PSY220H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Collectivism, Reward System, Longitudinal Study
Lecture 11:
Effects of physical attractiveness
Male participants shown female photo
Iv; attractive or unattractive
Had telephone conversation with a different woman 9who they believe to be either the hot or not
hot woman
They had other participants who had not been shown the photo then listened to female half of the
convo
So the ppl who thought they were talking to the hot girl thought theyd have a better convo
Then after conversation they rate the woman
Again the men rated the way they thought (so self fulfilling prophecy)
Even the outside observers listening to the only the female half of the conversation their ratings
matched the men (so again people meet your expectations of them) ‘
What makes someone attractive
Facial symmetry (associated with better health fertility etc)
Familiarity
Averageness (when you average faces together they tend to be more symmetrical)
Proximity (e.g. mere exposure: just saying someone more frequently makes them hotter) (Had a
setup in a lecture hall where the woman is either always there only one time and being exposed
to her made her hotter)
Similarity (however, it has limits remember we don’t like when close others are really good at
important domains)
Reciprocity (idea that we like people who like us)
The cheerleader effect.
It actually is true. It goes back to the notion of avereageness. We average out the people.
Contrast effects:
What can happen is lets say you watch the Victoria secret fashion show and then you turn to your
friend beside you and you are like ewww.
Liking similarity and interaction all influence each other
We interact with similar others and we discover similarities when we interact with other people
We interact with those we like/are into but we also like people we interact with
We think those we like are similar to us
We like those who are similar to us
All of these things feed into and influence one another.
Pratt Fall Effect (which person do you find most attractive thing on slides)
We like highly competent/intelligent people if they do something which humanizes them.
Anders et al study find that if you think you can tell what this person is feeling based on their
emotions that activates the reward circuit in the brain and it lends itself to feeling more attracted
to that individual
Altruism vs Physical Attractiveness Study
Female participants judged male targets
So handsome vs non handsome (pre-tested photos)
And then they give a scenario of altruism vs lack thereof and then had the woman re-rate
So attractiveness mattered and it mattered a lot for short-term
However, in long term the altruism was more important
Relationship Development
What turns acquaintances into friends and romantic partners
Exchange relationship: A relationship in which people exchange rewards in order to receive
benefits in return . (I.e.: you buy someone drinks and you expect they will buy you drinks at
some point).
Communal relationship: A relationship in which people reward their partner out direct concern to
show caring
Obviously communal relationships are much closer and intimate than exchange relationships
If you desire a closer relationship with someone, you may offer to do something for them
without expecting anything in return
People also might be upset in these relationships if you offer to pay them back right away
Also if someone refuses such a communal thing (like taking something from you) then it might
be a sign they don’t want to move the relationship from exchange to communal.
Intimacy: A positive emotional bond that includes understanding and support to develop
Created through interactions involving disclosure & responsiveness
Feeling understood, valued, and respected by your partner
Self-disclosures include facts and situation, as well as inner thoughts feelings and emotions
Both the depth (level of intimacy) and the breadth (range of topics) of self disclosures increase as
relationship develop
Disclosing information about yourself to someone else often has positive consequences (but you
need reciprocity) you feel closer to the person & they feel closer to you. But too much too soon c
an backfire.
Document Summary
Had telephone conversation with a different woman 9who they believe to be either the hot or not hot woman. They had other participants who had not been shown the photo then listened to female half of the convo. So the ppl who thought they were talking to the hot girl thought theyd have a better convo. Again the men rated the way they thought (so self fulfilling prophecy) Even the outside observers listening to the only the female half of the conversation their ratings matched the men (so again people meet your expectations of them) . Facial symmetry (associated with better health fertility etc) Averageness (when you average faces together they tend to be more symmetrical) Proximity (e. g. mere exposure: just saying someone more frequently makes them hotter) (had a setup in a lecture hall where the woman is either always there only one time and being exposed to her made her hotter)
