PSYC 215 Chapter Notes -Social Exchange Theory, Robert Zajonc, Harry Harlow

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 215
• Professor: John Lydon

Document Summary

The importance of relationships: baumeister & leary argued that humans have a biological need to belong and be in relationships, not unlike our need for water or shelter, just like emotion, relationships feature universality and cultural variation. Mortality rates, rates of admission to hospitals for psychological problems, suicide rates, and crime rates are all higher for divorced, single, or widowed individuals. We change ourselves in interactions with significant others because the situation activates and calls to mind accessible traits associated with that person to remain consistent in our relationships. In an illustrative study, people interacted with people who resembled positive and negative significant others; participants treated the positive stranger with more positive affect, and were in turn treated more positively by the stranger (berk & andersen) Different ways of relating to others; different types of interpersonal relationships: communal and exchange relationships (clark & mills)