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Social Behaviour. Proximity and the Mere Exposure Effect. Geographical proximity is most powerful predictor of friendships and relationships.  Mating starts with meeting – we aren’t going to fall in love with someone we don’t meet. Even with social media, still true. Mere exposure effect = repeated exposure to novel people or objects increases our liking for them. More often we see something, more often we like it. Applies to everything – music, numbers, objects, etc.  There are exceptions, but in general true. Especially with attraction.  Ex. study where males rated women’s attractiveness, took 2 women rated similarly and placed them in same class as the male. After 15 classes males rated the woman in their class higher than the other one they initially rated the same.  Ex. study with individuals who had anterograde amnesia (retrograde amnesia is loss of memory before accident, anterograde is loss of memory after). Showed them faces, and show them faces again at later date, some new some old. Ask individual if they’ve seen before, say no. But if ask which one attractive, they pick the face they’ve seen before.  Shows us how subtle this effect is.  Advertisers know this effect. They depend on the mere exposure effect to sell you different products. More times we see a brand more likely we are to think positively. Physical Attraction. What does physical attraction mean, and are there things attractive to all people?  There are cultural differences, but some things are universal – skin clarity/smoothness, body symmetry. For women, low waist-hip ratio and full breasts. For men, muscular chest and V-shaped torso. Facial attraction is more important than body attraction. For women, high forehead/small chin and nose/full lips/high cheekbone are attractive. For men, strong chin, jaw, cheekbones, and long lower face.  Both men and women are attracted to high sexual dimorphism – the difference between male and female traits.  Also averageness – turns out unique traits are not most attractive. Most respondents pick 32 face average as most attractive, and 2 face average less. • Even if you average 32 different faces, still looks the same as the average of 32 other faces. Suggests there’s some prototype. More subtle things also influence attractiveness – ex. red background more attractive than white background.  Unrelated physiological arousal also influences attraction – individuals who just walked across narrow bridge (sympathetic arousal) leads to increased rating of woman. Because during attraction sympathetic arousal occurs as well, ex. fast heartbeat. Similarity. How similar someone is to us is huge predictor of attraction.  Close friends and couples are more likely to share common attitudes, beliefs, and values. We tend to partner up with people who match our age, race, religion, and economic status/educational level. • One study showed person is more likely to trust/cooperate with photo of someone whose facial features are morphed with their own. • Also more likely to think individual is attractive when their facial features are morphed with their own. Similarity can help people stay together. Does it help them stay together? Research has shown yes.  Couples can also stay together due to perceived similarity – because over time interests/beliefs are more aligned. Become similar as time goes on.  Could result in a similarity bias – implies we will not befriend people different from us.  A projection bias is when we assume other share the same beliefs we do.  False consensus is when we assume everyone else agrees with what we do, even if they do not. Harlow Monkey Experiments. What causes attachment between mother and child? Scientists used to think it was food. Scientists conducted the Harlow monkey experiments  Separated monkeys from mothers at young age, then given choice between 2 substitute mothers (vaguely monkey-shaped structures). • First option was wire mother – vaguely face like shape on top of it, and chicken wire wrapped in cylinder. And in middle was feeding tube. • Second mother was the cloth mother – same shape/size, but instead of chicken wire had soft cloth blanket around it, so it can provide comfort. • Baby monkeys overwhelmingly preferred to cloth mother – spent a large majority of time clinging to her. If had to eat, tried to eat while staying attached to cloth mother. • Cloth mother acts as a secure base – eventually monkey is comfortable enough to explore world on its own, because it knows cloth mother will still be there. Secure and Insecure Attachment. Babies are passed around, but then around 8 months stranger anxiety sets in. Child ends up being wary of strangers and even people they know. Some don’t have stranger anxiety though. Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation – done to try to understand why some have stranger anxiety and some don’t.  Mother and child in room with a stranger, then mom leaves and returns. Wanted to see how child reacts.  Researchers found children in 2 groups – those with secure attachment and insecure attachment.  60% were secure. Child was secure with parent and explored room, but when parent left, child was upset/distressed, but happy when mother returned.  Insecure children clinged to mother, and stayed with mother and did not explore. When mother left became upset, but distress did not go away when she came back.  Others were avoidant – ignored mother when she returned. What causes this?  Parenting style • Those sensitive to child and responsive had secure attachment • Those insensitive/unresponsive formed insecure attachments.  Effects after childhood? Yes. Early attachment style forms basis of adult relationships later in life, especially with intimacy/relationships.  Parenting styles can be • Authoritarian • Permissive • Authoritative (best). Aggression Aggression = any physical/verbal behavior intended to harm or destroy. Aggression comes from combination of the 3:  1) Biology: • Genes (identical twins more aggressive than fraternal twins, and we can breed animals for aggression). • Circuits in brain can inhibit/facilitate aggression. The amygdala facilitates our fear response, and when stimulated triggers aggressive behavior. The frontal lobe is responsible for impulse control, criminals have decreased frontal lobe activation. • Testosterone is hormone released by testes in men and ovaries in women. High levels of high testosterone can lead to aggression, muscle building, and wider faces. Can lead to irritability/impulsiveness, and low tolerance for frustration. Drugs that reduce testosterone reduce aggressive tendencies.  2) Psychological: • Frustration-aggression principle, the idea that frustration creates anger which can spark aggression. Higher temperatures can lead to frustration. • Reinforcement-modeling can lead to aggression through positive reinforcement. Parents who give into temper tantrums lead to more temper tantrums in future. Also if parents yell/hit each other, child will pick up on behavior too.  3) Socio-cultural. • People act more aggressively in groups (ex. riots) – deindividuation, such as on the internet. • Social scripts – when people are in new situations they rely on social scripts, or instructions provided by society on how to act. • Ex. violent video games model aggressive behavior for them. Viewing media can give them example of how they should act. Seems to be a combination of all 3 factors that lead to aggressive factor, not only 1. Altruism. Studies found connection between volunteerism and future health and well-being. Also higher life satisfaction and decreased risk for depression/anxiety. However, altruism can sometimes have ulterior motives.  Kin selection - people act more altruistically to close kin than distant/non-kin. • Same when people share last names, especially rare last names.  Reciprocal altruism - People are also more cooperative if they will interact with that person again in the future. • We feel more obliged to help those who have helped us.  Cost signalling – signals to others that person who’s giving has resources. People have increased trust in those they know have helped others in the past. Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis – suggests some people are altruistic due to empathy. Those who score higher on empathy are more altruistic.  Early developmental trajectory – some newborns cry when other newborns cry. Helping behavior begins around age 2, children share toys and play act helping. Age 4 actually begin helping. Social Support. Emotional support – love, trust, caring. The type that involves listening and emphasizing.  Provided by those closest to you. Esteem support – expressions of confidence/encouragement.  Can come from therapists, teachers, coaches. Informational support – sharing information with us or giving us advice.  Can come from family/friends or even articles online. Tangible support – financial support, goods, or services.  Can come from a bank, people who bring you dinner when you’re sick, or lend you money between jobs. Companionship support – the type that gives someone sense of social belonging. Companionship while you engage in an activity. Social support is major determinant of health and well-being. Can help us deal with stress.  People with low social support report more symptoms related to depression/anxiety, and alcohol and drug problems. Also higher risk of deaths from cancer and heart disease.  Why it’s important to provide support for people around you too.