Student ID number: 816021689

Course Code/Title: PSYC1004 - Introduction to Social Psychology

Chosen lecture topics: Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships, Aggression, Prosocial

Behavior

Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships

Factors affecting interpersonal attraction

Similarity: One important factor in attraction is a perceived similarity in values and beliefs

between the partners (Davis & Rusbult, 2001). The similarity is important for relationships

because it is more convenient if both partners like the same activities and because similarity

supports one’s values. We can feel better about ourselves and our choice of activities if we see

that our partner also enjoys doing the same things that we do. Having others like and believe in

the same things we do makes us feel validated in our beliefs. This is referred to as consensual

validation and is an important aspect of why we are attracted to others.

Self-Disclosure: Liking is also enhanced by self-disclosure, the tendency to communicate

frequently, without fear of reprisal, and in an accepting and empathetic manner. Friends are

friends because we can talk to them openly about our needs and goals and because they listen

and respond to our needs (Reis & Aron, 2008). However, self-disclosure must be balanced. If we

open up about the concerns that are important to us, we expect our partner to do the same in

return. If the self-disclosure is not reciprocal, the relationship may not last.
Proximity: Another important determinant of liking is proximity or the extent to which people

are physically near us. Research has found that we are more likely to develop friendships with

people who are nearby, for instance, those who live in the same dorm that we do, and even

with people who just happen to sit nearer to us in our classes (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2008).

Theories of interpersonal attraction and close relationships

Interpersonal Attraction is a favorable attitude toward, or a fondness for, another person. Both

personal characteristics and environment play a role in interpersonal attraction. A major

determinant of attraction is propinquity or physical proximity. People who come into contact

regularly and have no prior negative feelings about each other generally become attracted to

each other as their degree of mutual familiarity and comfort level increases. The situation in

which people first meet also determines how they will feel about each other. One is more likely

to feel friendly toward a person first encountered in pleasant, comfortable circumstances.

People are generally drawn to each other when they perceive similarities with each other. The

more attitudes and opinions two people share, the greater the probability that they will like

each other. It has also been shown that disagreement on important issues decreases attraction.

One of the most important shared attitudes is that liking and disliking the same people creates

an especially strong bond between two individuals. The connection between interpersonal

attraction and similar attitudes is complex because once two people become friends, they begin

to influence each other's attitudes.

Personality type is another determinant of interpersonal attraction. In areas involving control,

such as dominance, competition, and self-confidence, people tend to pair up with their

opposites. Thus, for example, the complementary pairing of a dominant person with a

submissive one. People gravitate to others who are like themselves in terms of characteristics

related to affiliation, including sociability, friendliness, and warmth. Another important factor in

interpersonal attraction, especially during the initial encounter, is that of physical appearance,

even among members of the same sex. Each culture has fairly standard ideas about physical

appearance that serve as powerful determinants in how we perceive the character. Kindness,

sensitivity, intelligence, modesty, and sociability are among those characteristics that are often

attributed to physically attractive individuals in research studies. In one study, attractive job

applicants (both male and female) were given markedly preferential treatment by prospective

employers compared with less attractive and equally qualified candidates. There is also

evidence that physical appearance has a greater role in the attraction of males to females than

vice versa. Behavior, as well as appearance, influences interpersonal attraction. No matter what

the circumstances are, the behavior is often seen as reflecting a person's general traits (such as

kindness or aggression) rather than as a response to a specific situation.

The type of interpersonal attraction that has particular interest to most people is an attraction

to the opposite sex. Some experts claim that when people select potential mates, they look for

someone whose status, physical attractiveness, and personal qualities are roughly equivalent to

their own. According to another theory, a person will choose a partner who will enhance his or

her self-image or persona. Researchers generally acknowledge a specific set of courting or

flirting behaviors, employed by both sexes to attract each other. Initially, both men and women
use varied repertoires of body language to signal interest and/or availability. Men may stretch,

exaggerate ordinary motions (such as stirring a drink), or engage in preening motions, such as

smoothing the hair or adjusting neckties, and younger men often affect a swagger. Women

draw attention to themselves by tossing or playing with their hair, tilting their heads, raising

their eyebrows, giggling, or blushing. The first connection is generally made through eye

contact, often an intent gaze which is then lowered or averted. If eye contact is positively

received, a smile often follows and a conversation is initiated.

Types of close relationships and how they are affected by attachment

Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and

pleasure. The roots of research on attachment began with Freud's theories about love, but

another researcher is usually credited as the father of attachment theory.

John Bowlby devoted extensive research to the concept of attachment, describing it as a

"lasting psychological connectedness between human beings."

Bowlby shared the psychoanalytic view that early experiences in childhood are important for

influencing development and behavior later in life. Our early attachment styles are established

in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship.

In addition to this, Bowlby believed that attachment had an evolutionary component; it aids in

survival. "The propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals [is] a basic

component of human nature," he explained.

Bowlby believed that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment:

Proximity Maintenance - The desire to be near the people we are attached to.

Safe Haven - Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or

threat.

Secure Base - The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can

explore the surrounding environment.

Separation Distress - Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure.

Bowlby also made three key propositions about attachment theory.

First, he suggested that when children are raised with confidence that their primary caregiver

will be available to them, they are less likely to experience fear than those who are raised

without such conviction.

Secondly, he believed that this confidence is forged during a critical period of development,

during the years of infancy, childhood, and adolescence. The expectations that are formed

during that period tend to remain relatively unchanged for the rest of the person's life.1

Finally, he suggested that these expectations that are formed are directly tied to experience. In

other words, children develop expectations that their caregivers will be responsive to their

needs because, in their experience, their caregivers have been responsive in the past.
Aggression

Theories/ hypotheses of aggression

The instinct theory of aggression was advanced by Sigmund Freud (1927). In his earlier writings,

Freud was of the view that all human behavior originates either directly or indirectly from

‘EROS’, the life instinct, which helps in the reproduction of life, aggression was considered

simply as a reaction to the blocking of libidinal impulses. Thus, it was neither an automatic nor

an inevitable part of life. The instinct theory of aggression originates from the instinct of death

or destruction. Physiologically the death instinct represents the force that tends to destroy the

organic life and to lead organic matter back to the inorganic state.

Psychologically the death instinct gives rise to hostile and aggressive behavior, to aggressive

sexual activity or self and race destruction. Thus, love and hatred, pleasure and pain, life and

death instincts go side by side. The death instinct otherwise known as the instinct of aggression

is also expressed in destructive and aggressive intellectual activities such as criticism, satire, and

taunts.

According to the instinct theory of aggression, aggression is a global instinctive, steam boiler

like force which Freud and his associates argue is urgently required and inevitable for self-

preservation as well as reproduction. McDougall has also denoted the phenomenon of

aggression in the instinct of combat based on the instinct theory of aggression first postulated

by Freud, Miller, Dollard, and others.

According to Freud when we analyze the desire for love we also find some desire for

aggression. Thus, the best-loved friend becomes the bitterest enemy when both fall out. In our

hence attitude towards every stimulus, there is a desire for love as well as aggression.

The instinct theory of aggression holds that aggression is inherited and biological and is

expressed overtly and covertly i.e., outwardly and internally. Subsequently, Freud had decided

there is no use in trying to get rid of man’s aggressive inclinations.

His positive social proposals were to break up human societies into small communities through

which the aggressive instinct can find an outlet in enmity towards those outside the group in a

convenient and relatively harmless form.

Situational factors that affect aggression e.g. provocation, factors within the individual, the

media and aggression, the effect of alcohol, drugs, and weapons

Forms of Aggression

Aggression can take a variety of forms, including:

 Physical

 Verbal

 Mental

 Emotional
While we often think of aggression as purely in physical forms such as hitting or pushing,

psychological aggression can also be very damaging. Intimidating or verbally berating another

person, for example, are examples of verbal, mental, and emotional aggression.

Purposes of Aggression

Aggression can serve several different purposes, including:

 To express anger or hostility

 To assert dominance

 To intimidate or threaten

 To achieve a goal

 To express possession

 A response to fear

 A reaction to pain

 To compete with others

Types of Aggression

Psychologists distinguish between two different types of aggression:

 Impulsive Aggression: Also known as affective aggression, impulsive aggression is

characterized by strong emotions, usually anger. This form of aggression is not planned

and often takes place in the heat of the moment. When another car cuts you off in
 traffic and you begin yelling and berating the other driver, you're experiencing impulsive

aggression. Research suggests that impulsive aggression, especially when it's caused by

anger, triggers the acute threat response system in the brain, involving the amygdala,

hypothalamus, and periaqueductal gray (PAG).

 Instrumental Aggression: Also known as predatory aggression, instrumental aggression

is marked by behaviors that are intended to achieve a larger goal. Instrumental

aggression is often carefully planned and usually exists as a means to an end. Hurting

another person in a robbery or car-jacking is an example of this type of aggression. The

aggressor's goal is to obtain money or a vehicle, and harming another individual is the

means to achieve that aim.

Factors That Can Influence Aggression

Several different factors can influence the expression of aggression, including:

 Biological Factors: Men are more likely than women to engage in physical aggression.

While researchers have found that women are less likely to engage in physical

aggression, they also suggest that women do use non-physical forms, such as verbal

aggression, relational aggression, and social rejection.

 Environmental Factors: How you were raised may play a role. People who grow up

witnessing more forms of aggression are more likely to believe that such violence and

hostility are socially acceptable. Bandura's famous Bobo doll experiment demonstrated

that observation can also play a role in how aggression is learned. Children who
 watched a video clip where an adult model behaved aggressively toward a Bobo doll

were more likely to imitate those actions when given the opportunity.

 Physical Factors: Epilepsy, dementia, psychosis, alcohol abuse, drug use, and brain

injuries or abnormalities can also influence aggression.

How aggression can be prevented and controlled

Don't assume or make judgments

Don't make any assumptions about young people based on what you may have heard from

others. Your assumptions could spoil new relationships before they begin. Similarly, be ready to

revise earlier judgments you may have made. If you act on assumptions, you may discourage

more positive behaviors, or not even notice when a young person's behavior has begun to

change for the better.

Avoid power struggles

All young people can be oppositional (verbally contrary or defiant) from time to time. They may

argue, talk back and refuse to do what they are told. Children or youth who have been

diagnosed with the oppositional defiant disorder show these behaviors more often than the

average.

Become aware of triggers

Become aware of the situations or stresses that trigger a young person to act up and behave

aggressively. Some of these triggers might be revealed during initial conversations; others
might only surface after you've known the child or youth for a while. Here are some common

situations that may trigger aggressive behaviors in young people: 

 a conflict with a peer

 a change in routine

 facing a task or expectation that is too challenging

 a bad mood, possibly caused by tiredness or hunger

 too many distractions in the environment

 being approached by an adult or authority figure in an unfavorable way, such as being

shamed, ridiculed, embarrassed or put down.

Prosocial Behavior

Theories/ hypotheses of prosocial behavior

Prosocial behaviors are those intended to help other people. Prosocial behavior is characterized

by a concern for the rights, feelings, and welfare of other people. Behaviors that can be

described as prosocial include feeling empathy and concern for others and behaving in ways to

help or benefit other people.

Evolutionary psychologists often explain prosocial behaviors in terms of the principles of natural

selection. Putting your safety in danger makes it less likely that you will survive to pass on your
genes. However, the idea of kin selection suggests that helping members of your own genetic

family makes it more likely that your kin will survive and pass on genes to future generations.

The norm of reciprocity suggests that when people do something helpful for someone else, that

person feels compelled to help out in return. Essentially, helping others means that they might

help us in return. This norm developed, evolutionary psychologists suggest because people who

understood that helping others might lead to reciprocal kindness were more likely to survive

and reproduce.

Prosocial behaviors are often seen as being compelled by many factors including egoistic

reasons (doing things to improve one's self-image), reciprocal benefits (doing something nice

for someone so that they may one day return the favor), and more altruistic reasons

(performing actions purely out of empathy for another individual).

The role of mood

Mood and prosocial behavior are closely linked. People often experience the "feel good-do

good" phenomena, where being in a good mood increases helping behaviors. Being in a good

mood helps us to see the "good" in other people, and prolongs our good mood. For example,

mood and work behaviors have frequently been examined in research; studies show that

positive mood at work is associated with more positive work-related behaviors (e.g., helping co-

workers). Similarly, prosocial behaviors increase positive mood. Several studies have shown the

benefits of volunteering and other prosocial behaviors on self-esteem, life satisfaction, and

overall mental health. Additionally, a negative mood can also impact prosocial behavior.
Research has shown that guilt often leads to prosocial behaviors, whereas other negative mood

states, such as fear, do not lead to the same prosocial behaviors.

A recent study examined whether an intervention increasing prosocial behavior (kind acts) in

young adults with social anxiety would both increase positive affect and decrease social anxiety

in participants. Participants randomly assigned to a 4-week Kind Acts intervention, where

individuals were instructed to engage in three kind acts each day twice a week over the 4

weeks, showed both higher self-reported positive mood and increased satisfaction with

relationships at the end of the intervention. This intervention demonstrates ways in which

prosocial behavior may be beneficial in improving mood and mental health.

Other research suggests that cultivating positive emotions, such as gratitude, may also facilitate

prosocial behavior. A study by Bartlett & DeSteno examined the ability of gratitude to shape

costly prosocial behavior, demonstrating that gratitude increases efforts to assist a benefactor

even when such efforts are costly (i.e., hedonically negative) and that this increase is

qualitatively different from efforts given from just general positive affective state. They also

show that gratitude can increase assistance provided to strangers, not just close social ties.

How helping behavior can be increased

The nature of the help needed plays a crucial role in determining what happens next.

Specifically, potential helpers engage in a cost-benefit analysis before getting involved. If the

needed help is of relatively low cost in terms of time, money, resources, or risk, then help is

more likely to be given. Lending a classmate, a pencil is easy; confronting someone who is

bullying your friend is an entirely different matter.

The potential rewards of helping someone will also enter into the equation, perhaps offsetting

the cost of helping. Thanks to the recipient of help may be a sufficient reward. If helpful acts are

recognized by others, helpers may receive social rewards of praise or monetary rewards. Even

avoiding feelings of guilt if one does not help may be considered a benefit. Potential helpers

consider how much helping will cost and compare those costs to the rewards that might be

realized; it is the economics of helping. If costs outweigh the rewards, helping is less likely. If

rewards are greater than cost, helping is more likely.

Bibliography

Branscombe, N., R., & Baron, R., A. (2016). Social Psychology. Pearson.