Deck 9: Attraction and Close Relationships

Question 1

A feeling of deprivation about existing social relations is called

A) loneliness.
B) rejection.
C) jealously.
D) empty love.

Answer 1

loneliness.

Question 2

Using MRI techniques, researchers have observed that, when they are exposed to pictures of strangers, shy people exhibit

A) less activity in the amygdala than those who are bold.
B) greater activity in the hippocampus than those who are bold.
C) greater activity in the amygdala than those who are bold.
D) less activity in the hippocampus than those who are bold.

Answer 2

greater activity in the amygdala than those who are bold.

Question 3

When Kulik and others (1994) gave people who were about to soak their hand in ice water a choice about who to wait with prior to the painful task, they found that the participants preferred to wait

A) with someone who had already done the task.
B) with someone who was about to complete the task.
C) with someone who did not have to do the task.
D) alone.

Answer 3

with someone who had already done the task.

Question 4

Though they had all been together on the transcontinental flight for three hours, the passengers didn't start to talk to one another until the plane ran into some serious turbulence. This behavior is best explained by the

A) tendency for external threat to increase affiliation.
B) matching hypothesis.
C) proximity effect.
D) evolutionary perspective on the sociostat.

Question 5

Based on his research on people facing imminent threat, Schachter summed up that

A) misery loves embarrassing company.
B) misery loves bold company.
C) misery loves miserable company.
D) misery loves no company.

Question 6

According to Statista, the average number of Facebook friends for people between the age of 12 and 17 in 2016 was

A) 137
B) 185
C) 760
D) 521

Question 7

Which of the following statements is most accurate regarding the human need for affiliation?

A) People tend to prefer as much social contact with others as possible.
B) There is little variation between individuals when it comes to desired level of social contact.
C) People are motivated to maintain an optimum balance of time alone and social contact.
D) On average, men in individualistic cultures desire more social contact than do women.

Question 8

Rita, a student, enjoys spending time with her friends and classmates. She can establish friendships very quickly and has a strong desire to maintain social contact with others. Rita has

A) a low need to belong.
B) severe social anxiety.
C) a high need for affiliation.
D) a broken social thermostat.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is most consistent with the idea that we are attracted to others with whom a relationship is rewarding?

A) Tina likes Tony because he is playing hard to get.
B) Tina likes Tony because they are about equally attractive.
C) Tina likes Tony because they live in the same apartment building.
D) Tina likes Tony because he smiles at her and compliments her.

Question 10

Terrence has a network of close social ties. In comparison to individuals lacking such a network, research suggests that he will

A) be less motivated to achieve success.
B) be less likely to die a premature death.
C) have worse physical health.
D) have lower self-esteem.

Question 11

Derek is informed that as part of his fraternity initiation he must sing the school fight song as loudly as he can while standing on the roof of the fraternity house in his underwear. He is then given the choice to await his turn alone or with the girls from the neighboring sorority. Which of the following is most likely?

A) Derek will choose to wait alone in order to achieve cognitive clarity.
B) Derek will choose to wait alone as waiting with the sorority members will likely increase his stress.
C) Derek will choose to wait with the sorority members in order to reduce his level of stress.
D) Derek will choose to wait with the sorority members because they will be able to offer him a different perspective.

Question 12

The evolutionary perspective on attraction suggests that people prefer mates who

A) provide a boost to their social reputation and status.
B) favor the conception and birth of their offspring.
C) make them laugh.
D) live close to them.

Question 13

Two groups of college students are on a boat together travelling from Greece to Italy. For the first six hours of the trip, the students did not associate with each other. When the ship hits a severe storm and the captain orders everyone to take precautions, the students begin to talk to each other and bond. This is most consistent with the proposal of

A) Waldman.
B) Zimbardo.
C) Rofé.
D) Howard.

Question 14

Shari is a 42-year-old woman who has wanted to find a husband for many years. She has had several successful dating relationships, but they never seem to "go the distance." In addition, Shari does not have a true "best friend" to rely on in times of personal distress. Shari is likely experiencing ____ loneliness.

A) companionate
B) consummate
C) relational
D) intimate

Question 15

Participants in a study by O'Connor and Rosenblood (1996) indicated about every hour whether they were alone or with others and whether they wanted to be alone or with others. The results of this study revealed that

A) most of the time, participants wanted to be with others, but were alone.
B) most of the time, participants wanted to be alone, but were with others.
C) regardless of whether they wanted to be alone or with others, most of the time, participants were not in their desired social state.
D) regardless of whether they wanted to be alone or with others, most of the time, participants were in their desired social state.

Question 16

Baumeister and Leary (1995) suggest that humans have a fundamental drive to have at least a minimum number of lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships with others. They refer to this as the

A) need to belong.
B) need for affiliation.
C) "sociostat."
D) need to love.

Question 17

Individuals who suffer from social anxiety disorder are likely to

A) have an unusually high need for affiliation.
B) experience feelings of discomfort in circumstances of public scrutiny.
C) be very concerned with the overall balance of their relationships.
D) be very popular with other people and yet not realize that they are popular.

Question 18

Which loneliness is felt when someone wants but lacks friendships from work, school, or family connections?

A) Compassionate loneliness
B) Consummate loneliness
C) Intimate loneliness
D) Relational loneliness

Question 19

Rofé (1984) argued that stress increases the desire to affiliate only when

A) being with others has the potential to reduce the negative impact of the situation.
B) the stress is embarrassing in nature.
C) people live in collectivist cultures.
D) others are not experiencing similar stress.

Question 20

Support for the idea of the "sociostat" (social thermostat) is provided by the finding that rats

A) tend to prefer to remain on their own once a period of isolation ends.
B) are less likely to approach other rats after a period of prolonged contact.
C) aggress against other rats when a shared resource is scarce.
D) always prefer the company of other rats to being alone.

Question 21

Juanita wants her date, a man she finds very sexually attractive, to perceive her as very sexually attractive. What color dress should she wear to her sorority formal to promote this perception?

A) White
B) Red
C) Black
D) Gold

Question 22

The idea that some faces are inherently more attractive than others is supported by research demonstrating that

A) people prefer averaged composite faces to individual faces.
B) standards of beauty change over time.
C) people from different cultures enhance their appearance in different ways.
D) people we like seem more attractive to us.

Question 23

Who first noted variability in people's taste by providing evidence that different cultures enhance beauty in very different ways?

A) Aristotle
B) Charles Darwin
C) Judith Anderson
D) Plato

Question 24

Which of the following outcomes has not demonstrated in research on physical attractiveness?

A) Attractive students were able to solicit more signatures on a petition than unattractive students.
B) Unattractive defendants received larger court fines than attractive defendants.
C) Teachers expect attractive children to be smarter and achieve more than unattractive children.
D) Attractive employees earn approximately the same salaries as unattractive employees.

Question 25

Lee and colleagues (2008) ran a study in which they examined people's ratings of photos on the website HOTorNOT.com. They found that participants' own level of attractiveness

A) were positive predictors of how attractive they rated the photos.
B) were negative predictors of how attractive they rated the photos.
C) did not predict their ratings of the photos.
D) predicted their ratings of male but not female photos.

Question 26

Aimee attends a large lecture section of Introductory Psychology every Tuesday and Thursday throughout her first semester at college. According to the mere exposure effect, Aimee should

A) come to intensely dislike psychology.
B) come to intensely like psychology.
C) more positively evaluate the face of the guy who sat in front of her in class all semester than the face of a stranger.
D) more positively evaluate the face of a stranger than the guy who sat in front of her in class all semester.

Question 27

Festinger and colleagues (1950) research on friendship patterns in married college student housing found that

A) students were more likely to become friends with people who lived nearby than those who lived farther away.
B) married college students were not as affected by proximity effects in forming friendships as were single college students.
C) mere exposure had a greater effect on platonic friendships versus romantic relationships.
D) students who went away to college were unlikely to maintain hometown friendships for more than a few weeks.

Question 28

Research on students' teaching ratings on the website www.ratemyprofessor.com indicate that

A) female professors who are rated as strong teachers tended to be seen as less physically attractive.
B) both male and female professors who were rated highly on teaching were also more likely to be described as "hot."
C) the nonphysical qualities of both male and female professors had nothing to do with their likeability among students.
D) for male teachers, perceptions of attraction and teaching skill were unrelated.

Question 29

An evolutionary explanation for the relationship between a face's symmetry and its perceived attractiveness is that

A) asymmetrical faces are less familiar and therefore more distinctive in memory.
B) facial symmetry is associated with biological health and fitness.
C) biological factors have very little to do with facial symmetry.
D) parents devote more resources to caring for offspring with symmetrical faces.

Question 30

In evidence to the subjective perspective of beauty, research by Anderson and others (1992) found that

A) specific facial features tend to be associated with physical attractiveness.
B) there is a high degree of cross-cultural consistency in ratings of attractiveness.
C) heavy women are judged attractive in places where food is frequently in short supply.
D) averaged faces are judged more attractive than individual faces.

Question 31

Research on the affairs of our economic and social world has showed that _____ is a force to be reckoned with from childhood through adulthood.

A) physical strength
B) physical beauty
C) intelligence
D) kindness

Question 32

According to your textbook, the single best predictor of whether two people will get together used to be

A) complementariness.
B) matching levels of physical attractiveness.
C) physical proximity.
D) similarity.

Question 33

Someone who argues that attraction is simply a function of wanting to have healthy offspring probably endorses

A) the belief that situational variables influence attraction.
B) social exchange theory.
C) the matching hypothesis of attraction.
D) the approach of evolutionary psychology.

Question 34

What is not a reason for why we seem to be attracted to averaged faces?

A) They are prototypically face-like.
B) They are symmetrical.
C) They look unusual.
D) They seem more familiar to us.

Question 35

The finding that infants spend more time looking at attractive, as compared to unattractive, faces supports the hypothesis that

A) beauty is objective.
B) beauty is subjective.
C) familiarity increases physical attractiveness.
D) physical attractiveness increases familiarity.

Question 36

According to research by Moreland and Beach (1992), who will you be most attracted to?

A) A mysterious stranger who comes to your social psychology class one time
B) A person who you have never seen before, but who physically resembles you
C) A person who came to your social psychology class five times throughout the semester
D) A person who came to your social psychology class 15 times throughout the semester

Question 37

According to Reis and colleagues (2011), familiarity breeds

A) attraction.
B) contempt.
C) dislike.
D) suspicion.

Question 38

Which of the following statements is consistent with the mere exposure effect?

A) The more that dating partners talk to each other, the more they realize how different they are.
B) Someone you see regularly just grows on you after a while.
C) A couple falls in love at first sight.
D) The old saying, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Question 39

Among heterosexual couples questioned in 2017, what percent of them met online?

A) 12%
B) 39%
C) 65%
D) 42%

Question 40

Proximity refers to

A) physical nearness.
B) physical similarity.
C) attitudinal similarity.
D) physical attractiveness.

Question 41

Newcomb's (1961) classic study on attraction in which he set up an experimental college dormitory revealed that

A) students' friendships with members of the opposite sex tended to turn into romantic relationships.
B) students who had similar backgrounds tended to like each other.
C) students who held dissimilar attitudes were more likely to form romantic relationships.
D) friendships were more likely than romantic relationships to be based on proximity.

Question 42

When people prefer those who are selective in their social choices over the ones who are readily available, it is due to the

A) hard-to-get effect.
B) reciprocity effect.
C) what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype.
D) equity theory.

Question 43

Rosenbaum (1986) argues that social psychologists overestimate the role of attitudinal similarity in attraction, and suggests that it is not that similarity creates attraction but that

A) dissimilarity produces interpersonal repulsion.
B) opposites attract.
C) similarity in physical appearance is the only form of similarity that affects attraction.
D) the evidence for the role of complementarily processes is much stronger.

Question 44

Which of the following statements regarding physically attractive people is false ?

A) Attractive people tend to have more sexual experience than unattractive people.
B) Attractive people tend to be more popular than unattractive people.
C) Attractive people tend to have higher self-esteem than unattractive people.
D) Attractive people, who get praised for their work, often have doubts about the true quality of their work.

Question 45

Traci is used to people telling her how attractive she is. Research suggests that if she receives positive feedback on a paper she writes for class, she will be most likely to believe that the feedback is genuine and feel good about it if

A) the person who graded the paper has never seen her before.
B) she has considered herself to be fairly unattractive when she was much younger.
C) it is given to her in person.
D) her friends do not get good grades on the same assignment.

Question 46

Pinel and colleagues (2006) refer to "I-sharing" as an important form of similarity whereby individuals share

A) a subjective experience.
B) a level of physical attractiveness.
C) political ideologies.
D) technological expertise.

Question 47

In relationships, the mutual exchange between what we give and what we receive is called

A) reciprocity.
B) dissimilar avoidance.
C) symmetry.
D) excitation transfer.

Question 48

Which of the following is not one of the four types of similarity most relevant to predicting interpersonal attraction?

A) Similarity in subjective experience
B) Similarity in attitudes
C) Demographic similarity
D) Similarity in eye and hair color

Question 49

Popular wisdom is often contradictory, as with the following two sayings: (1) "opposites attract" and (2) "birds of a feather flock together." Research on the relationship between similarity and liking suggests that

A) statement #1 is more accurate; people tend to be more attracted to those who are dissimilar from themselves.
B) statement #2 is more accurate; people tend to be more attracted to those who are similar to themselves.
C) both are right for different people; heterosexual men tend to be attracted to similar others whereas gay men tend to be attracted to dissimilar others.
D) both are right in different conditions; people are attracted to similar others when they are interested in long-term relationships, but they prefer dissimilar others for less serious relationships without commitment.

Question 50

Which of the following statements describes an example of the what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype?

A) Athletes who have greater physical skills tend to earn higher salaries when they make it to the professional level of their sport.
B) Physicians have been found to spend less time with patients who they feel are not serious about taking care of their own physical health.
C) Students who take classes from professors who they report to be physically unattractive often assume that the course will be a worthy educational experience.
D) In animated movies for children, the hero is usually very attractive while the villain is often very ugly.

Question 51

Using MRI, Tsukiura and Capeza (2011) found biological evidence for the

A) mere exposure effect.
B) what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype.
C) social exchange theory.
D) matching hypothesis.

Question 52

The belief that physically attractive individuals also possess desirable personality characteristics is called the

A) matching phenomenon.
B) what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype.
C) aesthetic appeal of beauty.
D) reinforcement-affect principle.

Question 53

Ronnie believes that people desire and form relationships with others who are similar in terms of physical attractiveness. In terms of similarity and attractiveness, he subscribes to the

A) equity theory.
B) matching hypothesis.
C) social penetration theory.
D) social exchange theory.

Question 54

Brandon likes Brianna, but Brandon doesn't like Autumn. The relationship among these three individuals would be balanced if

A) Brianna likes Autumn.
B) Brianna doesn't like Autumn.
C) Autumn likes Brandon.
D) Autumn likes Brianna.

Question 55

Walster et al. (1966) randomly matched students for a dance. At the end of the evening, students indicated how satisfied they were with their dates. The strongest predictor of satisfaction was

A) physical attractiveness.
B) attitudinal similarity.
C) proximity of dorm rooms.
D) complementary personalities.

Question 56

Which of the following best reflects the benefits and cost of being attractive?

A) While attractiveness often brings a social advantage to attractive individuals, it can cause them to doubt the sincerity of others' praise for their work.
B) While attractiveness often brings heightened self-esteem to attractive individuals, it can lead them to doubt others' praise of their attractiveness.
C) While attractiveness often brings greater popularity to attractive individuals, it can increase mental health difficulties.
D) While attractiveness often brings lifetime happiness to attractive individuals, it can put pressure on them to maintain their appearance.

Question 57

Snyder and colleagues (1977) ran a study in which mixed-gender pairs had a phone conversation. Male participants were given either an attractive or unattractive photo of their conversation partner. Which of the following statements about the study findings is false ?

A) Men were friendlier toward the partners who they believed to be attractive.
B) The outcome of the conversation was more influenced by the women's actual level of attractiveness than by how attractive the men believed the women to be.
C) Men formed more positive impressions of the personality of women who they believed to be attractive.
D) Women talking with men who believed they were attractive were actually warmer and more confident during the conversation.

Question 58

According to the two-stage model of attraction proposed by Byrne et al. (1986), people

A) seek partners who are similar with respect to physical attractiveness, but dissimilar with respect to attitudes.
B) seek partners who are similar with respect to attitudes, but dissimilar with respect to personality.
C) first approach similar others and then weed out those who are least similar.
D) first avoid dissimilar others and then approach those remaining who are most similar.

Question 59

Which of the following statements does not support the hard-to-get effect?

A) We are turned off by those who reject us because they are committed to someone else.
B) We prefer individuals who are moderately selective over those who are nonselective.
C) We like dates who selectively desire us more than they desire others.
D) We like the idea of past romantic interests knowing that we are with another attractive person.

Question 60

Which of the following statements is true of attitude similarity and attraction?

A) These occur only with people who have high levels of intelligence.
B) These have slower time course because people have to get to know each other first.
C) These happen faster if people had similar educational backgrounds.
D) These rarely happen in adult relationships.

Question 61

Lindsay is a freshman at college and has her first serious boyfriend there. Her parents can't stand him. According to the theory of psychological reactance, what should her parents do to discourage the relationship?

A) Explain to Lindsay in calm, rational terms why this man is a poor fit for her.
B) Subtly put him down in conversations to Lindsay to avoid direct confrontation.
C) Never invite him to their home for a visit.
D) Say very little about him one way or the other to Lindsay.

Question 62

According to social exchange theory, an individual's primary motive in establishing and maintaining relationships is

A) maximizing profits and minimizing costs.
B) achieving an equitable balance of inputs and outputs.
C) maintaining reciprocal levels of self-disclosure.
D) the reproductive fitness of a potential partner.

Question 63

The average, general outcome that an individual expects in a relationship is called the ____ level.

A) intimacy
B) investment
C) comparison
D) self-disclosure

Question 64

Which of the following statements is true of jealousy in the context of evolutionary theory?

A) Men and women are aroused by the same triggering events.
B) A man is most upset by emotional infidelity.
C) A man is most upset by sexual infidelity.
D) A woman is most upset by sexual infidelity.

Question 65

Although she cheats on him, Abdul stays with his girlfriend because he doesn't think he would be able to find anyone better. Abdul has a(n)

A) low comparison level for alternatives.
B) high comparison level for alternatives.
C) secure attachment style.
D) avoidant attachment style.

Question 66

Zachary is unhappy in his relationship and is trying to decide whether to break up with his girlfriend. Which of the following factors might encourage him to stay?

A) If his comparison level for alternatives is high
B) If his comparison level is high
C) If his investment is high
D) If his costs for staying are high

Question 67

Joshua is attracted to Daniel because of his warm eyes and great smile. Daniel is attracted to Joshua because of his muscular body. Joshua and Daniel are in Murstein's ____ stage.

A) stimulus
B) value
C) role
D) norm

Question 68

A "trust-insurance system" in a relationship is when

A) both partners lack trust toward the other on an unconscious level.
B) one partner is overbenefited compared to the level of investment he/she makes in the relationship.
C) both partners keep an unconscious tally of the relationship's costs and benefits.
D) one partner has a low comparison level for alternatives.

Question 69

Consider Buss's (1989) study in which he examined what people from 37 different cultures around the world prefer in a romantic partner. Which of the following statements about the results of this study is accurate ?

A) In most countries, men rated physical attractiveness to be more important than women did, while women rated good financial prospects as more important than men did.
B) Before the age of 30, men tended to report having more sexual partners than did women, but that difference disappeared among older participants.
C) Women rated kindness, dependability, and sense of humor as more important than men did.
D) The type of culture-individualist or collectivist-in which people lived impacted their ratings of what made a potential partner attractive.

Question 70

Equity theory predicts that people are most satisfied in their relationships when the

A) perceived rewards of the relationship are equal to the perceived costs of the relationship.
B) perceived rewards of the relationship outweigh the perceived costs of the relationship.
C) rewards and costs one partner experiences are roughly equal to those of the other partner.
D) actual rewards and costs of the relationship exceed the expected rewards and costs of the relationship.

Question 71

When a man spends money on expensive cars, fancy restaurant dinners, and stylish clothes, it may be an evolved sexually selected mating signal known as

A) conspicuous consumption.
B) excitation transfer.
C) complementarity hypothesis.
D) reciprocity.

Question 72

According to Murstein, physical appearance sparkles attraction during the _____ stage.

A) stimulus
B) value
C) role
D) norm

Question 73

According to social exchange theory, an outcome from a relationship will produce satisfaction if it falls above a person's

A) self-disclosure level.
B) level of similarity to the partner.
C) intimacy level.
D) comparison level.

Question 74

Bruce and Pam have just started dating. According to social exchange theory, their relationship is likely to last longer and be more satisfying if they each feel that

A) the rewards gained from the relationship are shared equally between them.
B) the costs of maintaining the relationship are shared equally between them.
C) the rewards gained from the relationship are equal to the costs of maintaining the relationship.
D) the rewards gained from the relationship are greater than the costs of maintaining the relationship.

Question 75

Who is more likely to value physical attractiveness in a potential male partner?

A) A woman who is in poverty
B) A woman who makes a moderate income
C) A woman who is fantastically wealthy
D) A women who is highly educated

Question 76

An argument against the evolutionary approach to mate selection from Buss's original cross-cultural study was that

A) men and women actually are quite similar in the characteristics they desire in a mate.
B) the study only examined Western cultures.
C) the study only examined Eastern cultures.
D) men's concern over sexual infidelity actually reflects fear of an emotional loss of intimacy.

Question 77

Roshumba is conducting a study of married couples. She interviews a number of couples about how their relationships developed. It is likely that she will find that

A) all relationships developed through a fixed sequence of stages.
B) there is considerable variability in how the couples' relationships developed.
C) the couples generally went through the value stage before the role stage.
D) relationship rewards were unrelated to couples' feelings of being in love.

Question 78

Drake and Angela have just gotten married and now that they are back from their honeymoon they are working together to figure out the responsibilities each will have as either "husband" or "wife." They are in Murstein's ____ stage.

A) stimulus
B) value
C) role
D) norm

Question 79

The evolutionary perspective holds that women prefer

A) older men who are more likely to have financial resources.
B) physically attractive men because of the social benefits that come from being associated with such men.
C) men who have unusual faces.
D) men who play hard to get because such men bring about psychological reactance.

Question 80

According to research by Ackerman and others (2011), the person most likely to say "I love you" first in a heterosexual relationship is

A) the man.
B) the woman.
C) unpredictable; about half the time, it is the man and the other half the woman.
D) the older person.