9.7 Interpersonal Attraction
4 min read•december 27, 2022
Dalia Savy
Sumi Vora
Dalia Savy
Sumi Vora
Attraction
Did you ever wonder why you like someone or how really forms? This key topic's for you!
There are three ingredients🍲 of :
Proximity—contact
We are more likely to be attracted to those who live or work in close to us. This is purely because of the , which says that increased exposure to something or someone makes us like them more. Due to the mere exposure effect, we also like people whose facial features and name are similar to us, since we’ve been exposed to our own face and name forever! The mere exposure effect developed because of evolution: our ancestors only approached those that they felt comfortable with and truly knew 🤗
Physical Attractiveness—impression
Conventional attractiveness is actually not unique at all—we prefer average-sized and symmetrical features. In women, men prefer a low waist-to-hip ratio and in men, women prefer masculine or dominant-looking features (like big muscles 💪). This is because when we evolved, we needed to be attracted to people who were able to produce healthy offspring 👶
We base our first impressions on the person’s , because we assume that attractive people are healthier, happier, more successful, and more sensitive.
However, we don’t necessarily believe that attractive people are more compassionate. Even though this is unfair, studies show that attractive people have higher paychecks, go on dates more often, and feel more popular. However, others are more likely to accept praise for their work as sincere.
Similarity—closeness
We also prefer people who are similar to us—if someone is similar to us, we like being around them and we want to stay in a relationship for longer.
The says that we like those whose behavior is rewarding to us 🏆 Here are some general examples:
If you talk to me, I like you more.
If we share the same beliefs, I like you more! I can talk about them with you and you validate my own.
If you are attractive, I enjoy working with you.
initiates a cycle of : we like those who like us back, especially if we have low self esteem. We are also more likely to view kind and compassionate people as attractive.
Love
At the beginning of a relationship, we experience : an aroused state during which we are intensely attracted to one another. requires two ingredients: physical arousal and (interpreting our arousal as to that person).
Arousal from an outside source can enhance these emotions—that’s why you may have heard that it’s beneficial to take your date to a scary movie or a roller coaster park to increase their to you 🎢👻
comes after the phase, and it involves deep affectionate attachment for someone else. While involves a surge of and , levels off those hormones and introduces 🤗 If you feel like you’ve lost the “spark” of your earlier relationship, it doesn’t mean you’re falling out of , it just means that you’ve entered the phase.
Loving Relationships
Successful marriages still experience sexual , but it is not an obsession. Successful marriages or long-term relationships also require , , and comfort.
⚖️ is fairly splitting the workload, things, emotional support, etc. If one person is always needy while the other person doesn’t receive affection, for example, the relationship will fail. The effort should be about 50-50.
💖 makes sure that the relationship is intimate, but it has to go both ways (otherwise it’s not equitable). As one partner begins to reveal themselves, the other does too and they open up together. Intimacy is power in a relationship!
🥰 are self-explanatory, but essential. There are more positive interactions within a healthy relationship than negative interactions. It's all about acceptance and care.
Image Courtesy of Luvze.
Closing Thoughts
This is the last key topic of the whole course! I hope you've found it really interesting and I wish you luck on your exam; you got this!
As always, if you have any questions you can visit the Fiveable community and we'll be there to help you.
🎥Watch: AP Psychology—Bystanders, Groups, and Deindividuation
Key Terms to Review (17)
Adrenaline
: Adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) is a hormone released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress like fear or injury.Attraction
: Attraction in psychology refers to the positive feelings or attitudes we have towards other individuals, objects, or ideas. It's a fundamental aspect of human relationships and social interaction.Cognitive Appraisal
: Cognitive appraisal refers to the personal interpretation of a situation; it's how an individual views a situation. There are two stages in cognitive appraisal - primary appraisal (initial evaluation concerning whether there is any associated threat) & secondary appraisal (consideration given as to how well one can cope with the situation).Comfort and Support
: Comfort and support refer to providing emotional assistance or reassurance to another individual during times of stress or hardship.Companionate Love
: This is a type of love characterized by deep affection, intimacy, trust, and commitment. It's the kind of love that develops over time in long-term relationships.Dopamine
: Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter, which is a chemical messenger that transmits signals in the brain and other areas of the body. It plays several important roles in the body, and it's found in high levels in certain parts of the brain.Equity
: In psychology, equity refers to the balance of give-and-take in a relationship. It's about fairness and justice, where both parties feel their contributions and benefits are proportionate.Love
: Love is a complex set of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs associated with strong feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another person.Loving Relationships
: A loving relationship refers to an interpersonal relationship characterized by emotional warmth, intimacy, honesty, mutual respect, understanding, trust and affection.Mere-exposure Effect
: The mere-exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.Oxytocin
: Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland that plays a significant role in social bonding, sexual reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth.Passionate Love
: Passionate love is an intense longing we feel for a person, accompanied by physiological arousal; when our love is reciprocated, we feel great fulfillment and ecstasy but when it’s not, we feel sadness and despair.Physical Attractiveness
: Physical attractiveness refers to the degree to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful.Proximity
: In psychology, proximity refers to the principle that we group nearby figures together. It's part of Gestalt psychology about how we perceive stimuli in our environment.Reward Theory of Attraction
: The reward theory of attraction suggests that we like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, or whom we associate with rewarding events.Self-Disclosure
: Self-disclosure is the process of revealing personal, intimate information about oneself to others.Similarity
: In psychology, similarity refers to how much two people share common attitudes, backgrounds, interests or other characteristics.9.7 Interpersonal Attraction
4 min read•december 27, 2022
Dalia Savy
Sumi Vora
Dalia Savy
Sumi Vora
Attraction
Did you ever wonder why you like someone or how really forms? This key topic's for you!
There are three ingredients🍲 of :
Proximity—contact
We are more likely to be attracted to those who live or work in close to us. This is purely because of the , which says that increased exposure to something or someone makes us like them more. Due to the mere exposure effect, we also like people whose facial features and name are similar to us, since we’ve been exposed to our own face and name forever! The mere exposure effect developed because of evolution: our ancestors only approached those that they felt comfortable with and truly knew 🤗
Physical Attractiveness—impression
Conventional attractiveness is actually not unique at all—we prefer average-sized and symmetrical features. In women, men prefer a low waist-to-hip ratio and in men, women prefer masculine or dominant-looking features (like big muscles 💪). This is because when we evolved, we needed to be attracted to people who were able to produce healthy offspring 👶
We base our first impressions on the person’s , because we assume that attractive people are healthier, happier, more successful, and more sensitive.
However, we don’t necessarily believe that attractive people are more compassionate. Even though this is unfair, studies show that attractive people have higher paychecks, go on dates more often, and feel more popular. However, others are more likely to accept praise for their work as sincere.
Similarity—closeness
We also prefer people who are similar to us—if someone is similar to us, we like being around them and we want to stay in a relationship for longer.
The says that we like those whose behavior is rewarding to us 🏆 Here are some general examples:
If you talk to me, I like you more.
If we share the same beliefs, I like you more! I can talk about them with you and you validate my own.
If you are attractive, I enjoy working with you.
initiates a cycle of : we like those who like us back, especially if we have low self esteem. We are also more likely to view kind and compassionate people as attractive.
Love
At the beginning of a relationship, we experience : an aroused state during which we are intensely attracted to one another. requires two ingredients: physical arousal and (interpreting our arousal as to that person).
Arousal from an outside source can enhance these emotions—that’s why you may have heard that it’s beneficial to take your date to a scary movie or a roller coaster park to increase their to you 🎢👻
comes after the phase, and it involves deep affectionate attachment for someone else. While involves a surge of and , levels off those hormones and introduces 🤗 If you feel like you’ve lost the “spark” of your earlier relationship, it doesn’t mean you’re falling out of , it just means that you’ve entered the phase.
Loving Relationships
Successful marriages still experience sexual , but it is not an obsession. Successful marriages or long-term relationships also require , , and comfort.
⚖️ is fairly splitting the workload, things, emotional support, etc. If one person is always needy while the other person doesn’t receive affection, for example, the relationship will fail. The effort should be about 50-50.
💖 makes sure that the relationship is intimate, but it has to go both ways (otherwise it’s not equitable). As one partner begins to reveal themselves, the other does too and they open up together. Intimacy is power in a relationship!
🥰 are self-explanatory, but essential. There are more positive interactions within a healthy relationship than negative interactions. It's all about acceptance and care.
Image Courtesy of Luvze.
Closing Thoughts
This is the last key topic of the whole course! I hope you've found it really interesting and I wish you luck on your exam; you got this!
As always, if you have any questions you can visit the Fiveable community and we'll be there to help you.
🎥Watch: AP Psychology—Bystanders, Groups, and Deindividuation
Key Terms to Review (17)
Adrenaline
: Adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) is a hormone released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress like fear or injury.Attraction
: Attraction in psychology refers to the positive feelings or attitudes we have towards other individuals, objects, or ideas. It's a fundamental aspect of human relationships and social interaction.Cognitive Appraisal
: Cognitive appraisal refers to the personal interpretation of a situation; it's how an individual views a situation. There are two stages in cognitive appraisal - primary appraisal (initial evaluation concerning whether there is any associated threat) & secondary appraisal (consideration given as to how well one can cope with the situation).Comfort and Support
: Comfort and support refer to providing emotional assistance or reassurance to another individual during times of stress or hardship.Companionate Love
: This is a type of love characterized by deep affection, intimacy, trust, and commitment. It's the kind of love that develops over time in long-term relationships.Dopamine
: Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter, which is a chemical messenger that transmits signals in the brain and other areas of the body. It plays several important roles in the body, and it's found in high levels in certain parts of the brain.Equity
: In psychology, equity refers to the balance of give-and-take in a relationship. It's about fairness and justice, where both parties feel their contributions and benefits are proportionate.Love
: Love is a complex set of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs associated with strong feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another person.Loving Relationships
: A loving relationship refers to an interpersonal relationship characterized by emotional warmth, intimacy, honesty, mutual respect, understanding, trust and affection.Mere-exposure Effect
: The mere-exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.Oxytocin
: Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland that plays a significant role in social bonding, sexual reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth.Passionate Love
: Passionate love is an intense longing we feel for a person, accompanied by physiological arousal; when our love is reciprocated, we feel great fulfillment and ecstasy but when it’s not, we feel sadness and despair.Physical Attractiveness
: Physical attractiveness refers to the degree to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful.Proximity
: In psychology, proximity refers to the principle that we group nearby figures together. It's part of Gestalt psychology about how we perceive stimuli in our environment.Reward Theory of Attraction
: The reward theory of attraction suggests that we like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, or whom we associate with rewarding events.Self-Disclosure
: Self-disclosure is the process of revealing personal, intimate information about oneself to others.Similarity
: In psychology, similarity refers to how much two people share common attitudes, backgrounds, interests or other characteristics.
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