Chapter 03 - Attraction

Chapter 03
Attraction

Multiple Choice Questions

1. (p. 68) Donna's husband often brings her flowers, leaves her little love notes, and buys her
expensive jewelry. These are all examples of _____ in her relationship with her husband.
A. reciprocity
B. indirect benefits
C. complementarity
D. direct benefits

2. (p. 68-69) Analisa has three brothers. Her best friend, Jordan, also has three brothers and they
bonded over this fact when they met for the first time. This is an example of _____.
A. an indirect benefit
B. a direct benefit
C. complementarity
D. reciprocity

3. (p. 70) In Festinger, Schacter, and Back's (1950) study of students living in campus housing at
MIT, they found that those most likely to be friends were living:
A. one door away from each other.
B. one floor away from each other.
C. one building away from each other.
D. in no predictable location.

4. (p. 71) Repeated contact with someone usually increases our liking for him or her. This
concept is known as _____.
A. reciprocity
B. the mere exposure effect
C. complementarity
D. reactance

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

5. (p. 71) "Familiarity breeds contempt" is challenged by which concept?

A. Mere exposure
B. Direct rewards
C. Beauty bias
D. Justification of effort

6. (p. 73) What does research suggest about the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder"?
A. True: Long-distance relationships are more costly but more rewarding.
B. False: Long-distance relationships are more costly and less rewarding.
C. True: Long-distance relationships are less costly and more rewarding.
D. False: Long-distance relationships are less costly and less rewarding.

7. (p. 73) Which of the following is true of American marriages?

A. Nearly half result from the spouses meeting on a dating website.
B. One third result from the spouses meeting online.
C. Those resulting from an online relationship are less satisfying that those that begin offline.
D. Those that result from online relationships are twice as likely to break up.

8. (p. 75-76) If you are physically attracted to someone, you are likely to attribute to him/her all
of the following qualities EXCEPT which one?
A. Sociability
B. Intelligence
C. Success
D. Chastity

9. (p. 76) The "what is beautiful is good" bias is:

A. true across cultures, and the characteristics that are associated with being beautiful are the
same across cultures.
B. true across cultures, although what characteristics are associated with being beautiful may
be slightly different.
C. only true in western cultures, like the United States.
D. only true in cultures where "love" marriages occur: it disappears in cultures where
arranged marriages are the norm.

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

10. (p. 76-77) Which statement is valid regarding cross-cultural attitudes toward beauty?
A. People all over the world show agreement on facial characteristics they consider attractive.
B. Infants agree with adults on who is attractive.
C. People who are considered attractive are likely to be more popular.
D. All of these.

11. (p. 77) Which of the following is TRUE about our conceptions of beauty?
A. Young children have no conception of beauty: they respond to "beautiful" and
"unattractive" faces similarly.
B. There is no consensus of beauty across ethnic groups; Asians, Hispanics, and African
Americans disagree about what is beautiful.
C. In women, feminine and youthful features are commonly viewed as beautiful, across
cultures and ethnic groups.
D. Computer "averages" of a number of faces are more unattractive than any single face that
makes up the composite.

12. (p. 77) In women the most physically attractive waist-to-hip ratio is:
A. 0.9
B. 0.6
C. 0.7
D. 0.8

13. (p. 77) What is physically attractive in men (as judged by women):
A. depends partly on the woman's menstrual cycle.
B. is similar to what is physically attractive in women, namely large eyes, small nose, small
chin, full lips.
C. is more dependent on culture than what is attractive in women.
D. matters little to women in their choices (women don't care much about physical
attractiveness.)

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

14. (p. 80-81) Shari is going to a club with her friends and hopes to meet a man there. According
to research, she should wear a(n) _____ outfit to increase her chances.
A. yellow
B. green
C. orange
D. red

15. (p. 84) Research on the connection between attractiveness and health has found:
A. fertility and physical health are associated with a number of markers for attractiveness.
B. fertility and physical health have almost nothing to do with attractiveness.
C. fertility and physical health are related for women but not for men.
D. fertility and physical health are related for men but not for women.

16. (p. 84) Research shows that _____ and _____ work together to shape our collective
judgments about who is pretty.
A. human nature/environmental conditions
B. human nature/biology
C. emotional love/environmental conditions
D. human nature/pop culture

17. (p. 84) Economic prosperity influences judgments of beauty as related to:
A. facial structure.
B. health.
C. weight.
D. height.

18. (p. 86) In terms of gender and physical attractiveness it seems that:
A. attractiveness is very important to both men and women early in relationships, although it
may be somewhat more important to men.
B. attractiveness is very important to both men and women early in relationships; there are no
differences.
C. attractiveness is only somewhat important to men and women early in relationships;
characteristics like shared interests and compatible personalities are more important.
D. attractiveness is very important to men and relatively unimportant to women.

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

19. (p. 87) Which of the following is NOT true about attractive people?
A. They have less trust of other people than less attractive people.
B. They tend to get more dates than less attractive people.
C. They tend to be less socially skilled than less attractive people.
D. They are less lonely than unattractive people.

20. (p. 87) Peter is very attractive. He is more likely to believe a complimentary work evaluation
from:
A. an off-site colleague he's never seen before.
B. a male colleague.
C. a subordinate.
D. an equally attractive female colleague.

21. (p. 87) Three waitresses work at a local diner. Who is most likely to get the greatest tips
from customers?
A. Wendy, who is very attractive.
B. Molly, who is moderately attractive.
C. Catalina, who is not attractive.
D. Given the same service, they will all receive equal tips.

22. (p. 88) Most people partner with people:

A. as attractive as they are.
B. more attractive than they are.
C. less attractive than they are.
D. in no particular pattern with respect to attractiveness.

23. (p. 88) Research suggests that physically attractive people are _____ complimentary,
flattering evaluations.
A. more likely to believe
B. less likely to believe
C. more likely to give
D. less likely to give

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

24. (p. 88) The physical attractiveness matching process in relationships:

A. is less obvious in long-term, committed relationships.
B. seems to operate as a screening mechanism whereby people end up with others who will
have them in return.
C. is less pronounced when one person in the couple has average looks.
D. All are correct.

25. (p. 88) Joe is a moderately attractive man. He is dating three women. Penelope is a very
attractive woman, Susanna is moderately attractive, and Wanda is relatively unattractive. All
else being equal, who is he most likely to end up with?
A. Penelope. Attractive women tend to end up with men less attractive than they are.
B. Susanna. People tend to end up with those who match them in attractiveness.
C. Wanda. Men of moderate attractiveness tend to end up with women less attractive than
they are.
D. We don't know. There is no strong connection between the attractiveness of one partner
and the attractiveness of the other partner.

26. (p. 88) _____ is the pattern of people of similar levels of attractiveness establishing romantic
relationships.
A. Love
B. Proximity
C. Reciprocity
D. Matching

27. (p. 88) Liking those who like us is known as:

A. tit-for-tat.
B. reciprocity.
C. propinquity.
D. similarity.

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

28. (p. 88) Shanteau and Nagy proposed that desirability is the product of:
A. His/Her Physical Attractiveness + His/Her Probability of Accepting You.
B. His/Her Physical Attractiveness ´ His/Her Probability of Accepting You.
C. Your Physiological Arousal ´ His/Her Physical Attractiveness.
D. His/Her Probability of Accepting You + Your Physiological Arousal.

29. (p. 89) There is an attractive woman in Liam's sociology class whom he would like to ask
out on a date. He is more likely to do so if:
A. he has a secure attachment style.
B. he perceives that she is more financially well-off than him.
C. he thinks she'll say yes.
D. she plays hard to get.

30. (p. 90) In speed dating the most desirable people are usually:
A. the most outgoing.
B. the least discriminating.
C. already taken.
D. the choosiest and most discriminating.

31. (p. 90) Cute opening lines work _____ on men and _____ on women.
A. well; poorly
B. well; equally well
C. poorly; well
D. poorly; equally poorly

32. (p. 91) Which of the following approaches best explains the tendency for people to like the
friend of a friend and the enemy of an enemy?
A. Balance theory
B. Reactance theory
C. Social exchange theory
D. Sociobiology

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

33. (p. 91) Which of the following is true about playing "hard to get"?
A. Individuals who appear aloof and largely uninterested are most likely to get dates.
B. Individuals who are selectively hard to get—an easy catch for a desired partner but
difficult for everyone else to catch—are most attractive to their desired partner.
C. Playing hard to get is always a bad strategy: those who are hard to get have few dates.
D. Some individuals find those who are hard to get interesting, others don't. The success of
the strategy depends on the personality of the other person.

34. (p. 92) What kind of similarity is important to liking?

A. Attitude similarity
B. Demographic similarity
C. Personality similarity
D. All of these.

35. (p. 92) Alex is a strong Republican from South Dakota with a bachelor's degree in business.
He enjoys fishing and snowmobiling. He's generally a happy person with some tendencies
toward an avoidant attachment style. Which of the following women is he likely to form a
relationship with?
A. Sally from North Dakota. She is a Republican who majored in economics in college. She
enjoys snowmobiling and has an attachment style best described as avoidant.
B. June from Alabama. She is a Republican that majored in art history. She's never been on a
snowmobile in her life (and doesn't want to be). She tends to be a bit of a pessimist and would
best be described as anxiously attached.
C. Lucy from California. She is a Democrat. She did not complete college, hates fishing, and
tends to be a bit of a grumpy person.
D. None of these women are likely to appeal to Alex.

36. (p. 93) Which curve best describes the relationship between attitude similarity and
attraction?
A. A flat line suggesting no real relationship between the two
B. A straight upward-sloping line suggesting that as similarity increases, attraction increases
C. A curve that initially goes up, showing that up to a point similarity enhances liking, but
then becomes flat
D. A curve that goes up but then turns down a bit showing that at very high levels of
similarity, liking decreases

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

37. (p. 95) In the discussion of close relationships, the concept of "fatal attraction" has been used
to refer to:
A. some people's chronic tendency to pick the wrong partners.
B. attraction to partners who are abusive and physically violent.
C. attraction that becomes enmeshing and gets partners too involved with each other.
D. qualities that are initially a source of attraction but become obnoxious and irritating.

38. (p. 95) Compared with evolutionary psychology, a unique aspect of the stimulus-value-role
(SVR) theory is that:
A. only SVR theory is concerned with visible properties of potential dates.
B. SVR theory is more concerned with stages of development, arguing that the critical factors
that foster attraction differ according to the relationship's evolution.
C. only SVR theory is concerned with mate selection.
D. SVR theory focuses more on how value preferences in mate selection differ among men
and women.

39. (p. 95) According to stimulus-value-role theory, role compatibility:

A. is important from the outset of the relationship.
B. is important even before the relationship begins.
C. becomes important after one is attracted but before values have been discussed.
D. becomes important after attraction and similar beliefs have been established.

40. (p. 95) In the stimulus-value-role theory of attraction, agreement on parenting, careers, and
life tasks become important:
A. last in the development relationships.
B. first in the development of relationships.
C. in the middle of the development of relationships.
D. throughout the development of relationships.

41. (p. 96) Dissimilarity is often particularly attractive in a partner when it:
A. represents a taboo.
B. relates to our ideal self.
C. makes us feel attractive.
D. makes us look better by contrast.

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

42. (p. 96-97) In which of the following are similarities routinely important to long-term success
of a partnership?
A. Shared interests
B. Intelligence
C. Skills and talents
D. Housework and gender roles

43. (p. 97) Partners who are obviously dissimilar, such as an old rich man with a beautiful young
woman:
A. prove that sometimes opposites do attract.
B. are actually matching in a broad sense by trading one asset for another.
C. illustrate the fact that some people can overcome the tendency toward matching given the
right incentive.
D. are actually extremely rare.

44. (p. 98) In countries where women experience greater equality with men:
A. women tend to attach less importance to wealth in a romantic partner.
B. women still show an evolutionary tendency to seek a partner who can care for her
economically.
C. women and men show equal interest in the financial prospects of their romantic partners.
D. men attach more importance to wealth in a romantic partner.

45. (p. 99) The idea of complementarity shows that:

A. in several cases, opposites do attract.
B. assertive people often prefer submissive partners.
C. partners can use their different skills to the couple's advantage.
D. people who we perceive as much better than us often inspire us to succeed.

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

46. (p. 100) Roger and Jenna are 15 and have been dating off and on for a little while. Jenna's
parents don't approve of Roger and forbid her to see him. According to the Romeo and Juliet
effect, what may happen to this couple?
A. Roger and Jenna may be more attracted to one another.
B. Roger and Jenna will stop seeing each other. Pursuing the relationship is no longer worth it.
C. Roger and Jenna will continue as they have been, seeing each other occasionally.
D. Jenna will break off the relationship. Roger will pursue her more.

47. (p. 100) Parents who forbid their son or daughter from seeing a particular person may
actually foster attraction between the two through the principle of:
A. fatal attraction.
B. complementarity.
C. reactance.
D. defiance.

48. (p. 101) Regarding short-term mates:

A. men are less selective than women.
B. women are less selective than men.
C. both men and women are less selective than when choosing long-term mates.
D. both men and women are selective because even if they do not know it, the chosen person
could become their partner.

49. (p. 101) In seeking long term mates women look for men who show _____. In short term
mates, women look for men who show _____.
A. warmth, loyalty, and status; physical attractiveness
B. physical attractiveness; warmth, loyalty, and status
C. physical attractiveness; physical attractiveness
D. popularity and vitality; loyalty and kindness

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Chapter 03 - Attraction

50. (p. 102) Who seeks partners who offer warmth and kindness, desirable personality
characteristics, and acceptance?
A. Men
B. Women
C. Both men and women
D. Individuals high in self-esteem who think they can have it all

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