Question 1

What is "functional distance" to a social psychologist?

Accepted Answer

Functional distance is an aspect of architectural design that determines what people you see most often. It refers to the physical layout of a space, including the placement of furniture, walls, and other objects, and how this affects the likelihood of social interaction.

Question 2

Arthur Aron has proposed that a central human motivation is __________.

Accepted Answer

According to Arthur Aron, a central human motivation is self-expansion, which is the desire to expand one's self-concept, experiences, and abilities. This can include pursuing new opportunities, learning new things, and building deeper connections with others. Self-esteem, self-absorption, and self-reliance are related concepts but are not specifically identified as central human motivations by Aron.

Question 3

Propinquity is MOST similar to which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Propinquity refers to physical closeness, so option A is the most similar. Option B (similarity) is a related concept but not quite the same. Option C (attractiveness) and Option D (communality) may be factors that contribute to propinquity, but are not synonymous with it.

Question 4

Distance is to __________ as familiarity is to __________.

Accepted Answer

The propinquity effect refers to the idea that physical proximity or closeness leads to increased liking or attraction. Similarly, the mere exposure effect suggests that the more familiar we are with something or someone, the more we tend to like it or them. Therefore, distance is to propinquity as familiarity is to the mere exposure effect.

Question 5

You have been hired by a company to come up with an advertising campaign to sell more shoes. Based on the mere exposure effect, you propose __________.

Accepted Answer

The mere exposure effect suggests that people tend to develop a preference for things simply because they are familiar with them. Therefore, flooding the market with pictures of the shoes can increase familiarity and potentially lead to an increase in sales. However, it would be beneficial to also include information on the comfort and pricing of the shoes in the campaign.

Question 6

Leandro tends to be happy when in relationships with others. However, right now, he's away from home and the absence of meaningful relationships is leading to __________.

Accepted Answer

The absence of meaningful relationships can often lead to feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, and helplessness. While being away from home might increase Leandro's productivity at work or make him appreciate material objects more, the question specifically asks about the effect on his emotional state. Hallucinations are not a likely result of this situation.

Question 7

The introduction to Chapter 10 discusses some assumptions we make about men and women and relationships that are not true. Which of the following is an age-old adage that has been shown by research to be wrong?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that people tend to be attracted to those who are similar to themselves rather than opposite. This does not necessarily mean that people are completely alike, but they tend to have similar values, backgrounds, and interests. Therefore, the age-old adage "opposites attract" is not entirely accurate.

Question 8

If an architect were to capitalize on functional distance, and design an apartment building in which all tenants had an equal chance of taking advantage of the propinquity effect, the building would have which of the following features?

Accepted Answer

A circular building with equidistant elevators, laundry facilities, and mailboxes would allow all tenants an equal chance of taking advantage of the propinquity effect, since no apartment would be closer or farther from these common areas. A long hallway (option A) or a U-shaped hallway (option B) would create varying distances between apartments and common areas, which could lead to some tenants being at an advantage or disadvantage in terms of propinquity. The straight line design with mailboxes at one end and elevators at the other end (option D) also creates varying distances between apartments and common areas, and does not provide all tenants with equal access to the propinquity effect.

Question 9

When Festinger and his colleagues studied friendship patterns among married couples in an apartment complex at MIT, they found that people who lived at the foot of the stairs or near mailboxes had more friends on upper floors than did other people who lived on the first floor. This illustrates the power of __________ to influence friendship patterns.

Accepted Answer

Functional distance refers to the influence of architectural design on the likelihood of two people crossing paths and forming a relationship. In this case, people who live near the mailboxes or at the foot of the stairs have higher functional distance because they are more likely to cross paths with people on upper floors. This increases the likelihood of forming friendships with people on upper floors. Physical distance (A) may have some impact, but the focus of the study was on functional distance. Similarity (C) and movement patterns (D) were not mentioned in relation to the study.

Question 10

Consider the following piece of folk wisdom: "Opposites attract." The social-psychological concept of __________ is most closely related to this truism.

Accepted Answer

The social-psychological concept that is most closely related to the folk wisdom "opposites attract" is complementarity, which suggests that people are attracted to individuals who possess traits that complement their own. This means that the two individuals may have different characteristics or preferences but they are complementary to each other in a way that they complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Question 11

Self-expansion refers to a desire to __________.

Accepted Answer

Self-expansion refers to the desire to overlap or blend with another person or entity, which often results in the individuals gaining access to new knowledge, insights, and experiences. This desire for self-expansion can occur in a variety of contexts, including personal relationships, work environments, and recreational activities.

Question 12

Katie and Jon are in the same accounting class, they live in the same wing of their dormitory, and they usually both study at the campus coffeehouse in the morning before class. Over time, Katie and Jon become attracted to each other. What force is most likely at work here?

Accepted Answer

Propinquity refers to the physical proximity or nearness of individuals, which can increase the likelihood of interactions and thus lead to the development of attraction. In this scenario, Katie and Jon's shared class, living arrangement, and study habits create opportunities for them to be physically close to each other and interact regularly, which could facilitate their romantic attraction. While similarity and reciprocity may also play a role, propinquity appears to be the most significant force at work in this situation.

Question 13

Video chatting, e-mail, and texting may influence interpersonal relationships because they increase the __________ of people even if they do not affect their physical proximity.

Accepted Answer

Propinquity refers to physical proximity or being in close physical proximity to others. While video chatting, e-mail, and texting may not affect physical proximity, they do increase the frequency and ease of communication, which can create feelings of closeness and connectedness similar to those of physical proximity.

Question 14

Arlene finds that even though she sat in the opposite corner of the classroom from Ronda during the entire term of their chemistry class, when they bump into each other at a party, she seems to like Ronda more than the strangers around. This is best explained by ____________.

Accepted Answer

Arlene's increased liking for Ronda despite not knowing her well can be explained by the mere exposure effect, which suggests that we tend to like things/people that we are familiar with or have been exposed to repeatedly.

Question 15

Jacob is about to start a new job. Given that he wants to make lots of new friends, he should choose the office that is located __________.

Accepted Answer

The office by the vending machines is likely to have more foot traffic and people taking breaks, making it a more social environment where Jacob can meet new friends.

Question 16

Lem is looking at new cars. Each one he sees has a certain trim detail across the hood which he somewhat likes at the start of the day. At the end of the day, and fifteen cars later, he really likes the detail. His opinion is influenced by the __________.

Accepted Answer

The mere exposure effect refers to the phenomenon where people tend to develop a preference for something simply because they are exposed to it more often. In this case, Lem's increasing liking of the trim detail could be attributed to the fact that he saw it multiple times over the course of the day, leading to an increased familiarity and preference for it.

Question 17

Moreland and Beach (1992) had a confederate attend large university classes for a systematically varied number of class sessions. She attended some classes a few times and other classes many more times. In keeping with the research on the mere exposure effect presented in the text, when unsuspecting students in those classes were later shown photos of the confederate, when would they have liked her best? When she had __________.

Accepted Answer

According to the research on the mere exposure effect, people tend to like things that they are more familiar with. Therefore, the students in the classes where the confederate attended more sessions would have been more familiar with her and thus would be more likely to like her.

Question 18

You are strongly attracted to Mario, and you very much want him to like you, too, but you're afraid that if you open your mouth, he won't like you. If you're too nervous to interact with Mario, you can take advantage of the mere exposure effect and __________.

Accepted Answer

Frequenting the same coffee shop that Mario goes to and making sure that he sees you every day will increase the chances of him being familiar with you, which can lead to him having a positive view of you due to the mere exposure effect. Brushing up against him or asking a friend to point you out may come off as creepy and intrusive, and exposing your worst features first is unlikely to be an effective strategy.

Question 19

Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950) traced friendship formations among couples in an apartment complex at MIT. They found that residents were most likely to be friends with people __________.

Accepted Answer

Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950) found that physical proximity, or how close one person lived to another, was a significant factor in the formation of friendships among residents in an apartment complex. This phenomenon is known as the proximity effect.

Question 20

Which of the following adages most directly contradicts research findings on the propinquity effect?

Accepted Answer

The propinquity effect suggests that the more we see and interact with people, the more likely we are to become friends or enter into relationships with them, which contradicts the idea that "Familiarity breeds contempt."

Quiz 10: Attraction and Relationships: From Initial Impressions to Long-Term Intimacy