
Simpson 1996
AIM: to investigate the role of attachment style by how sensitively a topic was
discussed by a dating couple
PROCEDURE: Questionnaires administered to individuals to determine attachment
style, then the couples discussed a major problem in their relationship.
FINDINGS: people who were insecurely attached tended to be anxious and
employed negative conflict resolution strategies during the discussion and causing
harm to the relationship.
Flora and Segrin 2003
AIM: Investigated well-being in relation to perception of the participants
relationship in married and dating couples.
PROCEDURE: 66 young couples who had dated for at least half a year and 65 young
couples who had been married for around 4 years. The researchers wanted to find
out if the amount of common interests/activities and the desire to spend time
together could predict the quality of the relationship. The participants were
interviewed about the degree of positive and negative feelings in their relationship,
contentment, and disappointment with their partner. The interviews were recorded
and transcribed. After one year the couples were contacted again; a quarter of the
dating couples had split up. Those who were still together were asked to fill out a
new questionnaire to get an idea of their relationship satisfaction as well as
personal well-being.
FINDINGS: For dating couples, common interests and activities as well as a desire to
spend time together were the most important factors. This was more relevant for
men; for women the best predictor of staying in the relationship was the quantity of
their negative feelings. The amount of a mans partners positive and negative
feelings mattered to them after the first year, but not their own.

Evaluate sociocultural explanations of the origins of violence.

Violence is an aggressive act in which the actor or perpetrator abuses individuals
directly or indirectly, in verbal, physical, and/or psychological ways.
Biological Explanations
Testosterone (and therefore biological males) has been linked to aggression,
dominance and status-seeking behavior. Low levels of serotonin (a
neurotransmitter) are linked to irritable and aggressive behavior. Brain damage can
also cause aggression, particularly frontal lobe lesions/injuries, as seen in the case
study of Phineas Gage. Murders are found to have lower activity in the prefrontal
cortex.
Cognitive Explanations
Link between negative self-schemas as well as negative attribution styles and
aggression, distorted social schemas can lead to violence as the interpretation of a
social situation leads to a response.
Sociocultural explanations
Culture of Honour Theory, demonstrated by Cohen (1996)
Even small perceived insults must be met with violent retribution
Feminist Theory explains the motivation of males to physically attack females
(common in societies)
Social Learning Theory reflects on modeling in communities, plays a role in
aggressive behaviour
Deindividuation Theory states that situations can influence violent behavior,
psychological state of deindividuation is aroused when individuals join crowds or
large groups
diminished awareness, anonymity = impulsive, irrational etc.
Zimbardo 1969
Aim: to investigate the role that individuation plays in behavior
Procedure: Female undergrads asked to deliver electric shocks to another student to
aid learning. Half of the participants were given bulky lab coats and hoods that hid
their faces; they were spoken to in groups of four and not referred to by name. The
other half wore normal clothes, were addressed with by their names and given large
name tags. They could see each other at the shock machines, and both sets of
participants could see the student being shocked. All participants were given
information about the student before the experiment, either she is honest, sincere
and warm or she is conceited or critical.
Findings: Hooded participants delivered twice as many shocks and the amount of
shocks did not vary depending on the definition of the learner, they were more likely

to deliver a harsher punishment; on the other hand, participants wearing name tags
did adjust the amount of shocks given to the student based on their description.
This study suggests that deindividuation lowered their senses of self-consciousness
and accountability for their behavior.
use Bandura 1961
Cohen 1996
Aim: To test whether there is a difference in willingness to display violent behavior
between Americans from the north and the south.
Procedure: 42 Northerners and 41 Southerners were asked to fill out a
questionnaire, which they took to a table at the end of a long, narrow hallway. A
confederate was working at a filing cabinet and pushed in the drawer as the
participant walked by to let him through. As the participant walked back down the
hallway, the confederate slammed the drawer, bumped into the participant and
called him an asshole. In a control condition, there was no bump, nor an insult.
Two observers rated the participants emotional reactions based on whether the
participants looked angry or amused. Participants were then asked to guess the
emotions on pictures of faces; then they were given scenarios and told to complete
the stories.
Findings: Northerners were rated as more amused by the bump, and although
Northerners were more likely to see happiness on the faces, there were no
significant differences in the projections of negative emotions onto the faces. 75%
of insulted Southerners threatened or injured Larry, and they were far more likely to
react violently than the Northerners or the Southerners in the control group. Thus,
the researchers concluded that Northerners were more amused by the scenario,
whereas Southerners were angrier. A second experiment revealed that the insulted
Southerners cortisol levels rose significantly higher than the other groups of
participants.
Application to the question: Cohen speculated that in the South of the US, the
history of crime and instability caused the Southerners to be extremely self-reliant,
and motivated to protect themselves (as evidenced by the gun laws in the south
and the frame of more pro-gun arguments.) The researchers suggest that this may
be due to Southerners being more surprised by the rude attitude, or that they have
different scripts for dealing with insults. Thus, violence may originate from the
desire to uphold ones pride by protecting himself, even against the smallest insults.
Discuss the effects of short-term and long-term exposure to violence.
Violence is an aggressive act in which the actor or perpetrator abuses individuals
directly or indirectly, in verbal, physical, and/or psychological ways. Olweus states
that some short-term exposure to violence (such as through natural disasters or
terrorist attacks) can result in anger, depression, physical illness, and lower grades.
All short term effects of violence can manifest into long term effects. Long term
exposure to violence (such as through daily abuse) can result in trust issues, low
self-esteem, fear/avoidance, and lingering feelings of anger.

Schuster 2001
AIM: to investigate the extent to which people suffered from stress symptoms
immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
PROCEDURE: 500 participants were randomly selected across the USA. They were
given telephone interviews 3-4 days after the attacks and the 5 questions asked
about short term symptoms of PTSD.
FINDINGS: Indirect exposure also induced stress symptoms; more indirect exposure
caused higher levels of stress. 90% of respondents said they experienced a bit of
stress, 68% said they were moderately stressed, and 44% said they were severely
stressed. Those living closer to New York experienced more stress.
Mynard 2000
AIM: to investigate the effects of long-term exposure to bullying and anxiety levels.
PROCEDURE: 331 British students were given a victim scale questionnaire, where
bullying was defined as physical, verbal, or social victimization.
FINDINGS: 40% of students had experienced some kind of bullying during their
schooling. Different types of stress lead to different symptoms; for example, social
exclusion was more likely to lead to long term PTSD, including having poor selfconfidence.