Term
|
Definition
| The basic need to seek and maintain interpersonal relationships. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In attraction research, the physical closeness between two individuals with respect to where they live, where they sit in a classroom, where they work, and so on. The smaller the physical distance, the greater the probability that the two people will come into repeated contact eperiencing repeated exposure to one another, positive affect, and the development of mutual attraction. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The combination of characteristics that are evaluated as beautiful or handsome at the positive extreme and as unattractive at the negative extreme. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Zajonc's finding that frequent contact with any mildly negative, neutral, or positive stimulus results in an increasingly positive evaluation of the stimulus. |
|
|
Term
| Similarity-dissimilarity effect |
|
Definition
| The consistent finding that people respond positively to indications that another person in similar to themselves and negatively to indications that another person is dissimilar from themselves. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The extent to which two individuals share the same attitudes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The number of specific indicators that two people are similar divided by the number of specific indicators that two people are similar plus the number of specific indicators that they are dissimilar. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Rosenbaum's provocative proposal that attraction is not increased by similar attitudes but is simoply decreased by dissimilar attitudes. This hypothesis is incorrect as stated, but it is true that dissimilar attitudes tend to have negative effects that are stronger than the positive effects of similar attitudes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The idea that although we would prefer to obtain extremely attractive romantic partners, we generally focus on obtaining ones whose physical beauty is the same as our own. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The formulations of Heider and of Newcomb that specify the relationships among (1) an individual's liking for another person, (2) his or her attitude about a given topic, and (3) the other person's attitude about the same topic. Balance (liking plus agreement) results in a positive emotional state. Imbalance (liking plus disagreement) results in a negative state and a desire to restore balance. Nonbalance (liking plus either agreement or disagreement) leads to indifference. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Festinger (1954) suggested that people compare themselves to others because, for many domains and attributes, there is no objective yardstick with which to evaluate the self, so we compare ourselves to others to gain this information. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The degree of security experienced in interpersonal relationships. Differential styles initially develop in the interactions between infant and caregiver when the infant acquires basic attitudes about self-worth and interpersonal trust. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An attitudinal dimension underlying attachment styles that involves the belief that other people are generally trustworthy, dependable, and reliable as opposed to the belief that others are generally untrustworthy, undependable, and unreliable. This is the most successful and most desirable attachment style. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A style characterized by high self-esteem and high interpersonal trust. This is the most successful and most desirable attachment style. |
|
|
Term
| Fearful-avoidant attachment style |
|
Definition
| A style characterized by low self-esteem and low interpersonal trust. This is the most insecure and least adaptive attachment style. |
|
|
Term
| Preoccupied attachment style |
|
Definition
| A style characterized by low self-esteem and high interpersonal trust. This is a conflicted and somewhat insecure style in which the individual strongly desires a close relationship but feels that he or she is unworthy of the partner and is thus vulnerable to being rejected. |
|
|
Term
| Dismissing attachment style |
|
Definition
| A style characterized by high self-esteem and low interpersonal trust. This is a conflicted and somewhat insecure style in which the individual feels that he or she deserves a close relationship but is frustrated because of mistrust of potential partners. The result is the tendency to reject the other person at some point in the relationship to avoid being the one who is rejected. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A relationship in which two people spend a great deal of time together, interact in a variety of situations and provide mutual emotional support. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A combinations, cognitions, and behaviors that often play a crucial role in intimate relationships. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An intense and often unrealistic emotional response to another person. When this emotion is experienced, it is usually perceived as an indication of true love, but to outside observers it appears to be infatuation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Love felt by one person for another who does not feel love in return. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Love that is based on friendship, mutual attraction, shared interests, respect, and concern for one another's welfare. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sternberg's conceptualization of love relationships |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Sternberg's triangular model of love, the closeness felt by two people--the extent to which they are bonded. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Sternberg's triangular model of love, the sexual motives and a sexual excitement associated with a couple's relationship. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Sternberg's triangular model of love, these are the cognitive processes involved in deciding that you love another person and are committed to maintain the relationship. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Sternberg's triangular model of love, a complete and ideal love that combines intimacy, passion, and decision (commitment) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The number of social ties each person has to others; typically these are connections people can draw on for knowledge, assistance, or other social goods. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Attempting to present ourselves to others as having positive attributes. |
|
|
Term
| Self-verification perspective |
|
Definition
| Theory that addresses the processes by which we lead others to agree with our views of ourselves; wanting others to agree with how we see ourselves. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When we try to make others like us by conveying that we like them; praising others to flatter them. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Putting ourselves down or implying that we are not as good as someone else. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| To privately contemplate "who we are". It is a method for attempting to gain self knowledge. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Addresses how we respond when our group identity is salient. Suggests that we will move closer to positive others with whom we share an identity but distance from other ingroup members who perform poorly or otherwise make our social identiy negative. |
|
|
Term
| Personal versus-social identity continuum |
|
Definition
| At the personal level, the self is thought of as a unique individual whereas at the social identity level, the self is seen as a member of a group. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When someone or some object stands out from its background or is the focus of attention. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Judgments that result from comparisons between individuals who are members of the same group. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Judgments that result from comparisons between our group and another group. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Concerned with memory of the ourselves in the past, sometimes over the life course as a whole. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Image of how we might be in the future--either a "dreaded" potential to be avoided or "desired" potential that can be strived for. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Achieved by refraining from actions we like and instead performing actions we prefer not to do as a means of achieving a long term goal. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The lowered capacity to exert subsequent self-control following earlier efforts to exert self-control. Performance decrements are typically observed when people's ego strength has been depleted by prior efforts at self-control. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The degree to which we perceive ourselves positively or negatively; our overall attitude toward ourselves. It can be measured explicitly or implicitly. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Feelings about the self of which we are not consciously aware. |
|
|
Term
| Downward social comparison |
|
Definition
| A comparison of the self to another who does less well than or is inferior to us. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A comparison of the self to another who does better than or is superior to us. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Festinger (1954) suggested that people compare themselves to others because for many domains and attributes there is no objective yardstick to evaluate ourselves against, and other people are therefore highly informative. |
|
|
Term
| Self-evaluation maintenance model |
|
Definition
| The perspective suggests that to maintain a positive view of ourselves, we distance ourselves from others who perform better than we do on valued dimensions and move closer to others who perform worse than us. This view suggests that doing so will protect our self-esteem. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Can occur when people believe that they might be judged in light of a negative stereotype about their group or that, because of their performance, they may be in some way confirm a negative stereotype of their group. |
|
|
