Social Behavior: Proximity & the Mere Exposure Effect

Social Behavior - Proximity & the Mere Exposure Effect: Proximity has a lot to do with formation of relationships (more likely to date people near you, even though online dating occurs) Mere exposure effect means the more often we see something, the more likely we are to like it (TOUR GOGGLES LMAOOOO) In general this occurs even though sometimes you can be repeatedly exposed to something and start hating it (i.e. a particular song) Advertisers rely on this effect Retrograde amnesia means that you forgot everything that occurred before the accident (can form new memories) Interograde amnesia means that you cannot form new memories following the accident (can remember everything before) Physical Attraction: Universal attraction refers to clear skin, youthful appearance, etc. and also facial attraction is more important than that of body attraction Also, the more average one’s face is, the more attractive we deem them to be - - - Similarity: Similarity or how similar someone is to us is a huge predictor of attraction Close friends or couples are far more likely to share common attitudes, beliefs, and interests (even age, socioeconomic status, etc.) Similarity on any level helps a lot with liking them (like politicians, etc.) Sometimes, couples can become more similar over time or they can think they are similar even though they may not be Harlow Monkey Experiments: Attachment is a strong bond (like that between a mother and child) Harlow Monkey Experiments are where young monkeys were separated from their mothers at a very young age and then shown two “mother like” figures (wire with food and blanket for comfort) and they overwhelmingly preferred the cloth more (preferred comfort over food) Comfort acts as a secure base to come back to even after exploring the surroundings Secure & Insecure Attachment: At around 8 months, babies start to get anxiety when they are split from their mothers (before that they’re happy to be passed around without much struggle) Ainsworth-Strange Situation looks at if the child explores the room with the mother present, the child’s response when the mother leaves quietly, and how the child reacted to the mother when she returns to the room Secure attachment (60% of kids) means the child eventually felt comfortable to explore the room with the mom present, became distressed when the mother left, and finally were relieved when she came back (child would often go straight to the mother) The result of sensitive, responsive mothers Insecure attachment means that child clung to the mother and didn’t explore the room that much, became upset when the mother left, and the distress didn’t end when the mother returned The result of insensitive, unresponsive mothers (not technically child abuse) Some psychologists state that this sort of attachment style seems to form the basis for a lot of adult relationships later in life (securely attached child becomes securely attached relationships as adults and the same for insecure attachments) → leads to adopting similar parenting styles 1. Aggression: Aggression is any physical or verbal behavior that is intended to harm or destroy and can come from one or a mixture of three things: Biological Influences: genes can influence aggression, brain structures (such as the amygdala which facilitates the fear response and when stimulated leads to aggressive behavior | frontal lobe is responsible for impulse control), testosterone levels 2. 3. - Psychological Influences: refers to the frustration-aggression principle (the idea that frustration leads to anger which sparks aggression, such as temperature) and reinforcement-modeling (such as when parents reward temper tantrums, the child is more likely to keep doing it and the parents themselves can even model aggression for the children) Socio-cultural Influences: people tend to be more aggressive in groups than when alone (such as riots) which is the cause of deindividuation (also explains the way people act on the internet and leads to lack of self awareness) and the last is social scripts (when you are in a new situation, they use the model they see in order to determine how to act) Altruism: Altruistic behavior the belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others People tend to act more altruistic to kin or those closer to them Reciprocal altruism occurs when you are more likely to help someone that you will see again and also feel more obliged to help someone else if they’ve helped us Cost signaling which benefits us socially to show people we have the ability to have resources Is this really altruistic? Another theory says altruism is a depictor of empathetic personality (known as the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis) Social Support: Emotional support includes things like affection, love, trust, hugs, and typically provided by family and close friends Esteem support includes expressions of confidence and encouragement (things they say to show that they believe in you) and can also come from friends/family but also coaches, teachers, etc. Informational support includes sharing information with us or giving us advice which can come from family/friends, but also unknown individuals Tangible/Instrumental support includes financial support (material goods or even monayyyy), basically taking on your responsibilities so you can deal with other problems Companionship support includes support by giving someone a sense of social belonging (when you engage in an activity) Also, social support is a major contributor/determinant to health and well being (people with low levels of social support tend to report higher levels of depression and anxiety → even a higher risk of death from cancer and heart disease)