ATTRACTION CONTENT SUMMARY 2
Attraction Content Summary
Attraction can be defined as the sense of closeness, desire, or interest a person feels
towards another individual. People are ultimately attracted to people who live near or ones a
person frequently encounters. In regard to attraction, human have a need for affiliation with
others due to the desire to maintain and establish numerous rewarding interpersonal relationships
(Kassin et al., 2021). Being with other individuals is a fundamental human motive where we are
drawn to affiliate with people whom we desire.
Equity Theory
Equity theory is the phenomenon that individuals are most satisfied with a relationship
when the ratio between benefits and contributions is similar between both partners in a
relationship (Kassin et al., 2021). Equity theory can be shown in different relationships by many
ways. Equitable division regarding paid work is related to greater satisfaction for men. On the
other hand, equitable distribution of domestic work can mostly relate to the increase of a
woman’s satisfaction within the relationship (Chadee, 2022). One version of equity theory is the
matching hypothesis. Matching hypothesis is the proposition that individuals are attracted to
others who are similar to them in physical attractiveness (Kassin et al., 2021). This hypothesis
can be used when a person is examining their relationship initiation or when a person is selecting
an intimate partner (Chadee, 2022).
Social Exchange Theory
Social exchange theory is the perspective that views individuals as motivated to
maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationship with other individuals (Kassin et al.,
2021). In a study conducted at Duke University, researchers found that the strength of a person’s
reaction to negative interpersonal events is a function of the perceived tangible outcome of those
ATTRACTION CONTENT SUMMARY 3
events and the perception that others have violated the rules of social exchange (Leary et al.,
2015). When it comes to an individual’s emotions, their reactions to a partner’s social exchange
tend to be focused on the partner rather than the action itself (Leary et al., 2015). The overall
consensus from the study administered at Duke University was that a person’s strong emotional
reactions to the behavior of other individuals are provoked by people’s perceptions that
offending behavior involves a violation for fundamental rules which guides interdependent
interactions and relationships between two individuals (Leary et al., 2015).
Altruism
Altruism is ultimately an unselfish behavior that provides a benefit to others at some sort
of cost to an individual that is motivated by the desire to improve another person’s welfare
(Kassin et al., 2021). In a study conducted at Yale University, researchers concluded that
altruism could become an intuitive social response in women due to the fact that women have to
capacity for reproduction and have advantages of occupying roles that require long-term
investment in caring for offspring compared to men (Rand et al., 2016). Prosocial behavior tends
to be a trending topic for altruism given that actions are intended to benefit other people around
them (Kassin et al., 2021). The findings in the study administered at Yale University broaden an
understanding of prosocial behavior and a model of intuitive decision making based on social
heuristics when it comes to gender (Rand et al., 2016).
During the process of getting people acquainted, individuals tend to like others who are
similar in backgrounds, attitudes, interests, values, or levels of physical attractiveness. Attraction
is a significant topic within psychology today and research that is conducted gives a better
insight as to ways in which individuals are attracted to one another.
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References
Chadee, D. (2022). Theories in social psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021). Social psychology. Cengage.
Leary, M. R., Diebels, K. J., Jongman-Sereno, K. P., & Fernandez, X. D. (2015). Why seemingly
trivial events sometimes evoke strong emotional reactions: The role of Social Exchange
Rule Violations. The Journal of Social Psychology, 155(6), 559–575.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2015.1084985
Rand, D. G., Brescoll, V. L., Everett, J. A., Capraro, V., & Barcelo, H. (2016). Social heuristics
and social roles: Intuition favors altruism for women but not for men. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General, 145(4), 389–396.
https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000154
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