Attraction and Intimacy in Social Psychology
Attraction and Intimacy in Social Psychology
Brian Kinyua Muthee
University of Southern California
Abstract
Before one is attracted to someone else, several factors influence this decision. Person perception is the first step in this process, and it is where people form impressions about others. Social and cognitive schemas dictate the actual impression you finally get of that individual, then your mind forms a stereotype towards them. Naturally, a positive stereotype prompts the process forward with the formation of a positive attitude where they are concerned. Finally, you find yourself being drawn towards the person either ...
Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers
|
action. To overly simplify it, social psychology is a profession that acknowledges human interaction and that people affect their counterparts' lives either directly or indirectly. When it comes to attraction and intimacy, there is usually much more at play than what one sees on the surface. Before you are attracted to someone, you first have to form an impression about them. According to Ambady & Skowronski (2008), impressions are vague ideas about an individual and human beings form them via a process known as person perception. According to these authors, impressions, and specifically first impressions, are essential for social cognition.
Naturally, the process of person perception begins with judging a person's physical appearance. All the same, social psychologists state that only two physical attributes are important in perception - attractiveness and baby-faced features. Citing previous research, Crisp & Turner (2010) say that people perceive the physically attractive ...
Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.
Already a member? Login
|
as being helpless, naïve, and passive. Again, there exists no correlation between these attributes and one's physical features, but the bias persists. According to evolutionary theorists, there is a distinct relationship between qualities we attribute to such individuals and the theory of evolution. As they say, human beings have evolved to view babies as helpless creatures in dire need of help and nurturing, hence the negative bias.
When your mind is busy forming impressions about someone you have just met, social psychologists will say that your cognitive and social schemas are at play. The former refers to how you organize the information you receive from whoever you are ...
Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.
|
CITE THIS PAGE:
Attraction and Intimacy in Social Psychology. (2020, June 21). Retrieved April 26, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Attraction-and-Intimacy-in-Social-Psychology/107382
"Attraction and Intimacy in Social Psychology." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 21 Jun. 2020. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Attraction-and-Intimacy-in-Social-Psychology/107382>
"Attraction and Intimacy in Social Psychology." Essayworld.com. June 21, 2020. Accessed April 26, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Attraction-and-Intimacy-in-Social-Psychology/107382.
"Attraction and Intimacy in Social Psychology." Essayworld.com. June 21, 2020. Accessed April 26, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Attraction-and-Intimacy-in-Social-Psychology/107382.
|
Save
Report