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Content Summary: Attraction
Chris Webb
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
PSYC 512: Social Psychology
Dr. Tracy Gomez
April 23, 2023
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Introduction
Attraction is a universal topic that fascinates people around the world. Although
individuals are born without anything, people are born with an automatic attraction to others
(Kassin et al., 2021). In chapter 9 of Kassin et al. (2021), they discussed how individuals form
relationships with each other. Chapter 10 of Kassin et al. (2021) explores the topic of helping
others. They broke down the topic into four questions; Why do people help? When do people
help? Who is likely to help? And whom do people help? Chadee (2022) explores one of the most
common theories in social psychology in chapter 7; Social Comparison Theory. Within the
discussion about Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory, they discussed the foundations,
reasoning, and outcomes behind social comparison. A research study by Rand et al. (2016) seeks
to find how a person’s gender affects the role of intuition and deliberation in altruism. Leary et
al. (2015) discussed how specific situations inflicted solid emotional reactions from individuals
that break social norms.
Summary Points
Social Exchange Theory
According to Kassin et al. (2021), the Social Exchange Theory is the perspective that
views people as motivated to maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships with
others. Leary et al. (2015) applied this theory to their study in which they tested how an
individual’s strong reaction to a simple travel event breaks social exchange rules.
Altruistic
Kassin et al. (2021) define altruism as the act of putting another individual's needs before
oneself. In a research study by Rand et al. (2016), they sought to take a deeper dive into the topic
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of altruism and look at the role that intuition and deliberation play in it. They also attempted to
find how the individual’s gender had a role in the theory.
Identity Fusion
Identity Fusion is the shared sense of identity within a group (Kassin et al., 2021). In
chapter 7 of Chadee (2022), they explain the Social Comparison Theory and the mechanisms
within. When an individual conducts an upward social comparison to another individual, they
wish they could be part of the group that the other individual is in. Individuals often use it as a
motivational factor to achieve the goals of the other individual (Chadee, 2022).
Conclusion
The topics of Social Exchange Theory, Altruistic, and Identity Fusion are are important
concepts of areas of attraction and helping others. Social Exchange Theory is the act of making
sure the benefits of a relationship outweigh the costs. Altruism is the action of putting another
individual’s needs before oneself. Identity Fusion in the fusion of beliefs with another group of
individuals. Although each topic is different in its way, each is critical to the understanding of an
individuals’attraction and urge to help others.
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References
Chadee, D. (Ed.). (2022). Theories in social psychology (2nd ed., pp. 203–204). John Wiley &
Sons.
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2021). Social psychology (11th ed., pp. 4-47). 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. C., 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.supp (Supplemental)
