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Factors affecting attraction

Somewhere in the world, two people are falling in love. Elsewhere, a couple is falling out of love. Someone is excited about a first date. Another is deciding whether to go on a second date. Important events are happening everywhere, and it all comes down to attraction. What are the factors affecting attraction?Attraction is one of the defining forces in…

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Factors affecting attraction

Factors affecting attraction
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Somewhere in the world, two people are falling in love. Elsewhere, a couple is falling out of love. Someone is excited about a first date. Another is deciding whether to go on a second date. Important events are happening everywhere, and it all comes down to attraction. What are the factors affecting attraction?Attraction is one of the defining forces in all of our lives. It impacts how we perceive others and influences how others perceive us. It's also completely unique; every person's definition of attraction differs from the next. In this way, attraction is universal and personal - a worldwide phenomenon tailored to the individual. Why is this?

  • We are going to explore the world of attraction. We will begin by discussing the factors affecting attraction in psychology.
  • We will discuss the various theories exploring attraction: self-disclosure, physical attractiveness (self-disclosure vs physical attractiveness in psychology), the matching hypothesis, and the filter theory.
  • We will then explore similarity as a factor of attraction in psychology. Next, we will discuss some examples of negative self-disclosure.
  • Finally, we will aim to understand the most important factor affecting attraction.

Factors Affecting Attraction, two swans making heart shape, StudySmarter Fig. 1 - Different factors can contribute to our attraction levels.

Factors Affecting Attraction: Psychology

Have you ever wondered why you're attracted to the people you are? Different factors affect who you are attracted to throughout your lives. Culture, society, and expectations of what you want from a partner shape who you choose as a partner. So what are these factors affecting attraction in psychology?

Self-Disclosure vs Physical Attractiveness: Psychology

Self-disclosure explores different aspects of attraction when compared to physical attractiveness. It is important to note that it is not an either/or debate but rather two theories exploring what facilitates attraction. We can summarise it as a personality versus beauty debate, respectively, although it's a little bit more complex than that, and self-disclosure explores more than just personality.

Let's understand how self-disclosure and physical attractiveness can affect an individual's attraction to someone else.

Self-Disclosure

What is the first thing you think about when you read the term self-disclosure? Self-disclosure involves sharing information in the process of relationship development. So, how does it tie into attraction?

Self-disclosure is the idea that attraction occurs by sharing information with a partner, information about yourself that you may not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else.

By sharing personal information with another individual, you can show that you trust them and feel secure around them; an important factor which contributes to attraction.

Factors Affecting Attraction, old couple kissing affectionately, StudySmarterFig. 2 - Sharing information and feelings can increase attraction and trust.

Self-disclosure leads to greater intimacy, which brings more satisfaction to the relationship. Altman and Taylor (1973) developed this idea with their social penetration theory.

Social penetration theory states that self-disclosure must gradually increase in depth and breadth over time for a relationship to succeed.

According to the social penetration theory, as time passes, an individual must not only share increasingly personal information but also share a larger amount of that information. Self-disclosure can be natural for some people, as sharing personal details while intending to date someone is how relationships progress on a personal level.

At the beginning of the relationship, you might share your favourite colour and food preferences. As time goes on, this information will change, and you might start expressing your inner thoughts and fears about family issues or fear of rejection.

Physical Attractiveness

When you think of physical attractiveness, it's natural to assume that people are attracted to physically good-looking people. However, that's not necessarily the case. Psychologists have theorised that physical attractiveness links to evolutionary needs for survival.

According to some theories, being physically fit means you can evade attackers and indicates health and fertility.

What a partner looks for differs depending on the sex of the individual; for instance, the waist-to-hip ratio is noted as an attractive factor in women for men, and men tend to consider physical appearance as more important than women. Symmetry is also an important component of physical attractiveness.

Women focus more on the financial and physical security a man can provide.

Whether this is due to societal influences or evolution is up for debate, as in certain cultures, men were expected to provide financially, and women were expected to raise children. Over time, this has changed, but is this an evolutionary development or a societal requirement? It's also wise to consider our hunter-gatherer times.

One explanation for physical attractiveness as a factor of attraction is the matching hypothesis.

The Matching Hypothesis

According to Walster et al. (1966), when people choose a partner, they don’t automatically aim for the most attractive person they can find.

According to the matching hypothesis, individuals tend to choose a partner that is similar to them or ‘matching’ in physical attractiveness.

Using this, they can find someone that is equally attractive, giving them a chance at a relationship rather than being in a position where they may get rejected. Walster et al. (1966) tested their hypothesis in their computer dance study, although they did not find much support for it.

People tend to prefer others that are more attractive regardless of personal levels of attraction rather than pursuing those of similar levels of attractiveness.

The Filter Theory

Established by Kerckhoff and Davis (1962), the filter theory is another explanation for attraction and the formation of relationships.

The filter theory states that people narrow down their selection of prospective partners by putting them through a series of filters.

These filters are divided into three categories, namely -

1. Sociodemographic characteristics: these are physical proximity (if they live close to us), age, social class, religion, etc.

2. Similarity of attitudes: this is if prospective partners share the same fundamental beliefs as us, such as if they think family is important.

3. Complementarity: this is when partners have traits that balance each other out. For example, if one partner is very indecisive and the other likes to take charge and make decisions, they complement each other.

Nowadays, individuals may often be in the "talking stage" for a few months - could this be the time it takes to go through the filters of Kerchoff and Davis’ theory?

Factors Affecting Attraction, two ladybirds close together on a leaf, StudySmarterFig. 3 - People narrow down their selection of potential partners based on certain filters according to the filter theory.

Similarity Factor of Attraction in Psychology: Filter Theory

Similarity is the second filter in the Filter Theory and is often cited as an important component in the development of relationships, especially at the start.

People tend to reference similar hobbies, preferences, and attitudes as the trigger that prompted the development of an intimate relationship.

For example, meeting a date for dinner. Here, discussions surrounding plans for the future, such as views on children and family, are had. Dates covering important points like this explore and filter out candidates who are not good matches.

If you want children and a potential partner does not, or the potential partner wants to have a large family and values having them involved, whereas you do not, there may be fundamental clashes in attitudes later down the line, which affect relationship outcomes.

Similarity in attitudes is, therefore, an important factor in attraction as it can affect the longevity of relationships.

Evolutionary Factors Affecting Attraction

Evolutionary factors suggest that men and women choose their partners differently. The existence of a difference between men and women results in two different methods being used for mate selection, one for men and one for women. Let's discuss these methods briefly.

  1. Intersexual Selection: Intersexual selection occurs when one gender makes choices regarding their mate based on specific characteristics of the other gender. Females play a more active role in mate selection here.
  2. Intrasexual Selection: Intrasexual selection occurs when there is a sense of competition between same-sex members to attract and win the right to mate with a member from the opposite sex. Males dominate mate selection here, and females play a more passive role.

Negative Self-disclosure Examples

While it is important to share how we feel, sharing the positives and the negatives comes with self-disclosure. Let's briefly look at some examples of positive, as well as negative, self-disclosure.

Positive self-disclosure:

"I want to continue my studies and become a clinical psychologist someday," or "I've always dreamed of being an actor."

Negative self-disclosure:

"I'm really struggling with feelings of inadequacy recently," or "I made a mistake when I was younger; I want to share this with you."

Being able to talk about the good and the bad not only helps us understand ourselves better but also helps us communicate effectively with those important to us.


Factors affecting attraction - Key takeaways

  • Various factors affect human attraction, and multiple theories have explored specific factors that aid or inhibit the potential development of relationships. Two important factors affecting attraction are self-disclosure and physical attractiveness, which includes the matching hypothesis.
  • The filter theory states that people narrow down their selection of prospective partners by putting them through a series of filters.
  • The filter theory discusses the following three main filters: sociodemographic characteristics, similarity in attitudes, and complementarity.
  • Evolutionary factors of attraction can be divided into intersexual selection and intrasexual selection, which affects the role each sex plays in sexual selection.
  • Different factors will hold different levels of importance for everyone, which is why there is not one factor that can be considered the most important. Rather, each factor may play a more or less important role depending on the stage of the relationship.

Frequently Asked Questions about Factors affecting attraction

Various factors affect human attraction, and multiple theories have explored specific factors that aid or inhibit the potential development of relationships. These theories include debates on the importance of self-disclosure and physical attractiveness, the matching hypothesis, and filter theory.

According to different theories, self-disclosure, physical attractiveness, a similarity of attitudes, and complementarity are psychological aspects affecting attraction, to name a few.

It is hard to pinpoint the main factors of attraction, as attraction can be a universal and subjective experience. Potential main factors include physical attractiveness, self-disclosure, complementarity, and socio-demographic factors.

Personal appearance, proximity, similarity, and complementarity are all potential factors affecting romantic relationship development, according to various theories in psychology (including the filter theory).

Psychologists debate what the most important factors affecting attraction are. However, different factors will hold different levels of importance for everyone. Instead, factors differ in their importance depending on the stage of the relationship - similarity in attitudes is important at the start of relationships.

Final Factors affecting attraction Quiz

Factors affecting attraction Quiz - Teste dein Wissen

Question

 Self____ is a factor affecting attraction.

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Answer

Disclosure.

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Question

What is information sharing known as, in the context of attraction?

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Answer

Self-disclosure.

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Question

Who developed the filter theory?


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Answer

Kerckhoff and Davis (1962).

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Question

What is Kerchoff and Davis' theory of attraction?


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Answer

The filter theory.

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Question

What is the social penetration theory?

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Answer

The social penetration theory states that self-disclosure must gradually increase over time in depth and breadth for a relationship to be successful. 

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Question

What is self-disclosure?

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Answer

Self-disclosure is the idea that attraction occurs by sharing information with a partner. This information increases in depth and breadth as time goes on. 

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Question

What kind of attitudes need to be similar in order to maintain a relationship according to Kerchoff and Davis' filter theory?


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Answer

Partners should have shared attitudes towards morality, ethics, politics etc.

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Question

 'Dave and I just get on so well! He loves doing the washing but I hate it so I do the dusting instead which he hates! ' 


What part of Kerchoff and Davis' filter theory is described here?


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Answer

Complementarity.

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Question

‘You have such beautiful eyes, you must be a lovely and kind person.’ 


What does this compliment reveal about physical attractiveness?


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Answer

That people link physical attractiveness to positive personality traits.

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Question

‘We share everything: our hopes, dreams, even what food we like!’ 


Why, according to some psychologists, might this quote be the sign of a successful relationship?

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Answer

The sharing indicates high self-disclosure, meaning they have greater intimacy.

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Question

What psychological theory could you use to explain why dating applications show the distance between you and a potential match? 


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Answer

The filter theory, because according to Kerchoff and Davis (1962), physical proximity is one of the first filters we put potential partners through.

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Question

Self-disclosure must increase in_____ and depth over time.


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Answer

breadth.

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Question

What psychological reasons could you use to explain why dating applications use photos as the main point of attention?


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Answer

We often assume things about a person from their looks. If we find someone attractive we might also think they are a good or healthy person.

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Question

Give an example of how self-disclosure increases in breadth and depth over time.

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Answer

At the beginning of the relationship, you might share your favourite colour and food preferences. As time goes on, this information will change, and you might start expressing your inner thoughts, fears, ambitions, and family issues.

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Question

Why do physical attributes contribute to attraction according to evolutionary psychology?

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Answer

Attraction towards physical attributes that signal to others that we are healthy and ready to reproduce has been proposed to be evolutionary adaptive. 

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Question

The ______ effect is when people link physical attractiveness with positive personality traits.

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Answer

Angel.

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Question

What were the findings of Murstein (1972), who studied the similarity in physical attractiveness across college couples?

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Answer

Murstein (1972) found that the ratings of attractiveness in the real couples were more similar compared to the random pairings.

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Question

According to the matching hypothesis why do people look for partners with a similar level of attractiveness to them?


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Answer

To avoid rejection. 

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Why is research on physical attractiveness criticised for beta-bias?

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Answer

Because it focuses mainly on male views on attractiveness.

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Question

The_______ hypothesis explains attraction as an attempt to find a partner who is a similar level of attractiveness to you. 

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Answer

Minimising.

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What is a strength of the theories of physical attraction?

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Answer

They are supported by cross-cultural research.

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What were the findings of Dion et al. (1972)?

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Answer

Participants perceived attractive people as having more positive personality traits, higher status jobs, and greater happiness. 

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Why are images which are an average of several faces viewed as more attractive than individual faces?

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Answer

Because when several faces are averaged out, the outcome is more symmetrical.

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Question

What is one limitation of the Dion et al. (1972) study on the halo effect? 


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Answer

Attractiveness is based on personal opinion and is subjective, meaning you cannot generalise who is attractive and who isn’t, as Dion et al. (1972) did in their study. 

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Question

Who established the filter theory and when?

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Answer

Kerckhoff and Davis (1962).

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Question

What are the three filters of the filter theory?

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Answer

Sociodemographic characteristics, the similarity of attitudes, and complementarity. 

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Question

Describe the filter theory.

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Answer

Filter theory states people narrow down their selection of prospective partners by putting them through a series of filters. 

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Question

Which study suggested that the filter theory may not be accurate?

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Answer

Anderson et al. (2003).

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Question

What results did Gruber-Baldini et al. (1995) find in their study?

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Answer

At the start of their relationships, those with similar educational backgrounds and ages were more likely to succeed.

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What were the findings of Anderson et al. (2003)?

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Answer

Anderson et al. (2003) suggested that couples are not similar from the beginning of a relationship but become more similar over time.

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What were the findings of Winch, Ktsanes and Ktsanes (1955)? 

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Answer

They found that similarity of interests, attitudes, and personality traits is essential at the beginning of a relationship, while complementarity is vital in the long run.

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According to the filter theory, why is the similarity of attitudes important?

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Answer

People tend to think those that share their beliefs and values are more attractive.

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Why is complementarity important?

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Answer

Complementarity in a relationship is important because it allows both individuals to assume different roles, which contribute to the overall happiness of the relationship.

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Question

Why may sociodemographic characteristics not be as significant a factor in today's society?

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Answer

Due to the internet, we may choose to have a relationship with someone further away. As a society, we are also more multicultural, so we may have a relationship with someone of a different demographic. 

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Question

What is self-disclosure theory?

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Answer

Self-disclosure is the idea that relationships are formed through a gradual development of trust, as demonstrated by slowly but surely revealing personal information, such as your innermost thoughts and feelings. Revealing this 'inner self' leads to greater intimacy and ultimately more satisfaction. 

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Question

What did Collins and Miller (1994) find in their meta-analysis of self-disclosure and liking people?

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Answer

They found that people who engage in disclosing intimate information are more liked than those who don't disclose intimate information. They also found that people will be more likely to disclose information to those they personally initially like, and they like others based on if they have disclosed information to them.  

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Question

Who developed Social Penetration Theory?

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Answer

Altman and Taylor (1973)

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Question

What is the social penetration theory often depicted as in a metaphor?

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Answer

It is often depicted using an onion metaphor - people peel back the layers to reveal deeper levels of personal information until they reach the core.  

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Question

What are the layers of the social penetration theory?

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Answer

Superficial layer, middle layer, inner layer, core personality

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Question

At the beginning of a relationship, partners might share a lot of information, known as _____. but this information may not be very personal. When the information shared becomes less superficial and more intimate, _____ increases. 

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Answer

Breadth, Depth.

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Question

What are some self-disclosure examples?

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Answer

  • Revealing political views
  • Revealing a deep, personal secret
  • Sharing hopes, dreams and aspirations
  • Sharing information on your deepest fear
  • Telling someone about your likes and dislikes (such as your favourite colours, foods, and music)

Show question

Question

What did Sprecher and Hendrick (2004) find in their evaluation of self-disclosure in relationships?

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Answer

 Men and women reported similar, high levels of self-disclosure. They found that overall, in heterosexual relationships, as self-disclosure increased so did relationship satisfaction. This highlights the importance of self-disclosure in the satisfaction and longevity of relationships. 

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Question

What did Laurenceau et al (2005) find in their evaluation of self-disclosure in relationships? 

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Answer

They found that greater levels of self-disclosure or perception of disclosure led to increased feelings and actions of intimacy. Laurenceau also found that the reverse was true; the less self-disclosure, the less intimacy. 

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Question

What did Has and Hartford (1998) find in their evaluation of self-disclosure in relationships?  

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Answer

They studied homosexual couples and found that 57% of gay men and women thought that open self-disclosure was an important way to maintain close relationships.  

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Question

What is the boom and bust phenomenon?

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Answer

 The 'Boom and Bust' phenomenon refers to Cooper and Sportolari's 1997 study, which found that in online relationships, anonymity meant users shared much more personal information more quickly. This information also became more important or overpowered physical levels of attractiveness. However, this meant that the couples didn't establish the foundation of trust needed for self-disclosure to be successful, leading to a 'bust' wherein the relationship breaks down. 

Show question

Question

What is the sharing isn't everything criticism of self-disclosure theory?

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Answer

Sharing isn't everything: if self-disclosure was the key to the attraction we would feel romantically for everyone we shared our innermost thoughts and feelings with. 

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Question

What is the reductionist, nomothetic approach criticism of self-disclosure theory? 

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Answer

Self-disclosure reduces attraction to a single factor and ignores many other important factors when choosing a partner, such as personality, appearance, cultural practices and more.  

Show question

Question

How is self-disclosure/social penetration theory culturally biased?

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Answer

Social penetration theory was developed based on research from western, more individualistic cultures. This means it may not apply to collectivist cultures. For instance, Tang et al. (2013) found that men and women in the USA tended to disclose more to their partners than couples in China, despite the level of relationship satisfaction being high in both cultures. Therefore, the suggestion that self-disclosure is necessary for relationship fulfilment is culturally biased. 

Show question

Question

What are some factors that may influence self-disclosure?

Show answer

Answer

Fear of humiliation

Fear of rejection

How well you know the person

The number of people around you

Consumption of alcohol

Show question

Question

Self-disclosure suggests sharing ____ information as time goes on facilitates the development of a relationship.

Show answer

Answer

More.

Show question

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