Relationships
Human Relationships
General framework
- To what extent do biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence human relationships?
- Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to the study of human relationships.
Social responsibility
Distinguish between altruism and prosocial behaviour
- Pro-social behavior benefits others or has positive social consequences (Staub, 1978)
- Helping behavior intentionally helps or benefits others in the spirit of making a difference
- Altruistic behavior is helping someone else without reward and can even be at some cost to yourself
- However, distinguish between fairness and actual altruism (List; Fehr)
Contrast two theories explaining altruism in humans
- Negative-state relief model (Schaller and Cialdini, 1988) - motivated to reduce distress experienced by watching others in awful situations
- does not explain why some people who experience distress do not act
- cannot predict behavior
- Empathy-altruism model (Batson et al., 1981) - we experience either
- personal distress - anxiety or fear which motivates us to help egoistically to relieve our fear or anxiety
- empathetic concern - sympathy or compassion which motivates us to help where the goal is relieving the person's suffering (not your own fear or anxiety)
Using one or more research studies, explain cross-cultural differences in prosocial behavior
- Whiting (1979) found that nurturing behavior in children (3-11) is higher in Kenya, Mexico and the Philippines compared to US (who scored lowest)
- Graves and Graves (1985) - family environment where you are expected to care for younger children increases prosocial behavior
- Levine et al. studies
- US population density predicts prosocial behavior (lower = more likely to help)
- Replicated in 23 cities - Rio de janeiro and San Jose were most likely to help (role of collectivist society?)
- Low economically productive countries are more likely to help
Examine factors influencing bystanderism
Interpersonal relationships
Examine biological, psychological and social origins of attraction
Biological
- Pheromones?
- Oxytocin and vasopressin
- Face symmetry
- Hormone levels (ovulation vs non-ovulation) can affect female attraction to men
- Waist-to-hip-ratio affects male attraction to females (Johnson and Tassinary, 2005)
Cognitive
- Attraction-similarity model (Morry, 2007) - attracted to people similar to ourselves
Sociocultural
- Cultural norms - e.g. thinness in Western culture
- Proximity determines attraction in dorm rooms (Festinger et al., 1950), elderly homes and college campuses (Nahemow and Lawton, 1975)
- Confirmation of proximity including likelihood of dislike based on proximity and probability of face-to-face contact (Ebbesen et al., 1976)
- People who choose to participate in interviews are perhaps more likely to gossip and/or have more sociable personalities
Discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships
Explain the role that culture plays in the formation and maintenance of relationships
- Cross-cultural perspectives on infidelity (Druckerman, 2007)
- Japanese do not consider it cheating if you pay for sex
- Russians do not consider it cheating if you have extramarital sex while on vacation at a beach resort
- South Africans consider inebriation a proper excuse for cheating - they are forgiven
Analyse why relationships may change or end
- MHC genes are too similar
- Social exchange theory (Kelley and Thibaut, 1959)
- Based on cost-benefit analysis where cost of relationship must not outweigh the benefits
- Equity theory (Walster, 1978)
- Equality is important in maintenance of fidelity
- Individuals who feel deprived or under-benefited are more likely to cheat than individuals who feel fairly treated or over-benefited (Hatfield, 1979)
- Fatal attraction theory (Felmlee, 1995)
- Factor that caused initial attraction is also responsible for its ultimate demise
- A musician that lives freely and day-to-day is initially attractive but long-term his partner may view him as undesirable to settle down with
Violence
Evaluate explanations of the origins of violence
Biological
Cognitive
Sociocultural
- Power differences
- Deindividuation
Discuss the relative effectiveness of two strategies for reducing violence
- Multiculturalism
- Color blindness
- Extended Contact
Discuss the short term and long term effects of exposure to violence
Additional Resources
