Term | Definition |
need to belong theory | a psychological theory proposing a fundamental human inclination to bond with others |
attraction theory | a theory that explains why individuals are drawn to others |
interpersonal attraction | the force that draws people together |
physical attraction | attraction to someone's appearance |
social attraction | attraction to someone's personality |
task attraction | attraction to someone's abilities or dependability |
proximity | closeness, as in how close together people live or work |
complementarity | the beneficial provision by another person of a quality that one lacks |
uncertainty reduction theory | theory suggesting that people find uncertainty to be unpleasant, so they are motivated to reduce their uncertainty by getting to know others |
social exchange theory | theory suggesting that people seek to maintain relationships in which their benefits outweigh their costs |
comparison level | a realistic expectation of what one wants and thinks one deserves from a relationship |
comparison level for alternatives | an assessment of how much better or worse one's current relationship is than one's other options |
over-benefited | a state in which one's relational benefits outweigh one's costs |
under-benefited | a state in which one's relational costs outweigh one's benefits |
equity theory | theory that a good relationship is one in which a person's ratio of costs and benefits is equal to his or her partner's |
relational maintenance theory | theory specifying the primary behaviors people use to maintain their relationships |
self-disclosure | act of intentionally giving others information about oneself that one believes is true but thinks others don't already have |
social penetration theory | theory suggesting that the depth and breadth of self-disclosure help us learn about a person we're getting to know |
breadth | the range of topics we self-disclose to various people |
depth | the degree of intimacy of our self-disclosures |
norm of reciprocity | the social expectation that favors should be reciprocated |
peer | a person similar to us in status or power |