36 Questions
What are the broad motivations that drive romantic attraction?
Shared values and emotional connection
How do a person’s sex and their relationship goals affect partner preferences?
Men prioritize physical attractiveness more than women
What do people look for in a partner, and why?
Emotional connection for long-term fulfillment
What situational factors promote attraction and why?
Proximity and familiarity, leading to increased liking
What contextual factors promote attraction and why?
Similar values and beliefs, leading to connection
What traits/characteristics did people commonly discover on ideal partner lists?
Shared values and emotional connection
What is universally desirable in terms of physical attractiveness?
Facial symmetry and adiposity
In which type of relationships do women prioritize physical attractiveness more?
Long-term relationships
What do men typically prioritize more in partners in comparison to women?
Physical attractiveness
What do women prioritize more than men, especially in societies with low gender equity?
Social status
What are widely desired and preferred in partners for long-term relationships?
Intelligence and education
What are key indicators of attractiveness according to the text?
Facial symmetry, averageness, sexual dimorphism, and adiposity
What are the stages of the STAGE Model of Relationship Initiation?
Cognitive Uncertainty, Behavioral Uncertainty, Direct Overtures, and Indirect Overtures
What do direct overtures in relationship psychology refer to?
Clear and unambiguous actions that signal interest in a relationship
What role do people's social networks play in relationship initiation?
Shaping norms for relationship initiation
What percentage of sexual encounters between friends result in a romantic relationship?
20%
What is the preferred relationship status for 9-15% of single individuals?
Singlehood
What does the Uncertainty Reduction Theory explain?
How human beings utilize communicative strategies to reduce uncertainty regarding potential partners
What are universal 'must-haves' in long-term relationships, prioritized by both men and women across cultures and sexual orientations?
Warmth, kindness, and trustworthiness
What serves as costly signals of warmth, kindness, and trustworthiness, with their appeal amplified by physical attractiveness?
Altruism and heroism
What may have a stronger negative effect on attraction than preferences have a positive effect?
Mismatched values and habits
What is a cue for fertility, with men tending to prefer younger women and women tending to prefer older men?
Age
What factors breed attraction, supporting domain-general and specific evolutionary goals?
Proximity and reciprocity
What hypothesis suggests a shift in partner preferences from 'good partner' traits to 'good genes' when fertile, with inconsistent evidence and a need for further research?
Ovulatory-shift hypothesis
What does the Courtship Relationship Receptivity theory focus on?
Perceived appropriateness of personal timing for relationship involvement
What is the key benefit for males pursuing a long-term mating strategy?
Higher parental certainty
What does the Paradox of Choice refer to?
When the number of choices increases, the difficulty of knowing what is best also increases
What do traditional gender roles provide in relationship initiation?
Expectations and constraints on 'who does what'
What do Mating Tactics refer to?
What people do to initiate relationships
What do Barriers to Initiation: Accessing Partners primarily refer to?
Logistical issues in accessing partners
According to the text, what is Relationship Receptivity theory centered on?
Perceived appropriateness of personal timing
What is the key benefit for males pursuing a long-term mating strategy?
Higher parental certainty
What do gender roles provide, according to the text?
Expectations and constraints on behavior
What does the Paradox of Choice suggest?
Having too many choices limits our freedom
What do Mating Motives focus on, according to the text?
Preferred mate choices and reproductive potential
What do Barriers to Initiation primarily address in the text?
Challenges in starting relationships
Study Notes
The Science Behind Attraction
- Warmth, kindness, and trustworthiness are universal "must-haves" in long-term relationships, prioritized by both men and women across cultures and sexual orientations.
- Women evolutionarily benefit from preferring partners who will share resources and co-parent, while men's preference for kind and trustworthy partners may reduce paternity uncertainty.
- Altruism and heroism serve as costly signals of warmth, kindness, and trustworthiness, and their appeal is amplified by physical attractiveness.
- Knowledge about partner preferences is disproportionately based on research on cisgender, different-sex monogamous individuals, and dominant theories are based on male-female relationships.
- Gender and sexual orientation often correspond with preferred partners' gender, and age is a cue for fertility, with men tending to prefer younger women and women tending to prefer older men.
- Dealbreakers, such as undesirable traits, poor health, mismatched values, and habits, may have a stronger negative effect on attraction than preferences have a positive effect.
- Hypothetical preferences do not always predict actual in-person attraction, as seen in speed-dating research.
- Proximity, familiarity, similarity, and reciprocity are social and situational factors that breed attraction, supporting domain-general and specific evolutionary goals.
- Sociocultural factors, social factors, and situational factors all play a role in shaping attraction, with approaching producing more liking than being approached.
- Ovulatory-shift hypothesis suggests a shift in partner preferences from "good partner" traits to "good genes" when fertile, with inconsistent evidence and a need for further research.
- Attractiveness during concealed ovulation can impact earnings, as seen in the example of lap dancers earning more when ovulating.
- Romantic attraction is a multifaceted phenomenon rooted in biology, psychology, and culture, with biological, psychological, social, cultural, and individual factors interplaying to shape who we're attracted to and how we experience love.
Explore the complex interplay of biology, psychology, and culture in shaping romantic attraction with this quiz. Test your knowledge of partner preferences, evolutionary theories, situational factors, and the multifaceted nature of attraction.
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