Jenny

=Question= To what extent do first impressions impact the formation of romantic relationships?

=Link= [|Forming first impressions] http://psychedelic.wikispaces.com/Culture+and+relationships [|Why first impressions are so persistent] [|Acting on impulse]
 * Start with general readings (science daily, newspapers)**

//Focused Learning outcome: Examine biological, psychological, and social origins of attraction.//
 * //Jenny - see if you can now cross-reference and find more recent studies on each of the following.//**
 * //What about Buss - has Buss done any more research on the evolutionary explanation in the last 10 years?//**
 * //See me if you are not sure how to find more sources//**

Factor 1: Evolutionary Explanation - Focuses on the idea that the sole purpose of relationships is to pass on the genes to the next generation through natural selection. - The behavior around us must be adaptive (useful for survival) and this type of behavior will increase the chances of reproduction. - Males and females are attracted to sexual partners who are the most likely to produce healthy children.
 * Buss (1994) identifies two aspects of sexual selection that encourage the transmission of an individual’s genes to the next generation
 * Male ritual behavior - frequently competitive - that marks an individual out as more dominant than his rivals and gives him better access to females
 * Characteristics of an individual that increase his attractiveness to females
 * This is for men to be beneficial to the female/or her offspring
 * Singh (1994) found that men tend to be interested in fat distribution as a sign of future reproductive capability.
 * Women who have waist to hip ratio of 0.7 is considered to be beautiful.

Factor 2: Similarity theory - Suggests that people have a tendency to select partners who are similar to themselves
 * Bronson and Cope (1968) found that when the experimenter was less polite and likeable and the supervisor was then harsh towards the experimenter and vice versa
 * Matching phenomenon - cognitive process moderates our level of attraction by favoring those who match us
 * How can we explain this by relating to first impression?
 * On p.265 of our psychology textbook, it says "offspring produced by parents with //different// immune systems will have a survival advantage.." I think this contradicts with similarity theory (is it?). How can I deal with this point?

Factor 3: Social and Cognitive explanation
 * Reward Theory
 * People are attracted those who in some way make them feel good and rewarding (offer some kind of social status/benefits).
 * Lewicki (1985)
 * Asked participants to rate the friendliness of women in photographs
 * Participants who had previously spent time with a friendly experimenter who looked similar to one of the women in the photographs were more likely to choose this photograph
 * People tended to avoid interacting with the woman who resembled the unfriendly experimenter.
 * How can I explain that people can feel positive emotion from first impressions?