matching hypothesis psychology examples

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List

An Analysis of the Matching Hypothesis in Networks

1 Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180 USA

2 Department of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180 USA

3 Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180 USA

Robert F. Spivey

4 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708 USA

Boleslaw Szymanski

5 Społeczna Akademia Nauk, Łódź, Poland

Gyorgy Korniss

Conceived and designed the experiments: TJ RS BS GK. Performed the experiments: TJ. Wrote the paper: TJ RS BS GK.

Associated Data

All relevant data are within the paper.

The matching hypothesis in social psychology claims that people are more likely to form a committed relationship with someone equally attractive. Previous works on stochastic models of human mate choice process indicate that patterns supporting the matching hypothesis could occur even when similarity is not the primary consideration in seeking partners. Yet, most if not all of these works concentrate on fully-connected systems. Here we extend the analysis to networks. Our results indicate that the correlation of the couple’s attractiveness grows monotonically with the increased average degree and decreased degree diversity of the network. This correlation is lower in sparse networks than in fully-connected systems, because in the former less attractive individuals who find partners are likely to be coupled with ones who are more attractive than them. The chance of failing to be matched decreases exponentially with both the attractiveness and the degree. The matching hypothesis may not hold when the degree-attractiveness correlation is present, which can give rise to negative attractiveness correlation. Finally, we find that the ratio between the number of matched couples and the size of the maximum matching varies non-monotonically with the average degree of the network. Our results reveal the role of network topology in the process of human mate choice and bring insights into future investigations of different matching processes in networks.

Introduction

The process of pairing and matching between members of two disjoint groups is ubiquitous in our society. The underlying mechanism can be purely random, but in general decisions on selections are guided by rational choices, such as the relationship between advisor and advisee, the employment between employer and employee and the marriage between heterosexual male and female individuals. In many of these cases, similarities between the two paired parties are widely observed, such as similar research interests between the advisor and advisee and matched market competitiveness between the executives and the company. The principle of homophily, the tendency of individuals to associate and bond with others who are similar to them, can be applied to explain such similarities [ 1 ]. Yet, in some cases different mechanisms may be at work in addition to simply seeking similarities. For example, it has been discovered that people end up in committed relationship in which partners are likely to be of similar attractiveness, as predicted by the matching hypothesis in the field of social psychology [ 2 , 3 ]. However, if the closeness in attractiveness is the goal when searching for partners, one needs an objective self-estimation of it, which is rarely the case [ 4 ]. Furthermore, it is found in social experiments that people tend to pursue or accept highly desirable individuals regardless of their own attractiveness [ 3 , 4 ]. These findings suggest that the observed similarities may not be solely caused by explicitly seeking similarities. In some previous works, stochastic models are applied to simulate the process of human mate choice [ 5 – 10 ]. By simply assuming that highly attractive individuals are more likely to be accepted, the system generates patterns supporting the matching hypothesis even when similarity is not directly considered in the partner selection process [ 5 ]. Nevertheless, most if not all of these works (with a few recent exceptions [ 11 – 13 ]) concentrate on systems without topology, also known as fully-connected systems, in which one connects to all others in the other party and competes with all others in the same party. In reality, however, one knows only a limited number of others as characterized by the degree distribution of the social network. Hence a simple but fundamental question arises: what is the outcome of the matching process when topology is present?

In this work, we aim to address this question by analyzing the impact of network structure on the specific example of the process of matching, namely, human mate choice. Our motivation to address this question is caused not only by the limited knowledge on this matter, but also by the fact that topology could fundamentally change properties of the system and further affect its dynamical process. We have witnessed evidence of such impact, accumulated in the last decades from the advances towards understanding complex networks: a few shortcuts on a regular lattice can drastically reduce the mean separation between nodes and give rise to the small-world phenomenon [ 14 , 15 ], the power-law degree distribution of scale-free networks can eliminate the epidemic threshold of epidemic spreading [ 16 , 17 ] and synchronization can be reached faster in networks than in regular lattices [ 18 – 20 ]. Indeed, numerous discoveries have been made in different areas when considering topology in the analysis of many classical problems [ 21 – 30 ]. Hence it is fair to expect that the network topology would also bring new insights on the matching process that we are interested in.

We start with a bipartite graph with 2 N nodes. The bipartite graph consists of two disjoint sets m and f of equal size, representing two parties, each with N members. While our model can be more general, for simplicity, we consider the two parties as collections of heterosexual male and female individuals ( Fig 1a ). Each node, representing one individual, has k links drawn from the degree distribution P ( k ), randomly connecting to k nodes in the other set. On average, a node has ⟨ k ⟩ = ∑ kP ( k ) links, referred to the average degree of the network. To characterize the process of human mate choice, each node is assigned a random number a as its attractiveness drawn uniformly from the range [0,1). Combining features in some previous works [ 5 , 8 ] with the network structure, we consider the process of human mate choice as a two-step stochastic process which generates the numerical model as follows ( Fig 1b ):

• At each discrete time step, randomly pick a link. Let’s denote the nodes connected by this link as node i and node j and their attractiveness as a i and a j , respectively.
• Draw two random numbers independently and uniformly from the range [0,1), denoted by r i and r j . Check the matching condition defined as a i > r j and a j > r i .
• If the matching condition is satisfied and nodes i and j are not in a relationship with each other, pair them into intermediate pairing and dissolve them from any previous intermediate pairing with other nodes, if there are any.
• If the matching condition is satisfied and nodes i and j are already in the intermediate pairing with each other, join them into the stable couple. Make nodes i and j unavailable to others by removing them from the network together with all their links.
• Repeat from step 1 until there is no link left.

(a) An example of a bipartite graph, which is composed of two disjoint sets of nodes m and f . There is no link between nodes in the same set and the connection between sets is characterized by degree distribution P ( k ). (b) The action scheme of the mate choosing process. Two nodes i and j have to undergo an intermediate stage to reach the stable long term relation. During the intermediate stage nodes i and j are also available to build relationship with other nodes. If this happens they break and their relationship is back to the initial state.

The matching condition in step 2 ensures that individuals mutually accept each other. The decision making is probabilistic: the probability that node i accepts node j is a j (independent of its own attractiveness a i ). A pairing is successfully established only when both individuals decide to accept each other. The intermediate pairing created in step 3 corresponds to the tendency of people not to fully commit to a relationship at the beginning and to form a stable couple only after such unstable intermediate stage. The removal of nodes and links in step 4 merely accelerates the simulation, as these links should not be considered by others and the corresponding nodes in the stable state are not available for matching. Undoubtedly our model only captures a very small fraction of features in the matching process. The goal of this work is not to propose a sophisticated model that is able to regenerate all observations in reality. Instead, we focus on attractiveness and popularity (degree) that are essential in this process, hence this model could be the simplest to study the interplay between these two factors, shedding light on the effect of topology on this process.

To study the effects of topology, we focus on three most commonly used network structures with different degree distributions. 1) random k-regular graph (RRG) whose degree distribution follows a delta function P ( k ) = δ ( k −⟨ k ⟩), where ⟨ k ⟩ is the average degree of the network, corresponding to an extreme case that each person knows exactly the same number of others; 2) Erdős-Rényi network (ER) with a Poisson degree distribution P ( k ) = e −⟨ k ⟩ ⟨ k ⟩ k / k !, representing the situation that most nodes have similar number of neighbors and nodes with very high or low degrees are rare [ 31 ]; 3) scale-free network (SF) generated via static model whose degree distribution has a fat-tail P ( k ) ∼ k − γ , featuring a large number of low degree nodes and few high degree hubs [ 32 , 33 ]. The constructions of these networks are as follows.

Constructing a random k-regular graph. We start from two sets (sets m and f ) of N disconnected nodes indexed by integer number i ( i = 1,… N ). For each node i in the set m , connect it to nodes i , i +1, … and i + k −1 in the set f (using periodic boundary condition such that node N in the set m connects to node N , 1, … and k −2 in the set f , and so on). Then randomly pick two links, assuming that one link connects nodes i in the set m and j in the set f and the other connects nodes i ′ in the set m and j ′ in the set f . Check if there is a connection between nodes i and j ′ and nodes i ′ and j . If not, remove original links and connect nodes i and j ′ and nodes i ′ and j . Repeat this process sufficiently large number of times such that connections of the network are randomized.

Constructing an Erdős-Rényi network. We start from two sets (sets m and f ) of N disconnected nodes indexed by integer number i ( i = 1,… N ). Randomly select two nodes i and j respectively from sets m and f . Connect nodes i and j if there is no connection between them. Repeat the procedure until N ⟨ k ⟩ links are created.

Constructing a scale free network. The scale-free networks analyzed are generated via the static model. We start from two sets (sets m and f ) of N disconnected nodes indexed by integer number i ( i = 1,… N ). The weight w i = i − α is assigned to each node, where α is a real number in the range [0,1). Randomly selected two nodes i and j respectively from sets m and f , with probability proportional to w i and w j . Connect nodes i and j if there is no connection between them. Repeat the procedure until N ⟨ k ⟩ links are created. The degree distribution under this construction is P ( k ) = [ ⟨ k ⟩ ( 1 − α ) / 2 ] 1 / α α Γ ( k − 1 / α , ⟨ k ⟩ ( 1 − α ) / 2 ) Γ ( k + 1 ) where Γ( s ) the gamma function and Γ( s , x ) the upper incomplete gamma function. In the large k limit, the distribution becomes P ( k ) ∼ k − ( 1 + 1 α ) = k − γ .

Introducing correlations between the attractiveness and the degree. We generate 2 N random numbers drawn between 0 and 1 and sort them in ascending order and index them by integer number i ( i = 1, … 2 N ). We sort nodes of networks in ascending order of their degrees and index them by integer number j ( j = 1, … 2 N ). For positive correlation between the degree and attractiveness, assign i th random number as the attractiveness of node j = i . For negative correlation between the degree and attractiveness, assign i th random number as the attractiveness of node j = 2 N − i +1.

Effects of Network Topology on the Correlation in Attractiveness

The matching hypothesis suggests similarities in attractiveness between the two coupled individuals. To test it, we employ the Pearson coefficient of correlation ρ as a measure of similarity, that is defined as

where a m , i and a f , i are the attractiveness of the individuals in sets m and f of the i th couple, a ¯ m and a ¯ f are the average attractiveness of the matched individuals in sets m and f and n is the number of matched couples in the network. The Pearson coefficient of correlation ρ varies from -1 to 1, where 1 corresponds to the strongest positive correlation when two quantities are perfectly linearly increasing with each other, whereas -1 is the strongest negative correlation when two quantities are perfectly linearly dependent and one decreases when the other increases.

We first check the scenario studied in most of the previous works, when topology is not considered and each node is potentially able to match an arbitrary node in the other set. Our model generates a high correlation of the couple’s attractiveness with the average ρ ≈ 0.56 ( Fig 2a ). This value is similar to the result generated in the previously proposed model which accounts also for attractiveness decay [ 5 ] even though this feature is not present in ours. It is noteworthy that similarity is not explicitly considered when establishing a matching in this model and each individual only seeks attractive partners. However, the mutual agreement between two individuals effectively depends on the joint attractiveness of both. Hence individuals with high attractiveness will have the advantage in finding highly attractive partners, causing them to be removed from the dynamics soon, while less attractive individuals find their matches later. Therefore, as time goes on, only less and less attractive individuals are available to form a couple, thus they are more likely to get a partner with similar attractiveness.

(a) The Pearson coefficient of correlation ρ of the attractiveness between the two coupled individuals in different systems. ρ is strongest in fully-connected systems. In sparse networks, ρ increases monotonically with the average degree ⟨ k ⟩ and decreases with the degree diversity. For all cases investigated, system size is 2 N and N = 10,000. (b) The average attractiveness a ¯ f of individuals in the set f who are matched with those in a subset of m with attractiveness in the range [ a m −0.05, a m +0.05) for a series of points a m . In fully-connect systems, the less attractive individuals are bound to be coupled with ones who are also less attractive. In sparse networks, however, they are coupled with ones who are more attractive. (c) The attractiveness contour figure of the coupled individuals in Erdős-Rényi networks with average degree ⟨ k ⟩ = 5. A pattern emerges even when similarity is not the motivation in seeking partners. a m and a f are the attractiveness of nodes in sets m and f , respectively. (d) The attractiveness contour figure of the coupled individuals in fully-connected systems. The correlation is strongest towards the less attractive individuals (the circled part).

The positive correlations in attractiveness are also observed in all three classes of networks studied. They are lower than the correlation observed in the fully-connected systems but increase monotonically with the average degree ⟨ k ⟩. Furthermore, as the network degree distribution varies from a delta function to a Poisson distribution and to a fat-tail distribution, the variance in the degree distribution increases. Our results indicated that for a given ⟨ k ⟩, ρ decreases with the increased degree diversity ( Fig 2a ). In other words, the broader the degree distribution is, the lower the correlation in attractiveness between the two coupled individuals will be. The reason is that as the degree diversity increases, more and more links are connected to a few high degree nodes. The majority of nodes have lower degrees compared to the network with the same degree but smaller degree diversity. Hence the majority of nodes have less opportunities in selecting partners and therefore smaller chance to find a partner with closely matched attractiveness. As the result the attractiveness correlation decreases.

While the correlation in attractiveness is strongest when the system is fully-connected, we find that the difference in the correlations is caused mostly by the matched individuals with low attractiveness. Indeed, the average attractiveness of those who are coupled with highly desired individuals does not depend much on the presence of the network structure (Fig ​ (Fig2b 2b – 2d ). In fully-connected systems, less attractive individuals are bound to be coupled with partners of low attractiveness, which contributes significantly to the total correlation ρ . In sparse networks, however, if they successfully find partners, their partners are likely to be more attractive than them. Therefore, the limited choice in sparse networks reduces competitions among individuals, especially for those with low attractiveness, hence giving rise to lower attractiveness correlations between the two coupled individuals.

In fully-connected systems all individuals are able to find their partners. But in networks one faces a chance of failing to be matched. How often it occurs depends on one’s popularity (degree) and attractiveness. Here we consider P not ( a , k ) defined as the probability of failing to be matched conditioned on degree k and attractiveness within the range [ a −0.05, a +0.05). We find that P not ( a , k ) drops exponentially with both degree k and attractiveness a . This implies that getting more popular brings the similar benefit as being more attractive in terms of finding a partner ( Fig 3 ).

So far we have concentrated only on cases where there is no correlation between one’s popularity (degree) and attractiveness. In reality these two features are often correlated. On one hand, the positive correlation is somewhat expected as a highly attractive person can potentially be also very popular hence having a larger degree. On the other hand, negative correlation could also occur when those with low attractiveness are more active in making friends to balance their disadvantage in attractiveness. We extend our analysis to two extreme cases when degree and attractiveness are correlated (see Method ). For a given network topology, the correlation of attractiveness ( ρ ) is strongest when the degree and the attractiveness are positively correlated and weakest when they are negatively correlated. It is noteworthy that with negative degree-attractiveness correlation, ρ can become negative in networks with low ⟨ k ⟩, suggesting that the matching hypothesis may not hold in such networks even though the underlying mechanism does not change ( Fig 4 ).

ρ increases monotonically in all three cases analyzed. However, ρ is largest in networks where the degree and the attractiveness are positively correlated. When they are negatively correlated, ρ is weakest and can even be negative.

Number of Couples Matched

Another quantity affected by topology and typically studied is the number of couples a system can eventually match n [ 13 , 34 ]. When the system is fully-connected, everyone can find a partner and the number of couples is n = N . In sparse networks, typically there are fewer matched couples than N and the highest number of matched couples n max is given by the maximum matching which disregards the attractiveness [ 35 , 36 ]. To measure the performance of the system in terms of the matching, we focus on the quantity R = n / n max defined as the ratio between the number of couples matched and the size of the maximum matching. While both the number of the couples matched and the size of the maximum matching increase monotonically as the network becomes denser (Figs ​ (Figs5a, 5a , ​ ,5b), 5b ), their ratio R changes non-monotonically with ⟨ k ⟩ ( Fig 5c ). The system’s performance can be relatively good when the network is very sparse or very dense, but relatively poor for the intermediate range of density. This is mainly because when more links are added to the system, the number of couples matched increases slower than the size of the maximum matching; only when this size becomes saturated to N the ratio R starts to increase with ⟨ k ⟩.

(a) The size of the maximum matching n max increases monotonically with the average degree ⟨ k ⟩ in different networks. (b) The number of matched couples n increases monotonically with the average degree ⟨ k ⟩ in different networks. (c) The ratio between the number of matched couples and the size of the maximum matching ( R = n / n max ) varies non-monotonically with the average degree ⟨ k ⟩. (d) Different behaviors of R in Erdős-Rényi networks where the correlation between degree and the attractiveness varies. Negative correlation between the degree and the attractiveness yields the largest R while positive correlation between the degree and the attractiveness results in the smallest R . Networks tested in all cases are with size 2 N ( N = 10,000).

Correlation between the degree and attractiveness also plays a role in the value of R achieved by a network. The maximum matching n max depends only on the topology of the network and does not depend on the attractiveness. A successful matching between two nodes in our model, however, depends on both their attractiveness and their degrees. Therefore, R depends on the degree-attractiveness correlation. In both cases when either positive or negative correlation between degree and attractiveness is present, R varies non-monotonically with ⟨ k ⟩ just like in the case when there is no degree-attractiveness correlation ( Fig 5d ). However, negative correlation between degree and attractiveness yields more while positive correlation yields fewer matched couples than that when degree and attractiveness are uncorrelated. Considering the fact that the similarity between the two coupled individuals ( ρ ) is largest in networks with positive degree-attractiveness correlation and smallest with negative degree-attractiveness correlation, such a dependence of R on degree-attractiveness correlation implies that the system’s performance in terms of the number of matched couples is better when it is less selective.

In summary, we studied the effect of topology on the process of human mate choice. In general, our findings support the conclusion of the previous works that similarities in attractiveness between coupled individuals occur even though the similarity is not the primary consideration in searching for partners and each individual only seeks attractive partners, in agreement with the matching hypothesis. When topology is present, the extent of such similarity, measured by Pearson coefficient of correlation, grows monotonically with the increased average degree and decreased degree diversity of the network. The correlation is weaker in sparse networks because in them the less attractive individuals who are successful in finding partners, are likely to be coupled with more attractive mates. In fully-connected systems, however, they are almost certain to be coupled with partners also less attractive, contributing significantly to the total attractiveness correlation.

Another effect of the topology is that one faces a chance of failing to find a partner. Such the chance decays exponentially with one’s attractiveness and degree, therefore being more popular can bring benefits in terms of finding a partner similar to being more attractive. The correlation of couple’s attractiveness is also affected by the degree-attractiveness correlation, which is strongest in networks where attractiveness and popularity are positively correlated and weakest when they are negatively correlated. In networks with negative degree-attractiveness correlation, the attractiveness correlation between coupled individuals can be negative when the average degree is low, implying that matching hypothesis may not hold in such systems. Finally, the number of couples matched also depends on the topology. The ratio between the number of matched couples and the maximum number of couples that can be matched, denoted as R , changes non-monotonically with the average degree. R is largest in networks with negative degree-attractiveness correlation and smallest when the attractiveness and the popularity are positively correlated.

The non-monotonic behavior of the matching ratio R is also interesting from a stochastic optimization viewpoint: the simple trial-and-error matching process, governed and constrained by individuals’ attractiveness, fares reasonably well everywhere (against the maximum attainable matching on a given bipartite graph), except for a narrow intermediate sparse region ( Fig 5 ). The “worst-case” average degree depends strongly on network heterogeneity but not on degree-attractiveness correlations.

Our results revealed the role of topology in the process of human mate choice and can bring further insights into the investigations of different matching processes in different networks [ 13 , 34 , 37 – 39 ]. Indeed, in this work we focused only on the basic model of the mate seeking process in random networks. However, different variations can be considered. For example, there is no degree correlation between the two coupled individuals observed in our model, simply because the networks we studied are random with no assortativity. In reality, the connection may not be random and then assortativity can be considered. Furthermore, the networks in our model are static and the degree of a node does not change with time. In reality, a node may gain or lose friends and consequently its degree may change. Likewise, stable matching between individuals does not have to last forever, it just needs to be an order of magnitude longer than unstable matching. It is possible to establish certain rates to stable matching dissolution and analyze the steady state behavior of so generalized system. Finally, here we considered the attractiveness as a one dimensional attribute of individuals. In more realistic scenarios, attractiveness can be a multi-dimensional variable with different merits [ 9 , 40 , 41 ]. Investigations of such more complicated cases are left to future work.

Funding Statement

This work was supported in part by the Army Research Laboratory under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-09-2-0053 and by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) grant no. N00014-09-1-0607. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Army Research Laboratory or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation here on.

Data Availability

Research Hypothesis In Psychology: Types, & Examples

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

A research hypothesis, in its plural form “hypotheses,” is a specific, testable prediction about the anticipated results of a study, established at its outset. It is a key component of the scientific method .

Hypotheses connect theory to data and guide the research process towards expanding scientific understanding

Some key points about hypotheses:

• A hypothesis expresses an expected pattern or relationship. It connects the variables under investigation.
• It is stated in clear, precise terms before any data collection or analysis occurs. This makes the hypothesis testable.
• A hypothesis must be falsifiable. It should be possible, even if unlikely in practice, to collect data that disconfirms rather than supports the hypothesis.
• Hypotheses guide research. Scientists design studies to explicitly evaluate hypotheses about how nature works.
• For a hypothesis to be valid, it must be testable against empirical evidence. The evidence can then confirm or disprove the testable predictions.
• Hypotheses are informed by background knowledge and observation, but go beyond what is already known to propose an explanation of how or why something occurs.

Predictions typically arise from a thorough knowledge of the research literature, curiosity about real-world problems or implications, and integrating this to advance theory. They build on existing literature while providing new insight.

Types of Research Hypotheses

Alternative hypothesis.

The research hypothesis is often called the alternative or experimental hypothesis in experimental research.

It typically suggests a potential relationship between two key variables: the independent variable, which the researcher manipulates, and the dependent variable, which is measured based on those changes.

The alternative hypothesis states a relationship exists between the two variables being studied (one variable affects the other).

A hypothesis is a testable statement or prediction about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a key component of the scientific method. Some key points about hypotheses:

• Important hypotheses lead to predictions that can be tested empirically. The evidence can then confirm or disprove the testable predictions.

In summary, a hypothesis is a precise, testable statement of what researchers expect to happen in a study and why. Hypotheses connect theory to data and guide the research process towards expanding scientific understanding.

An experimental hypothesis predicts what change(s) will occur in the dependent variable when the independent variable is manipulated.

It states that the results are not due to chance and are significant in supporting the theory being investigated.

The alternative hypothesis can be directional, indicating a specific direction of the effect, or non-directional, suggesting a difference without specifying its nature. It’s what researchers aim to support or demonstrate through their study.

Null Hypothesis

The null hypothesis states no relationship exists between the two variables being studied (one variable does not affect the other). There will be no changes in the dependent variable due to manipulating the independent variable.

It states results are due to chance and are not significant in supporting the idea being investigated.

The null hypothesis, positing no effect or relationship, is a foundational contrast to the research hypothesis in scientific inquiry. It establishes a baseline for statistical testing, promoting objectivity by initiating research from a neutral stance.

Many statistical methods are tailored to test the null hypothesis, determining the likelihood of observed results if no true effect exists.

This dual-hypothesis approach provides clarity, ensuring that research intentions are explicit, and fosters consistency across scientific studies, enhancing the standardization and interpretability of research outcomes.

Nondirectional Hypothesis

A non-directional hypothesis, also known as a two-tailed hypothesis, predicts that there is a difference or relationship between two variables but does not specify the direction of this relationship.

It merely indicates that a change or effect will occur without predicting which group will have higher or lower values.

For example, “There is a difference in performance between Group A and Group B” is a non-directional hypothesis.

Directional Hypothesis

A directional (one-tailed) hypothesis predicts the nature of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. It predicts in which direction the change will take place. (i.e., greater, smaller, less, more)

It specifies whether one variable is greater, lesser, or different from another, rather than just indicating that there’s a difference without specifying its nature.

For example, “Exercise increases weight loss” is a directional hypothesis.

Falsifiability

The Falsification Principle, proposed by Karl Popper , is a way of demarcating science from non-science. It suggests that for a theory or hypothesis to be considered scientific, it must be testable and irrefutable.

Falsifiability emphasizes that scientific claims shouldn’t just be confirmable but should also have the potential to be proven wrong.

It means that there should exist some potential evidence or experiment that could prove the proposition false.

However many confirming instances exist for a theory, it only takes one counter observation to falsify it. For example, the hypothesis that “all swans are white,” can be falsified by observing a black swan.

For Popper, science should attempt to disprove a theory rather than attempt to continually provide evidence to support a research hypothesis.

Can a Hypothesis be Proven?

Hypotheses make probabilistic predictions. They state the expected outcome if a particular relationship exists. However, a study result supporting a hypothesis does not definitively prove it is true.

All studies have limitations. There may be unknown confounding factors or issues that limit the certainty of conclusions. Additional studies may yield different results.

In science, hypotheses can realistically only be supported with some degree of confidence, not proven. The process of science is to incrementally accumulate evidence for and against hypothesized relationships in an ongoing pursuit of better models and explanations that best fit the empirical data. But hypotheses remain open to revision and rejection if that is where the evidence leads.

• Disproving a hypothesis is definitive. Solid disconfirmatory evidence will falsify a hypothesis and require altering or discarding it based on the evidence.
• However, confirming evidence is always open to revision. Other explanations may account for the same results, and additional or contradictory evidence may emerge over time.

We can never 100% prove the alternative hypothesis. Instead, we see if we can disprove, or reject the null hypothesis.

If we reject the null hypothesis, this doesn’t mean that our alternative hypothesis is correct but does support the alternative/experimental hypothesis.

Upon analysis of the results, an alternative hypothesis can be rejected or supported, but it can never be proven to be correct. We must avoid any reference to results proving a theory as this implies 100% certainty, and there is always a chance that evidence may exist which could refute a theory.

How to Write a Hypothesis

• Identify variables . The researcher manipulates the independent variable and the dependent variable is the measured outcome.
• Operationalized the variables being investigated . Operationalization of a hypothesis refers to the process of making the variables physically measurable or testable, e.g. if you are about to study aggression, you might count the number of punches given by participants.
• Decide on a direction for your prediction . If there is evidence in the literature to support a specific effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable, write a directional (one-tailed) hypothesis. If there are limited or ambiguous findings in the literature regarding the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable, write a non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis.
• Make it Testable : Ensure your hypothesis can be tested through experimentation or observation. It should be possible to prove it false (principle of falsifiability).
• Clear & concise language . A strong hypothesis is concise (typically one to two sentences long), and formulated using clear and straightforward language, ensuring it’s easily understood and testable.

Consider a hypothesis many teachers might subscribe to: students work better on Monday morning than on Friday afternoon (IV=Day, DV= Standard of work).

Now, if we decide to study this by giving the same group of students a lesson on a Monday morning and a Friday afternoon and then measuring their immediate recall of the material covered in each session, we would end up with the following:

• The alternative hypothesis states that students will recall significantly more information on a Monday morning than on a Friday afternoon.
• The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the amount recalled on a Monday morning compared to a Friday afternoon. Any difference will be due to chance or confounding factors.

More Examples

• Memory : Participants exposed to classical music during study sessions will recall more items from a list than those who studied in silence.
• Social Psychology : Individuals who frequently engage in social media use will report higher levels of perceived social isolation compared to those who use it infrequently.
• Developmental Psychology : Children who engage in regular imaginative play have better problem-solving skills than those who don’t.
• Clinical Psychology : Cognitive-behavioral therapy will be more effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety over a 6-month period compared to traditional talk therapy.
• Cognitive Psychology : Individuals who multitask between various electronic devices will have shorter attention spans on focused tasks than those who single-task.
• Health Psychology : Patients who practice mindfulness meditation will experience lower levels of chronic pain compared to those who don’t meditate.
• Organizational Psychology : Employees in open-plan offices will report higher levels of stress than those in private offices.
• Behavioral Psychology : Rats rewarded with food after pressing a lever will press it more frequently than rats who receive no reward.

Module 12: Attraction

Module Overview

It was important to end the book on a positive note. So much of what is researched in social psychology has a negative connotation to it such as social influence, persuasion, prejudice, and aggression. Hence, we left attraction to the end. We start by discussing the need for affiliation and how it develops over time in terms of smiling, play, and attachment. We will discuss loneliness and how it affects health and the related concept of social rejection. We will then discuss eight factors on attraction to include proximity, familiarity, beauty, similarity, reciprocity, playing hard to get, and intimacy. The third section will cover types of relationships and love. Finally, relationship issues are a part of life and so we could not avoid a discussion of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. No worries. We end the module, and book, with coverage of the beneficial effects of forgiveness.

Module Outline

12.1. The Need for Affiliation

12.2. factors on attraction, 12.3. types of relationships, 12.4. predicting the end of a relationship.

Module Learning Outcomes

• Describe the need for affiliation and the negative effects of social rejection and loneliness.
• Clarify factors that increase interpersonal attraction between two people.
• Identify types of relationships and the components of love.
• Describe the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as they relate to relationship conflicts, how to resolve them, and the importance of forgiveness.

Section Learning Objectives

• Define interpersonal attraction.
• Define the need for affiliation.
• Report what the literature says about the need for affiliation.
• Define loneliness and identity its types.
• Describe smiling and how it relates to affiliation.
• Describe play and how it relates to affiliation.
• Define attachment.
• List and describe the four types of attachment.
• Clarify how attachment to parent leads to an attachment to God.
• Describe the effect of loneliness on health.
• Describe social rejection and its relation to affiliation.

12.1.1. Defining Key Terms

Have you ever wondered why people are motivated to spend time with some people over others, or why they chose the friends and significant others they do? If you have, you have given thought to interpersonal attraction or showing a preference for another person (remember, inter means between and so interpersonal is between people).

This relates to the need to affiliate/belong which is our motive to establish, maintain, or restore social relationships with others, whether individually or through groups (McClelland & Koestner, 1992). It is important to point out that we affiliate with people who accept us though are generally indifferent while we tend to belong to individuals who truly care about us and for whom we have an attachment. In terms of the former, you affiliate with your classmates and people you work with while you belong to your family or a committed relationship with your significant other or best friend. The literature shows that:

• Leaders high in the need for affiliation are more concerned about the needs of their followers and engaged in more transformational leadership due to affiliation moderating the interplay of achievement and power needs (Steinmann, Otting, & Maier, 2016).
• Who wants to take online courses? Seiver and Troja (2014) found that those high in the need for affiliation were less, and that those high in the need for autonomy were more, likely to want to take another online course. Their sample included college students enrolled in classroom courses who had taken at least one online course in the past.
• Though our need for affiliation is universal, it does not occur in every situation and individual differences and characteristics of the target can factor in. One such difference is religiosity and van Cappellen et al. (2017) found that religiosity was positively related to social affiliation except when the identity of the affiliation target was manipulated to be a threatening out-group member (an atheist). In this case, religiosity did not predict affiliation behaviors.
• Risk of exclusion from a group (not being affiliated) led individuals high in a need for inclusion/affiliation to engage in pro-group, but not pro-self, unethical behaviors (Thau et al., 2015).
• When affiliation goals are of central importance to a person, they perceive the estimated interpersonal distance between them and other people as smaller compared to participants primed with control words (Stel & van Koningsbruggen, 2015).

Loneliness occurs when our interpersonal relationships are not fulfilling and can lead to psychological discomfort. In reality, our relationships may be fine and so our perception of being alone is what matters most and can be particularly troublesome for the elderly. Tiwari (2013) points out that loneliness can take three forms. First, situational loneliness occurs when unpleasant experiences, interpersonal conflicts, disaster, or accidents lead to loneliness. Second, developmental loneliness occurs when a person cannot balance the need to relate to others with a need for individualism, which “results in loss of meaning from their life which in turn leads to emptiness and loneliness in that person.” Third, internal loneliness arises when a person has low self-esteem and low self-worth and can be caused by locus of control, guilt or worthlessness, and inadequate coping strategies. Tiwari writes, “Loneliness has now become an important public health concern. It leads to pain, injury/loss, grief, fear, fatigue, and exhaustion. Thus, it also makes a person sick and interferes in day to day functioning and hampers recovery…. Loneliness with its epidemiology, phenomenology, etiology, diagnostic criteria, adverse effects, and management should be considered a disease and should find its place in classification of psychiatric disorders.”

What do you think? Is loneliness a disease, needing to be listed in the DSM?

12.1.2. Development of Affiliation and Attachment

12.1.2.1. Smiling and affiliation. As early as 6-9 weeks after birth, children smile reliably at things that please them. These first smiles are indiscriminate, smiling at almost anything they find amusing. This may include a favorite toy, mobile over their crib, or even another person. Smiles directed at other people are called social smiles . Like smiles directed at inanimate objects, they too are indiscriminate at first but as the infant gets older, come to be reserved for specific people. These smiles fade away if the adult is unresponsive. Smiling is also used to communicate positive emotion and children become sensitive to the emotional expressions of others.

This indiscriminateness of their smiling ties in with how they perceive strangers. Before 6 months of age, they are not upset about the presence of people they do not know. As they learn to anticipate and predict events, strangers cause anxiety and fear. This is called stranger anxiety . Not all infants respond to strangers in the same way though. Infants with more experience show lower levels of anxiety than infants with little experience. Also, infants are less concerned about strangers who are female and those who are children. The latter probably has something to do with size as adults may seem imposing to children.

Important to stranger anxiety is the fact that children begin to figure people out or learn to detect emotion in others. They come to discern vocal expressions of emotion before visual ones, mostly due to their limited visual abilities early on. As vision improves and they get better at figuring people out, social referencing emerges around 8-9 months. When a child is faced with an uncertain circumstance or event, such as the presence of a stranger, they will intentionally search for information about how to act from a caregiver. So, if a stranger enters the room, an infant will look to its mother to see what her emotional reaction is. If the mother is happy or neutral, the infant will not become anxious. However, if the mother becomes distressed, the infant will respond in kind. Outside of dealing with strangers, infants will also social reference a parent if they are given an unusual toy to play with. If the parent is pleased with the toy, the child will play with it longer than if the parent is displeased or disgusted.

12.1.2.2. Play and affiliation. Children are also motivated to engage in play. Up to about 1.5 years of age, children play alone called solitary play . Between 1 ½ and 2 years of age, children play side-by-side, doing the same thing or similar things, but not interacting with each other. This is called parallel play . Associative play occurs next and is when two or more children interact with one another by sharing or borrowing toys or materials. They do not do the same thing though. Around 3 years of age, children engage in cooperative play which includes games that involve group imagination such as “playing house.” Finally, onlooker play is an important way for children to participate in games or activities they are not already engaged in. They simply wait for the right moment to jump in and then do so. Though play develops across time, or becomes more complex, solitary play and onlooker play do remain options children reserve for themselves. Sometimes we just want to play a game by ourselves and not have a friend split the screen with us, as in the case of video games and if they are on the couch next to you.

12.1.2.3. Attachment and affiliation, to people and God. Attachment is an emotional bond established between two individuals and involving one’s sense of security.  Our attachments during infancy have repercussions on how we relate to others the rest of our lives.  Ainsworth et al. (1978) identified three attachment styles an infant possesses.  The first is a secure attachment and results in the use of a mother as a home base to explore the world.  The child will occasionally return to her.  She also becomes upset when she leaves and goes to the mother when she returns.  Next is the avoidantly attached child who does not seek closeness with her and avoids the mother after she returns.  Finally, is the ambivalent attachment in which the child displays a mixture of positive and negative emotions toward the mother.  She remains relatively close to her which limits how much she explores the world.  If the mother leaves, the child will seek closeness with the mother all the while kicking and hitting her.

A fourth style has been added due to recent research.  This is the disorganized-disoriented attachment style which is characterized by inconsistent, often contradictory behaviors, confusion, and dazed behavior (Main & Solomon, 1990).  An example might be the child approaching the mother when she returns, but not making eye contact with her.

The interplay of a caregiver’s parenting style and the child’s subsequent attachment to this parent has long been considered a factor on the psychological health of the person throughout life. For instance, father’s psychological autonomy has been shown to lead to greater academic performance and fewer signs of depression in 4th graders (Mattanah, 2001). Attachment is also important when the child is leaving home for the first time to go to college. Mattanah, Hancock, and Brand (2004) showed in a sample of four hundred four students at a university in the Northeastern United States that separation individuation mediated the link between secure attachment and college adjustment. The nature of adult romantic relationships has been associated with attachment style in infancy (Kirkpatrick, 1997). One final way this appears in adulthood is through a person’s relationship with a god figure.

An extrapolation of attachment research is that we can perceive God’s love for the individual in terms of a mother’s love for her child, but this attachment is not always to God.  For instance, Protestants, seeing God as distant, use Jesus to form an attachment relationship while Catholics utilize Mary as their ideal attachment figure.  It could be that negative emotions and insecurity in relation to God do not always signify the lack of an attachment relationship, but maybe a different type of pattern or style (Kirkpatrick, 1995).  Consider that an abused child still develops an attachment to an abusive mother or father.  The same could occur with God and may well explain why images of vindictive and frightening gods have survived through human history.

One important thing to note is that in human relationships, the other person’s actions can affect the relationship, for better or worse.  Perceived relationships with God do not have this quality.  As God cannot affect us, we cannot affect Him.  This allows the person to invent or reinvent the relationship with God in secure terms without allowing counterproductive behaviors to retard progress.  Hence, Kirkpatrick (1995) says people “with insecure attachment histories might be able to find in God…the kind of secure attachment relationship they never had in human interpersonal relationships (p. 62).”  The best human attachment figures are ultimately fallible while God is not limited by this.

Pargament (1997) defined three styles of attachment to God.  First is the ‘secure’ attachment in which God is viewed as warm, receptive, supportive, and protective, and the person is very satisfied with the relationship.  Next is the ‘avoidant attachment’ in which God is seen as impersonal, distant, and disinterested, and the person characterizes the relationship as one in which God does not care about him or her.  Finally, is the ‘anxious/ambivalent’ attachment.   Here, God seems to be inconsistent in His reaction to the person, sometimes warm and receptive and sometimes not.  The person is not sure if God loves him or not.  We might say that the God of the secure attachment is the authoritative parent, the God of the avoidant attachment is authoritarian, and the God of the anxious/ambivalent attachment is permissive.

Kirkpatrick and Shaver (1990) note that attachment and religion may be linked in important ways.  They offer a “ compensation hypothesis ” which states that insecurely attached individuals are motivated to compensate for the absence of this secure relationship by believing in a loving God.  Their study evaluated the self-reports of 213 respondents (180 females and 33 males) and found that the avoidant parent-child attachment relationship yielded greater levels of adult religiousness while those with secure attachment had lower scores.  The avoidant respondents were also four times as likely to have experienced a sudden religious conversion.

They also remind the reader that the child uses the attachment figure as a haven and secure base, and go on to note that there is ample evidence to suggest the same function for God.  Bereaved persons become more religious, soldiers pray in foxholes, and many who are in emotional distress turn to God.  Further, Christianity has a plethora of references to God being by one’s side always and the person having a friend in Jesus.

Pargament (1997) expanded upon the compensation hypothesis and showed that the relationship between attachment history and religious beliefs is far from simple. He summarized four relationships between parental and religious attachments extrapolated from Kirkpatrick’s research.  First, if a child had a secure attachment to the parent, he may develop a secure attachment to religion, called ‘ positive correspondence .’  In this scenario, the result of a loving and trusting relationship with one’s parents is transferred to God as well.  This is contrary to the findings of Kirkpatrick and Shaver (1990) which said that securely attached individuals displayed lower levels of religiosity.  More in line with their view is Pargament’s second category, secure attachment to parents and insecure attachment to religion, called ‘ religious alienation .’  Here the person who had a secure attachment to parents may not feel the need to believe in God.  He does not need to compensate for any deficiencies.

The third category is also in line with Kirkpatrick and Shaver’s study.  Modeled after their hypothesis, ‘ religious compensation ’ results from an insecure attachment to parents and a secure attachment to religion.   Finally, an insecure attachment to parents may yield an insecure attachment to religion called ‘ negative correspondence ’ (see Table 12.1).  These insecure parental ties have left the person unequipped to build neither strong adult attachments nor a secure spiritual relationship.  The person may cling to “false gods” like drug and alcohol addiction, food addiction, religious dogmatism, a religious cult, or a codependent relationship.

12.1.3. Health Factors

“ Loneliness kills.” These were the opening words of a March 18, 2015 Time article describing alarming research which shows that loneliness increases the risk of death. How so? According to the meta-analysis of 70 studies published from 1980 to 2014, social isolation increases mortality by 29%, loneliness does so by 26%, and living alone by 32%; but being socially connected leads to higher survival rates (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015). The authors note, as did Tiwari (2013) earlier, that social isolation and loneliness should be listed as a public health concern as it can lead to poorer health and decreased longevity, as well as CVD (coronary vascular disease; Holt-Lunstad & Smith, 2016). Other ill effects of loneliness include greater stimulated cytokine production due to stress which in turn causes inflammation (Jaremka et al., 2013); greater occurrence of suicidal behavior (Stickley & Koyanagi, 2016); pain, depression, and fatigue (Jarema et al., 2014); and psychotic disorders such as delusional disorders, depressive psychosis, and subjective thought disorder (Badcock et al., 2015).

On a positive note, Stanley, Conwell, Bowen, and Van Orden (2013) found that for older adults who report feeling lonely, owning a pet is one way to feel socially connected. In their study, pet owners were found to be 36% less likely than non-pet owners to report feeling lonely. Those who lived alone and did not own a pet had the greatest odds of reporting loneliness. But the authors offer an admonition – owning a pet, if not managed properly, could actually be deleterious to health. They write, “For example, an older adult may place the well-being of their pet over the safety and health of themselves; they may pay for meals and veterinary services for their pet at the expense of their own meals or healthcare.” Bereavement concerns were also raised, though they say that with careful planning, any negative consequences of owning a pet can be mitigated.

To read the Time article, please visit: http://time.com/3747784/loneliness-mortality/

12.1.4. Social Rejection

Being rejected or ignored by others, called ostracism , hurts. No literally. It hurts. Research by Kross, Berman, Mischel, Smith, and Wager (2011) has shown that when rejected, brain areas such as the secondary somatosensory cortex and dorsal posterior insula which are implicated in the experience of physical pain, become active. So not only are the experiences of physical pain and social rejection distressing, the authors say that they share a common somatosensory representation too.

So, what do you do if you have experienced social rejection? A 2012 article by the American Psychological Association says to seek inclusion elsewhere. Those who have been excluded tend to become more sensitive to opportunities to connect and adjust their behavior as such. They may act more likable, show greater conformity, and comply with the requests of others. Of course, some respond with anger and aggression instead. The article says, “If someone’s primary concern is to reassert a sense of control, he or she may become aggressive as a way to force others to pay attention. Sadly, that can create a downward spiral. When people act aggressively, they’re even less likely to gain social acceptance.” The effects of long-term ostracism can be devastating but non-chronic rejection can be easier to alleviate. Seek out healthy positive connections with both friends and family as a way to combat rejection.

For more on the APA article, see https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/04/rejection .

• Clarify how proximity affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Clarify how familiarity affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Clarify how beauty affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Clarify how similarity affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Clarify how reciprocity affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Clarify how playing hard to get affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Clarify how intimacy affects interpersonal attractiveness.
• Describe mate selection strategies used by men and women.

On April 7, 2015, Psychology Today published an article entitled, The Four Types of Attraction . Referred to as an attraction pyramid, it places status and health at the bottom, emotional in the middle, and logic at the top of the pyramid. Status takes on two forms. Internal refers to confidence, your skills, and what you believe or your values. External refers to your job, visual markers, and what you own such as a nice car or house. The article states that confidence may be particularly important and overrides external status in the long run. Health can include the way you look, move, smell, and your intelligence. The middle level is emotional which includes what makes us unique, trust and comfort, our emotional intelligence, and how mysterious we appear to a potential suitor. And then at the top is logic which helps us to be sure this individual is aligned with us in terms of life goals such as having kids, getting married, where we will live, etc. The article says – “With greater alignment, there is greater attraction.” Since online romance is trending now, the pyramid flips and we focus on logic, then emotion, and then status and health, but meeting in person is important and should be done as soon as possible. This way, we can be sure there is a physical attraction and can only be validated in person.

To read the article for yourself, visit: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/valley-girl-brain/201504/the-four-types-attraction

So how accurate is the article? We will tackle several factors on attraction to include proximity, familiarity, physical attractiveness, similarity, reciprocity, the hard-to-get effect, and intimacy, and then close with a discussion of mate selection.

12.2.1. Proximity

First, proximity states that the closer two people live to one another, the more likely they are to interact. The more frequent their interaction, the more likely they will like one another then. Is it possible that individuals living in a housing development would strike up friendships while doing chores? This is exactly what Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950) found in an investigation of 260 married veterans living in a housing project at MIT. Proximity was the primary factor that led to the formation of friendships. For proximity to work, people must be able to engage in face-to-face communication, which is possible when they share a communication space and time (Monge & Kirste, 1980) and proximity is a determinant of interpersonal attraction for both sexes (Allgeier and Byrne, 1972). A more recent study of 40 couples from Punjab, Pakistan provides cross-cultural evidence of the importance of proximity as well. The authors write, “The results of qualitative analysis showed that friends who stated that they share the same room or same town were shown to have higher scores on interpersonal attraction than friends who lived in distant towns and cities” (pg. 145; Batool & Malik, 2010).

12.2.2. Mere Exposure – A Case for Familiarity?

In fact, the more we are exposed to novel stimuli, the greater our liking of them will be, called the mere exposure effect . Across two studies, Saegert, Swap, & Zajonc (1973) found that the more frequently we are exposed to a stimulus, even if it is negative, the greater our liking of it will be, and that this holds true for inanimate objects but also interpersonal attitudes. They conclude, “…the mere repeated exposure of people is a sufficient condition for enhancement of attraction, despite differences in favorability of context, and in the absence of any obvious rewards or punishments by these people” (pg. 241).

Peskin and Newell (2004) present an interesting study investigating how familiarity affects attraction. In their first experiment, participants rated the attractiveness, distinctiveness, and familiarity of 84 monochrome photographs of unfamiliar female faces obtained from US high school yearbooks. The ratings were made by three different groups – 31 participants for the attractiveness rating, 37 for the distinctiveness rating, and 30 for the familiarity rating – and no participant participated in more than one of the studies. In all three rating studies, a 7-point scale was used whereby 1 indicated that the face was not attractive, distinctive, or familiar and 7 indicated that it was very attractive, distinctive, or familiar. They found a significant negative correlation between attractiveness and distinctiveness and a significant positive correlation between attractiveness and familiarity scores, consistent with the literature.

In the second experiment, 32 participants were exposed to 16 of the 24 most typical and 16 of the 24 most distinctive faces from the experiment and the other 8 faces serving as controls. The controls were shown once during the judgment phase while the 16 typical and 16 distinctive faces were shown six times for a total of 192 trials. Ratings of attractiveness were given during the judgment phase. Results showed that repeated exposure increased attractiveness ratings overall, and there was no difference between typical and distinctive faces. These results were found to be due to increased exposure and not judgment bias or experimental conditions since the attractiveness ratings of the 16 control faces were compared to the same faces from experiment 1 and no significant difference between the two groups was found.

Overall, Peskin and Newell (2004) state that their findings show that increasing the familiarity of faces by increasing exposure led to increased attractiveness ratings. They add, “We also demonstrated that typical faces were found to be more attractive than distinctive faces although both face types were subjected to similar increases in familiarity” (pg. 156).

12.2.3. Physical Attractiveness

Second, we choose who we spend time with based on how attractive they are. Attractive people are seen as more interesting, happier, smarter, sensitive, and moral and as such are liked more than less attractive people. This is partly due to the halo effect or when we hold a favorable attitude to traits that are unrelated. We see beauty as a valuable asset and one that can be exchanged for other things during our social interactions. Between personality, social skills, intelligence, and attractiveness, which characteristic do you think matters most in dating? In a field study randomly pairing subjects at a “Computer Dance” the largest determinant of how much a partner was liked, how much he wanted to date the partner again, and how frequently he asked the partner out, was simply the physical attractiveness of the partner (Walster et al., 1966).

In a more contemporary twist on dating and interpersonal attraction, Luo and Zhang (2009) looked at speed dating. Results showed that the biggest predictor of attraction for both males and females was the physical attractiveness of their partner (reciprocity showed some influence though similarity produced no evidence – both will be discussed shortly so keep it in mind for now).

Is beauty linked to a name though? Garwood et al. (1980) asked 197 college students to choose a beauty queen from six photographs, all equivalent in terms of physical attractiveness. Half of the women in the photographs had a desirable first name while the other half did not. Results showed that girls with a desirable first name received 158 votes while those with an undesirable first name received just 39 votes.

So why beauty? Humans display what is called a beauty bias . Struckman-Johnson and Struckman- Johnson (1994) investigated the reaction of 277 male, middle-class, Caucasian college students to a vignette in which they were asked to imagine receiving an uninvited sexual advance from a casual female acquaintance. The vignette displayed different degrees of coercion such as low-touch, moderate-push, high-threat, and very high-weapon. The results showed that men had a more positive reaction to the sexual advance of a female acquaintance who was attractive and who used low or moderate levels of coercion than to an unattractive female.

What about attractiveness in the workplace? Hosoda, Stone-Romero, and Coats (2006) found considerable support for the notion that attractive individuals fare better in employment-related decisions (i.e., hiring and promotions) than unattractive individuals. Although there is a beauty bias, the authors found that its strength has weakened over the past few decades.

12.2.4. Similarity

You have likely heard the expressions “Opposites attract” and “Birds of a feather flock together.” The former expression contradicts the latter, and so this leads us to wonder which is it? Research shows that we are most attracted to people who are like us in terms of our religious and political beliefs, values, appearance, educational background, age, and other demographic variables (Warren, 1966). Thus, we tend to choose people who are similar to us in attitudes and interests as this leads to a more positive evaluation of them. Their agreement with our choices and beliefs helps to reduce any uncertainty we face regarding social situations and improves our understanding of the situation. You might say their similarity also validates our own values, beliefs, and attitudes as they have arrived at the same conclusions that we have. This occurs with identification with sports teams. Our perceived similarity with the group leads to group-derived self-definition more so than the attractiveness of the group such that, “… a team that is “crude, rude, and unattractive” may be appealing to fans who have the same qualities, but repulsive to fans who are more “civilized”.” The authors suggest that sports marketers could emphasize the similarities between fans and their teams (Fisher, 1998). Another form of similarity is in terms of physical attractiveness. According to the matching hypothesis , we date others who are similar to us in terms of how attractive they are (Feingold, 1988; Huston, 1973; Bersheid et al., 1971; Walster, 1970).

12.2.5. Reciprocity

Fourth, we choose people who are likely to engage in a mutual exchange with us. We prefer people who make us feel rewarded and appreciated and in the spirit of reciprocation, we need to give something back to them. This exchange continues so long as both parties regard their interactions to be mutually beneficial or the benefits of the exchange outweigh the costs (Homans, 1961; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959). If you were told that a stranger you interacted with liked you, research shows that you would express a greater liking for that person as well (Aronson & Worchel, 1966) and the same goes for reciprocal desire (Greitmeyer, 2010).

12.2.6. Playing Hard to Get

Does playing hard to get make a woman (or man) more desirable than the one who seems eager for an alliance? Results of five experiments said that it does not though a sixth experiment suggests that if the woman is easy for a particular man to get but hard for all other men to get, she would be preferred over a woman who is uniformly hard or easy to get, or is a woman for which the man has no information about. Men gave these selective women all of the assets (i.e. selective, popular, friendly, warm, and easy going) but none of the liabilities (i.e. problems expected in dating) of the uniformly hard to get and easy to get women. The authors state, “It appears that a woman can intensify her desirability if she acquires a reputation for being hard-to-get and then, by her behavior, makes it clear to a selected romantic partner that she is attracted to him” (pg. 120; Walster et al., 1973). Dai, Dong, and Jia (2014) predicted and found that when person B plays hard to get with person A, this will increase A’s wanting of B but simultaneously decrease A’s liking of B, only if A is psychologically committed to pursuing further relations with B. Otherwise, the hard to get strategy will result in decreased wanting and liking.

12.2.7. Intimacy

Finally, intimacy occurs when we feel close to and trust in another person. This factor is based on the idea of self-disclosure or telling another person about our deepest held secrets, experiences, and beliefs that we do not usually share with others. But this revealing of information comes with the expectation of a mutual self-disclosure from our friend or significant other. We might think that self-disclosure is difficult online but a study of 243 Facebook users shows that we tell our personal secrets on Facebook to those we like and that we feel we can disclose such personal details to people with whom we talk often and come to trust (Sheldon, 2009).

This said, there is a possibility we can overshare, called overdisclosure , which may lead to a reduction in our attractiveness. What if you showed up for class a few minutes early and sat next to one of your classmates who proceeded to give you every detail of their weekend of illicit drug use and sexual activity? This would likely make you feel uncomfortable and seek to move to another seat.

12.2.8. Mate Selection

As you will see in a bit, men and women have vastly different strategies when it comes to selecting a mate. This leads us to ask why, and the answer is rooted in evolutionary psychology. Mate selection occurs universally in all human cultures. In a trend seen around the world, Buss (2004) said that since men can father a nearly unlimited number of children, they favor signs of fertility in women to include being young, attractive, and healthy. Since they also want to know that the child is their own, they favor women who will be sexually faithful to them.

In contrast, women favor a more selective strategy given the incredible time investment having a child involves and the fact that she can only have a limited number of children during her life. She looks for a man who is financially stable and can provide for her children, typically being an older man. In support of the difference in age of a sexual partner pursued by men and women, Buss (1989) found that men wanted to marry women 2.7 years younger while women preferred men 3.4 years older. Also, this finding emerged cross-culturally.

• Describe how the social exchange theory explains relationships.
• Describe how the equity theory explains relationships.
• List and describe types of relationships.
• Define love and describe its three components according to Sternberg.
• Define jealousy.

12.3.1. Social Exchange Theory

Recall from Section 11.2.9 that social exchange theory is the idea that we utilize a minimax strategy whereby we seek to maximize our rewards all while minimizing our costs. In terms of relationships, those that have less costs and more rewards will be favored, last longer, and be more fulfilling. Rewards include having someone to console us during difficult times, companionship, the experience of love, and having a committed sexual partner for romantic relationships. Costs include the experience of conflict, having to compromise, and needing to sacrifice for another.

12.3.2. Equity Theory

Equity theory (Walster et al., 1978) consists of four propositions. First, it states that individuals will try to maximize outcomes such that rewards win out over punishments. Second, groups will evolve systems for equitably apportioning rewards and punishments among members and members will be expected to adhere to these systems. Those who are equitable to others will be rewarded while those who are not will be punished. Third, individuals in inequitable relationships will experience distress proportional to the inequity. Fourth, those in inequitable relationships will seek to eliminate their distress by restoring equity and will work harder to achieve this the greater the distress they experience. The goal is for all participants to feel they are receiving equal relative gains from the relationship.

According to Hatfield and Traupmann (1981) if an individual feels that the ratio between benefits and costs are disproportionately in favor of the other partner, he or she may feel ripped off or underbenefited, and experience distress. So, what can be done about this? The authors state, “There are only two ways that people can set things right: they can re-establish actual equity or psychological equity. In the first case they can inaugurate real changes in their relationships, e.g. the underbenefited may well ask for more out of their relationships, or their overbenefited partners may offer to try to give more. In the latter case couples may find it harder to change their behavior than to change their minds and so prefer to close their eyes and to reassure themselves that “really, everything is in perfect order”” (pg.168).

12.3.3. Types of Relationships

Relationships can take on a few different forms. In what are called communal relationships, there is an expectation of mutual responsiveness from each member as it relates to tending to member’s needs while exchange relationships involve the expectation of reciprocity in a form of tit-for-tat strategy. This leads to what are called intimate or romantic relationships in which you feel a very strong sense of attraction to another person in terms of their personality and physical features. Love is often a central feature of intimate relationships.

12.3.4. Love

One outcome of this attraction to others, or the need to affiliate/belong is love. What is love? According to a 2011 article in Psychology Today entitled ‘ What is Love, and What Isn’t It? ’ love is a force of nature, is bigger than we are, inherently free, cannot be turned on as a reward or off as a punishment, cannot be bought, cannot be sold, and cares what becomes of us). Adrian Catron writes in an article entitled, “What is Love? A Philosophy of Life” that “the word love is used as an expression of affection towards someone else….and expresses a human virtue that is based on compassion, affection and kindness.” He goes on to say that love is a practice and you can practice it for the rest of your life. ( https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-love-a-philosophy_b_5697322 ). And finally, the Merriam Webster dictionary online defines love as “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties” and “attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers.” (Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/love ).

Robert Sternberg (1986) said love is composed of three main parts (called the triangular theory of love ): intimacy, commitment, and passion. First, intimacy is the emotional component and involves how much we like, feel close to, and are connected to another person. It grows steadily at first, slows down, and then levels off. Features include holding the person in high regard, sharing personal affect with them, and giving them emotional support in times of need. Second, commitment is the cognitive component and occurs when you decide you truly love the person. You decide to make a long-term commitment to them and as you might expect, is almost non-existent when a relationship begins and is the last to develop usually. If a relationship fails, commitment would show a pattern of declining over time and eventually returns to zero. Third, passion represents the motivational component of love and is the first of the three to develop. It involves attraction, romance, and sex and if a relationship ends, passion can fall to negative levels as the person copes with the loss.

This results in eight subtypes of love which explains differences in the types of love we express. For instance, the love we feel for our significant other will be different than the love we feel for a neighbor or coworker, and reflect different aspects of the components of intimacy, commitment, and passion as follows:

12.3.4.1. Jealousy. The dark side of love is what is called jealousy , or a negative emotional state arising due to a perceived threat to one’s relationship. Take note of the word perceived here. The threat does not have to be real for jealousy to rear its ugly head and what causes men and women to feel jealous varies. For women, a man’s emotional infidelity leads her to fear him leaving and withdrawing his financial support for her offspring, while sexual infidelity is of greater concern to men as he may worry that the children he is supporting are not his own. Jealousy can also arise among siblings who are competing for their parent’s attention, among competitive coworkers especially if a highly desired position is needing to be filled, and among friends. From an evolutionary perspective, jealousy is essential as it helps to preserve social bonds and motivates action to keep important relationships stable and safe. But it can also lead to aggression (Dittman, 2005) and mental health issues.

• Describe Gottman’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
• Propose antidotes to the horsemen.
• Clarify the importance of forgiveness in relationships.

12.4.1. Communication, Conflict, and Successful Resolution

John Gottman used the metaphor of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the New Testament to describe communication styles that can predict the end of a relationship. Though not conquest, war, hunger, and death, Gottman instead used the terms criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. Each will be discussed below, as described on Gottman’s website: https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-recognizing-criticism-contempt-defensiveness-and-stonewalling/

First, criticism occurs when a person attacks their partner at their core character “or dismantling their whole being” when criticized. An example might be calling them selfish and saying they never think of you. It differs from a complaint which typically involves a specific issue. For instance, one night in March 2019 my wife was stuck at work until after 8pm. I was upset as she did not call to let me know what was going on and we have an agreement to inform one another about changing work schedules. Criticism can become pervasive and when it does, it leads to the other, far deadlier horsemen. “It makes the victim feel assaulted, rejected, and hurt, and often causes the perpetrator and victim to fall into an escalating pattern where the first horseman reappears with greater and greater frequency and intensity, which eventually leads to contempt.”

The second horseman is contempt which involves treating others with disrespect, mocking them, ridiculing, being sarcastic, calling names, or mimicking them. The point is to make the target feel despised and worthless. “Most importantly, contempt is the single greatest predictor of divorce . It must be eliminated.”

Defensiveness is the third horseman and is a response to criticism. When we feel unjustly accused, we have a tendency to make excuses and play the innocent victim to get our partner to back off. Does it work though? “Although it is perfectly understandable to defend yourself if you’re stressed out and feeling attacked, this approach will not have the desired effect. Defensiveness will only escalate the conflict if the critical spouse does not back down or apologize. This is because defensiveness is really a way of blaming your partner, and it won’t allow for healthy conflict management.”

Stonewalling is the fourth horseman and occurs when the listener withdraws from the interaction, shuts down, or stops responding to their partner. They may tune out, act busy, engage in distracting behavior, or turn away and stonewalling is a response to contempt. “It is a result of feeling physiologically flooded, and when we stonewall, we may not even be in a physiological state where we can discuss things rationally.”

Conflict is an unavoidable reality of relationships. The good news is that each horseman has an antidote to stop it. How so?

• To combat criticism, engage in gentle start up . Talk about your feelings using “I” statements and not “you” and express what you need to in a positive way. As the website demonstrates, instead of saying “You always talk about yourself. Why are you always so selfish?” say, “I’m feeling left out of our talk tonight and I need to vent. Can we please talk about my day?”
• To combat contempt, build a culture of appreciation and respect . Regularly express appreciation, gratitude, affection, and respect for your partner. The more positive you are, the less likely that contempt will be expressed. Instead of saying, “You forgot to load the dishwasher again? Ugh. You are so incredibly lazy.” (Rolls eyes.) say, “I understand that you’ve been busy lately, but could you please remember to load the dishwasher when I work late? I’d appreciate it.”
• To combat defensiveness, take responsibility . You can do this for just part of the conflict. A defensive comment might be, “It’s not my fault that we’re going to be late. It’s your fault since you always get dressed at the last second.” Instead, say, “I don’t like being late, but you’re right. We don’t always have to leave so early. I can be a little more flexible.”
• To combat stonewalling, engage in physiological self-soothing . Arguing increases one’s heart rate, releases stress hormones, and activates our flight-fight response. By taking a short break, we can calm down and “return to the discussion in a respectful and rational way.” Failing to take a break could lead to stonewalling and bottling up emotions, or exploding like a volcano at your partner, or both. “So, when you take a break, it should last at least twenty minutes because it will take that long before your body physiologically calms down. It’s crucial that during this time you avoid thoughts of righteous indignation (“I don’t have to take this anymore”) and innocent victimhood (“Why is he always picking on me?”). Spend your time doing something soothing and distracting, like listening to music, reading, or exercising. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as it helps you to calm down.”

12.4.2. Forgiveness

According to the Mayo Clinic, forgiveness involves letting go of resentment and any thought we might have about getting revenge on someone for past wrongdoing. So what are the benefits of forgiving others? Our mental health will be better, we will experience less anxiety and stress, we may experience fewer symptoms of depression, our heart will be healthier, we will feel less hostility, and our relationships overall will be healthier.

It’s easy to hold a grudge. Let’s face it, whatever the cause, it likely left us feeling angry, confused, and sad. We may even be bitter not only to the person who slighted us but extend this to others who had nothing to do with the situation. We might have trouble focusing on the present as we dwell on the past and feel like life lacks meaning and purpose.

But even if we are the type of person who holds grudges, we can learn to forgive. The Mayo Clinic offers some useful steps to help us get there. First, we should recognize the value of forgiveness. Next, we should determine what needs healing and who we should forgive and for what. Then we should consider joining a support group or talk with a counselor. Fourth, we need to acknowledge our emotions, the harm they do to us, and how they affect our behavior. We then attempt to release them. Fifth, choose to forgive the person who offended us leading to the final step of moving away from seeing ourselves as the victim and “release the control and power the offending person and situation have had in your life.”

At times, we still cannot forgive the person. They recommend practicing empathy so that we can see the situation from their perspective, praying, reflecting on instances of when you offended another person and they forgave you, and be aware that forgiveness does not happen all at once but is a process.

Read the article by visiting: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/forgiveness/art-20047692

Module Recap

That’s it. With the close of this module, we also finish the book. We hope you enjoyed learning about attraction and the various factors on it, types of relationships, and complications we might endure. As we learned, conflict is inevitable in any type of relationship, but there is hope. Never give up or give in.

Module 12 is the last in Part IV: How We Relate to Others.

2nd edition

Share This Book

• Increase Font Size

Final dates! Join the tutor2u subject teams in London for a day of exam technique and revision at the cinema. Learn more →

Reference Library

Collections

• See what's new
• All Resources
• Student Resources
• Assessment Resources
• Teaching Resources
• CPD Courses
• Livestreams

Study notes, videos, interactive activities and more!

Psychology news, insights and enrichment

Currated collections of free resources

Browse resources by topic

• All Psychology Resources

Resource Selections

Currated lists of resources

• Study Notes

Relationships: Physical Attractiveness

Last updated 8 Apr 2018

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share by Email

Psychologists have long noticed that physical attractiveness plays a major part in the formation of relationships, and proposed various explanations of why this is the case.

Some of these explanations are based on evolutionary theory, such as the idea that people with symmetrical faces are more often viewed as more attractive because it is a sign of health and genetic fitness.

In this study note social psychological explanations of why attractiveness is so important for both short-term and long-term relationships are examined.

Halo Effect and Matching Hypothesis

One explanation for the importance of attractiveness is the  halo effect .

The halo effect  is the idea that people who are judged to be attractive are typically perceived in a positive light. For example, Dion et al. (1972) found that attractive people are consistently rated as successful, kind and sociable when compared with unattractive people. This means that we not only believe that good-looking people are more physically attractive, we expect them to have other desirable characteristics as well and tend to behave more positively towards them.

However, in real life people also use common sense to estimate whether a prospective partner will find us attractive, and therefore they don't automatically go for the most attractive person around, but choose a partner who matches their own level of physical attractiveness. This is referred to as the matching hypothesis. 

According to the matching hypothesis , a person’s choice of partner is a balance between a desire to have the most physically attractive partner possible and their wish to avoid being rejected by someone who is 'way out of their league'.  As a result, people often settle for a partner who has roughly the same level of physical attractiveness.

Research Examining Physical Attractiveness

Exam Hint: Research studies can be presented as both knowledge and evaluation in the exam; however, it is important that students are clear with how they are using research in their answer.

The idea of halo effect was supported by Palmer and Peterson (2012), who asked participants to rate attractive and unattractive people in terms of how politically competent and knowledgeable they believed them to be. It was found that attractive people were consistently rated higher on these characteristics compared to unattractive ones.

Original research into the matching hypothesis was conducted by Elaine Walster (who first proposed the matching hypothesis) and her colleagues in 1966 .  They invited 752 first-year students at the University of Minnesota to attend a dance party. They were randomly matched to a partner; however, when students were picking up their tickets, they were secretly judged by a panel in terms of attractiveness. During the intervals at the dance party, and 4 to 6 months later, students were asked whether they found their partner attractive and whether they would like to go on a second date with them. Contrary to the matching hypothesis predictions, students expressed higher appreciation of their partner if the partner was attractive, regardless of their own level of attractiveness.

However, Feingold (1988) found supportive evidence for the matching hypothesis by carrying out a meta-analysis of 17 studies using real-life couples. He established a strong correlation between the partners’ ratings of attractiveness, just as predicted by the matching hypothesis.

Evaluation of Physical Attractiveness

Exam Hint: The first evaluation point demonstrates how research (see above) can be used to write effective evaluation.

(1) The matching hypothesis is to some extent supported by research. For example, Feingold (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of 17 studies, and found a strong correlation between partners’ ratings of attractiveness. This shows that people tend to choose a partner who has a similar level of physical attractiveness to themselves, just as the matching hypothesis predicts.

(2) However, in addition to Walster et al.’s original study that failed to support the hypothesis, other research has also failed to provide conclusive evidence for matching hypothesis. For example, Taylor et al. (2011) investigated the activity log on a dating website and found that website users were more likely to try and arrange a meeting with a potential partner who was more physically attractive than them. These findings contradict the matching hypothesis, as according to its predictions, website users should seek more dates with a person who is similar in terms of attractiveness, because it provides them with a better chance of being accepted by a potential partner.

(3) There are significant individual differences in terms of the importance that people place on physical attractiveness in terms of relationships. Towhey (1979) gave participants photos of strangers and some biographical information about them; participants were asked to rate how much they liked the people on photographs. Towhey found that physical attractiveness was more important for participants who displayed sexist attitudes (measured by a specially designed questionnaire). This suggests that, depending on the individual, physical appearance may or may not be a significant factor in attractiveness, while the matching hypothesis suggests it is always the main one.

(4) Another weakness of the matching hypothesis is that it mainly applies to short-term relationships. However, when choosing a partner for long-term relationships, people tend to focus more on similarity of values and needs satisfaction, rather than physical attractiveness. This questions the validity of the matching hypothesis, as it will only describe a limited number of relationships. Furthermore, the matching hypothesis ignores the fact that people may compensate for the lack of physical attractiveness with other qualities, such as intellect or sociability. This compensation explains repeatedly occurring examples of older, less attractive men being married to attractive younger women; something that the matching hypothesis cannot account for.

Evaluation: Issues & Debates

Physical attractiveness seems to be an important factor in forming relationships across cultures. For example, Cunningham et al. (1995) found that white, Asian and Hispanic males, despite being from different cultures, rated females with prominent cheekbones, small noses and large eyes as highly attractive. This universality of findings suggests that using attractiveness as a decisive factor in choosing a partner might be a genetically reproduced mechanism, aiding sexual selection. This gives support to the nature side of nature-nurture debate as it shows that human behaviour is mainly a result of biological rather than environmental influences.

On the other hand, the matching hypothesis may be suffering from a beta-bias, as it assumes that men and women are very similar in their view of the importance of physical attractiveness. Research, however, suggests that this may not be the case. For example, Meltzer et al. (2014) found that men rate their long-term relationships more satisfying if their partner is physically attractive, while for women their partner’s attractiveness didn’t have a significant impact on relationship satisfaction. This shows that there are significant gender differences in how important appearance is for attraction.

The matching hypothesis is a theory that is based on a nomothetic approach to studying human behaviour. It tries to generate behavioural laws applicable to all people; however, as studies above suggest, there are significant individual differences in the importance of physical attractiveness to one’s choice of a partner. Therefore, explanations based on the idiographic approach (studying individual cases in detail, without trying to generate universal rules) may be more appropriate for studying romantic relationships.

• Relationships
• Matching Hypothesis
• Halo effect

You might also like

The side-effects of being in love....

16th June 2016

Love, Loss, and the Space Between - An Interview with Dr David Sbarra

29th August 2016

IB Psychology: Teaching the Human Relationships option? How about using the example of bullying?

12th September 2016

Bad News Guys – Your Tattoo Doesn’t Impress the Ladies

1st January 2017

STEM Starter: Relationship Breakdown

12th January 2017

Psychology Weekly Update & Newsletter

16th January 2017

Mobile Phones Affect Relationships

21st January 2017

Does Travelling Make You More Likely to Cheat?

Our subjects.

• › Criminology
• › Economics
• › Geography
• › Health & Social Care
• › Psychology
• › Sociology
• › Teaching & learning resources
• › Student revision workshops
• › Online student courses
• › CPD for teachers
• › Livestreams
• › Teaching jobs

Boston House, 214 High Street, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, LS23 6AD Tel: 01937 848885

• › Contact us
• › Terms of use
• › Privacy & cookies

© 2002-2024 Tutor2u Limited. Company Reg no: 04489574. VAT reg no 816865400.

• You are here:  

Matching hypothesis

Latest articles.

• Cognitive Control
• Analogue study
• Amnestic disorder
• Low Balling
• Free Rider Effect
• Light pollution
• Adapting to Change
• Accent Reduction Training
• Case conceptualization
• Career Fulfillment
• Behavioral Health
• Glossary / Lexicon

Matching hypothesis refers to hypothesis that social support is helpful to an individual to the extent that the kind of support offered satisfies the individual's specific needs. Matching hypothesis moreover, is the notion that people are attracted to those who are about as physically attractive as they are; the idea that people of similar levels of physical attractiveness gravitate toward each other; the proposition that people tend to pair up with others who are equally attractive. Matching hypothesis moreover, is the notion that people are attracted to those who are about as physically attractive as they are.

Sunday, 2024-03-24

The daily puzzle:.

• Psychology Glossary
• Legal Notice / Impressum
• Forgot your username?
• Forgot your password?

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2023 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

How to Write a Great Hypothesis

Hypothesis Format, Examples, and Tips

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Alex Dos Diaz

• The Scientific Method

Hypothesis Format

Falsifiability of a hypothesis, operational definitions, types of hypotheses, hypotheses examples.

• Collecting Data

Frequently Asked Questions

A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more  variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in a study.

One hypothesis example would be a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states: "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep-deprived."

This article explores how a hypothesis is used in psychology research, how to write a good hypothesis, and the different types of hypotheses you might use.

The Hypothesis in the Scientific Method

In the scientific method , whether it involves research in psychology, biology, or some other area, a hypothesis represents what the researchers think will happen in an experiment. The scientific method involves the following steps:

• Forming a question
• Performing background research
• Creating a hypothesis
• Designing an experiment
• Collecting data
• Analyzing the results
• Drawing conclusions
• Communicating the results

The hypothesis is a prediction, but it involves more than a guess. Most of the time, the hypothesis begins with a question which is then explored through background research. It is only at this point that researchers begin to develop a testable hypothesis. Unless you are creating an exploratory study, your hypothesis should always explain what you  expect  to happen.

In a study exploring the effects of a particular drug, the hypothesis might be that researchers expect the drug to have some type of effect on the symptoms of a specific illness. In psychology, the hypothesis might focus on how a certain aspect of the environment might influence a particular behavior.

Remember, a hypothesis does not have to be correct. While the hypothesis predicts what the researchers expect to see, the goal of the research is to determine whether this guess is right or wrong. When conducting an experiment, researchers might explore a number of factors to determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome.

In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment  do not  support the original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other options that should be explored in future studies.

In many cases, researchers might draw a hypothesis from a specific theory or build on previous research. For example, prior research has shown that stress can impact the immune system. So a researcher might hypothesize: "People with high-stress levels will be more likely to contract a common cold after being exposed to the virus than people who have low-stress levels."

In other instances, researchers might look at commonly held beliefs or folk wisdom. "Birds of a feather flock together" is one example of folk wisdom that a psychologist might try to investigate. The researcher might pose a specific hypothesis that "People tend to select romantic partners who are similar to them in interests and educational level."

Elements of a Good Hypothesis

So how do you write a good hypothesis? When trying to come up with a hypothesis for your research or experiments, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is your hypothesis based on your research on a topic?
• Can your hypothesis be tested?
• Does your hypothesis include independent and dependent variables?

Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing background research. Once you have completed a literature review, start thinking about potential questions you still have. Pay attention to the discussion section in the  journal articles you read . Many authors will suggest questions that still need to be explored.

To form a hypothesis, you should take these steps:

• Collect as many observations about a topic or problem as you can.
• Evaluate these observations and look for possible causes of the problem.
• Create a list of possible explanations that you might want to explore.
• After you have developed some possible hypotheses, think of ways that you could confirm or disprove each hypothesis through experimentation. This is known as falsifiability.

In the scientific method ,  falsifiability is an important part of any valid hypothesis.   In order to test a claim scientifically, it must be possible that the claim could be proven false.

Students sometimes confuse the idea of falsifiability with the idea that it means that something is false, which is not the case. What falsifiability means is that  if  something was false, then it is possible to demonstrate that it is false.

One of the hallmarks of pseudoscience is that it makes claims that cannot be refuted or proven false.

A variable is a factor or element that can be changed and manipulated in ways that are observable and measurable. However, the researcher must also define how the variable will be manipulated and measured in the study.

For example, a researcher might operationally define the variable " test anxiety " as the results of a self-report measure of anxiety experienced during an exam. A "study habits" variable might be defined by the amount of studying that actually occurs as measured by time.

These precise descriptions are important because many things can be measured in a number of different ways. One of the basic principles of any type of scientific research is that the results must be replicable.   By clearly detailing the specifics of how the variables were measured and manipulated, other researchers can better understand the results and repeat the study if needed.

Some variables are more difficult than others to define. How would you operationally define a variable such as aggression ? For obvious ethical reasons, researchers cannot create a situation in which a person behaves aggressively toward others.

In order to measure this variable, the researcher must devise a measurement that assesses aggressive behavior without harming other people. In this situation, the researcher might utilize a simulated task to measure aggressiveness.

Hypothesis Checklist

• Does your hypothesis focus on something that you can actually test?
• Does your hypothesis include both an independent and dependent variable?
• Can you manipulate the variables?
• Can your hypothesis be tested without violating ethical standards?

The hypothesis you use will depend on what you are investigating and hoping to find. Some of the main types of hypotheses that you might use include:

• Simple hypothesis : This type of hypothesis suggests that there is a relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable.
• Complex hypothesis : This type of hypothesis suggests a relationship between three or more variables, such as two independent variables and a dependent variable.
• Null hypothesis : This hypothesis suggests no relationship exists between two or more variables.
• Alternative hypothesis : This hypothesis states the opposite of the null hypothesis.
• Statistical hypothesis : This hypothesis uses statistical analysis to evaluate a representative sample of the population and then generalizes the findings to the larger group.
• Logical hypothesis : This hypothesis assumes a relationship between variables without collecting data or evidence.

A hypothesis often follows a basic format of "If {this happens} then {this will happen}." One way to structure your hypothesis is to describe what will happen to the  dependent variable  if you change the  independent variable .

The basic format might be: "If {these changes are made to a certain independent variable}, then we will observe {a change in a specific dependent variable}."

A few examples of simple hypotheses:

• "Students who eat breakfast will perform better on a math exam than students who do not eat breakfast."
• Complex hypothesis: "Students who experience test anxiety before an English exam will get lower scores than students who do not experience test anxiety."​
• "Motorists who talk on the phone while driving will be more likely to make errors on a driving course than those who do not talk on the phone."

Examples of a complex hypothesis include:

• "People with high-sugar diets and sedentary activity levels are more likely to develop depression."
• "Younger people who are regularly exposed to green, outdoor areas have better subjective well-being than older adults who have limited exposure to green spaces."

Examples of a null hypothesis include:

• "Children who receive a new reading intervention will have scores different than students who do not receive the intervention."
• "There will be no difference in scores on a memory recall task between children and adults."

Examples of an alternative hypothesis:

• "Children who receive a new reading intervention will perform better than students who did not receive the intervention."
• "Adults will perform better on a memory task than children." 

Collecting Data on Your Hypothesis

Once a researcher has formed a testable hypothesis, the next step is to select a research design and start collecting data. The research method depends largely on exactly what they are studying. There are two basic types of research methods: descriptive research and experimental research.

Descriptive Research Methods

Descriptive research such as  case studies ,  naturalistic observations , and surveys are often used when it would be impossible or difficult to  conduct an experiment . These methods are best used to describe different aspects of a behavior or psychological phenomenon.

Once a researcher has collected data using descriptive methods, a correlational study can then be used to look at how the variables are related. This type of research method might be used to investigate a hypothesis that is difficult to test experimentally.

Experimental Research Methods

Experimental methods  are used to demonstrate causal relationships between variables. In an experiment, the researcher systematically manipulates a variable of interest (known as the independent variable) and measures the effect on another variable (known as the dependent variable).

Unlike correlational studies, which can only be used to determine if there is a relationship between two variables, experimental methods can be used to determine the actual nature of the relationship—whether changes in one variable actually  cause  another to change.

A Word From Verywell

The hypothesis is a critical part of any scientific exploration. It represents what researchers expect to find in a study or experiment. In situations where the hypothesis is unsupported by the research, the research still has value. Such research helps us better understand how different aspects of the natural world relate to one another. It also helps us develop new hypotheses that can then be tested in the future.

Some examples of how to write a hypothesis include:

• "Staying up late will lead to worse test performance the next day."
• "People who consume one apple each day will visit the doctor fewer times each year."
• "Breaking study sessions up into three 20-minute sessions will lead to better test results than a single 60-minute study session."

The four parts of a hypothesis are:

• The research question
• The independent variable (IV)
• The dependent variable (DV)
• The proposed relationship between the IV and DV

Castillo M. The scientific method: a need for something better? . AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2013;34(9):1669-71. doi:10.3174/ajnr.A3401

Nevid J. Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Wadworth, 2013.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team
• Social Psychology

Matching Hypothesis

Psychology Coursework

The Aims of this experiment was to see if there is a similarity between levels of physical appearance between couples. The method used in this experiment was very similar to that of Murstein’s matching hypothesis, using 10photos of couples split in two so there was 10 males and 10females 20 participants were asked to rank the males in order of 1-10, and the rank the females in order of 1-10 without knowing which male was coupled with which female. The results of this method were recorded by means of Spearman’s rank correlation. The Rho of this experiment was 0.2727273, for the results to be statistically significant the Rho had to be equal to or greater than 0.564. As this experiment was below this it was statistically infrequent and the null hypothesis was accepted. In conclusion the hypothesis of this experiment was rejected as results were statistically infrequent, this shows from the results that there is in fact no similarities in levels of physical appearance amongst couples in long term relationships.

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ suggests that people are as attractive as a person sees them. So for instance a person may be seen as attractive to certain people but not attractive to others. How attractive people find each other forms the basis of my research

 Research has already been carried out on this area and different conclusions have been drawn upon, examples of these are;

Goffman (1952) proposed the “Matching Hypothesis”, which stated that individuals were more likely to have long lasting relationships if they were of the same attractiveness as each other. The reasons why this is the case could be that, as human instinct is to reproduce, evolution will have conditioned one to form a relationship with an individual who is most likely to reproduce with them and, generally, this would be an individual of the same physical attractiveness. Many researchers have tested this theory: Walster (1966) used a “computer dance” as the basis for his research. He got 4 independent judges to rate the attractiveness of 752 students who signed up to this dating service. The students were then matched up at random with the only condition that a man wasn’t matched up with a woman who was taller than him. Each person was then asked to rate their partner and it was found that the more attractive individuals were the best date that doesn’t support the Matching Hypothesis. Walster & Walster (1969) developed an experiment that was a follow up to this. The experiment allowed the participants to meet and interact beforehand, providing more ecological validity, and went on to support the Matching Hypothesis as the individuals preferred each other if they were of the same attractiveness. Murstein (1972) collected photographs of couples that were married or engaged and had participants rate each person in the photograph separately. His findings showed that generally the two people were rated as the same that, again, supports the Matching Hypothesis. The methodology of this research is used as a template for the research to be done for testing the hypothesis.

There is also other research that suggests that people tend to be attracted to those with similar interests and personality traits. This research does not support the research that suggests people in long-term relationships are of similar levels of physical attractiveness.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Kandel (1978) showed us that demographic behaviour has effects on relationships and that individuals tend to be more attracted to people who are similar to themselves (class, political views etc) but have certain qualities that the individual does not have, but could gain from (talents, admiration etc). Burgess & Wallin (1958) found that there was a positive correlation between personality type and happiness of a marriage in a longitudinal study they carried out, but they also found that, in some circumstances, personalities would change in long-term relationships to match that of the other individual. Moreland & Beach (1992) carried out a study with male workers that showed that, as they became more familiar with females they worked with, they also became more attracted to them, almost without noticing their physical attractiveness.

This research shows that people tend to become more and more attracted to people as they get to know them better, but there is always the argument that the person would not approach the other person if they felt they were either far more attractive than themselves or if they viewed them as much less attractive. This then opens the question. Do people get together with people of the same levels of physical appearance as themselves? It is thought that all humans would go for the more attractive individual available but would be worried that this person would then accept a better offer and leave. Therefore people go for people on the same level as themselves. This is supported by (Walster and Walster, 1969).

This aim of this study is to discover whether or not people in long-term relationships are of similar levels of physical appearance. My hypothesis suggests that people in long-term relationships will be of similar levels of physical appearance, reasons for choosing a directional hypothesis is that given the research conducted by Walster and Walster and Murstein it would suggest that there would be a positive correlation and my hypothesis would be correct.

The study will be similar to Murstein’s study by means of using photographs in this study, but it necessary to carry out further research using this method as it is 35years since Murstein’s experiment and things may have changed in society since resulting in changes to how people deal with relationships.

I think that in this experiment there will be a positive correlation between couples and levels of physical appearance.

Null Hypothesis

In the experiment there won’t be a correlation between the couples and levels of physical appearance as the correlation will be statistically irrelevant.

This researches design method was a correlation design method, the participants will rate the couples out of 10 and a correlation will be formed based on the ratings of both the males and the females. If the correlation is above 0.564 then it is off significance.

In the research there were 20particpants 10male and 10female, these people were then asked to rank both the male and the females in order of physical appearance, 10 being the most attractive 1 being the least attractive. The participants used were all of the same age range of 16-19 and were the students of the 6 th  form in the UK. The majority were British, white and middle class, but some participants asked were foreign. This experiment used a random sampling method, participants were asked for consent before any questions were asked, and as all participants asked were over the age of 16 parental consent was not required.

The materials used in the experiment were 10photos obtained from the Internet; these photos of couples were cut into 2, leaving 10photos of the males and 10 of the females. The photos were small and black and white.

In the experiment there were written instructions for participants to follow after they had been selected at random from a group of 6 th  formers. By doing this we reduced the participant/experimenter interaction so therefore the experiment is less likely to be bias. The experiment involved the experimenter taking random people from a study room and asking their consent and then asking them to complete the experiment in isolated conditions in the experimenter’s room. The participants were then debriefed and told about the experiment and what it was for.

The experiment dealt with deception, informed consent, right to withdraw and protection from harm by explaining the nature of the experiment thoroughly but without the worry of creating bias results, we asked for the participants consent before conducting the experiment by telling the participants the procedures of the experiment, we gave the participants the opportunity to withdraw at any time during the experiment and made this clear to all participants before the start of the experiment, all participants names and details were kept anonymous respectively.  

Overall male mean 111.8 overall female mean 116

The table above shows the mean score the participants ranked each couple, the difference between the means of each couple determine the hypothesis ‘ there will be a significant correlation between the couples.’

The graph above shows the male and female mean scores; the results are very scattered and therefore don’t show a significant correlation.

The graph above shows the standard deviation for both the males and females, the standard deviation is the average difference between the couples mean scores and the overall mean score.

The above table shows the spearman rank correlation score of this experiment, the spearman rank correlation is the most effective way of recording the correlation between two variants. For this experiment to be statistically significant the Rho had to be equal to or greater than 0.564. The Rho of this experiment is 0.2727273 and so is statistically infrequent. Therefore the hypothesis must be rejected and the null hypothesis must be accepted.

My result does not support the hypothesis, the hypothesis which was directional suggested that the would be a statistically relevant correlation between male and female levels of physical appearance, but the correlation of 0.272 was statistically infrequent and therefore the hypothesis was incorrect. The scatter graph did not show a positive correlation between males and female levels of physical appearance and does not support the hypothesis. Participants did not agree on levels of physical appearance in the couples, the standard deviation was large and shows a lot of disagreement between the participants. The measure are therefore not valid and do not support the hypothesis. There was no statistically relevant correlation between males and females based on the Rho so therefore the null hypothesis is accepted even though there is a slight positive correlation (0.272) but this is not statistically relevant.

These results are not in relationship with previous research in this area as there is no statistically relevant correlation and the hypothesis is incorrect according to results. For example Goffman’s research suggested that people are more likely to form long term relationships if they are of similar levels of attractiveness, this isn’t backed up by this study as this study suggests people are not of similar levels of physical appearance in long term relationships. Walster and Walster suggested that when people were allowed to interact people seemed to get along better if they were of similar levels of physical appearance; this again is not supported by this experiment. However this experiment does support studies such as Moreland and Beach’s study that suggested that as males got more familiar with female co-worker they became more attracted to them, this suggests that personality is a more relevant factor in long-term relationships. According to the results of this research there are different factors that forge long-term relationships such as personality.

There were many limitations to this experiment, if the experiment was to be carried out again it would be done with different pictures of couples, in certain couples different features other than the face may have influenced the results such as size of breasts which were showing in some photos but not in others, also dress and mood in photos may have effected the participant decisions, this wasn’t identified in the project brief which if the experiment was to be repeated would be. Also if the experiment was to be repeated the participants asked would all be from the same background, as all the couples were from English white and in their 30s so should the participants be. Students between the ages of 16-18 may not find 30yr old attractive at all so both participants and couples should be of the same background. It may have also been better to use self rating as means of recording levels of physical appearance, by using a ranking system couples may have been graded wrong because the participant simply did not know where to rank them. There were many anomalous results and flaws in the research outlined above could be the main reasons for the insignificant correlation.

In practical terms these results suggest that couples in long term relationships are not similar in levels of physical appearance, this could be useful information for dating agencies as it would suggest matching couples with similar interests and personalities rather than looks. It may also give relationship counselling useful information as it could suggest working on improving interests, as that is a more important factor in relationships. Further research needs to be conducted on this area, as these results may be statistically infrequent because of flaws in the method and designs for this experiment. The results may be totally different if conducted in a different culture or within a different sample population, for instance in some cultures it may be closer to the animal kingdom in a sense that females want to mate with the most powerful male, or if the experiment was conducted on a different age group such as people in their 30s results may have been more consistent.

Document Details

• Word Count 2252
• Page Count 7
• Level AS and A Level
• Subject Psychology

Related Essays

The Matching Hypothesis

The matching hypothesis

Investigating the validity of the matching hypothesis.

A Replication of the Study by Murstein Investigating the Matching Hypothesi...

6 Hypothesis Examples in Psychology

The hypothesis is one of the most important steps of psychological research. Hypothesis refers to an assumption or the temporary statement made by the researcher before the execution of the experiment, regarding the possible outcome of that experiment. A hypothesis can be tested through various scientific and statistical tools. It is a logical guess based on previous knowledge and investigations related to the problem under investigation. In this article, we’ll learn about the significance of the hypothesis, the sources of the hypothesis, and the various examples of the hypothesis.

Sources of Hypothesis

The formulation of a good hypothesis is not an easy task. One needs to take care of the various crucial steps to get an accurate hypothesis. The hypothesis formulation demands both the creativity of the researcher and his/her years of experience. The researcher needs to use critical thinking to avoid committing any errors such as choosing the wrong hypothesis. Although the hypothesis is considered the first step before further investigations such as data collection for the experiment, the hypothesis formulation also requires some amount of data collection. The data collection for the hypothesis formulation refers to the review of literature related to the concerned topic, and understanding of the previous research on the related topic. Following are some of the main sources of the hypothesis that may help the researcher to formulate a good hypothesis.

• Reviewing the similar studies and literature related to a similar problem.
• Examining the available data concerned with the problem.
• Discussing the problem with the colleagues, or the professional researchers about the problem under investigation.
• Thorough research and investigation by conducting field interviews or surveys on the people that are directly concerned with the problem under investigation.
• Sometimes ‘institution’ of the well known and experienced researcher is also considered as a good source of the hypothesis formulation.

Real Life Hypothesis Examples

1. null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis examples.

Every research problem-solving procedure begins with the formulation of the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis assumes the existence of the relationship between the variables under study, while the null hypothesis denies the relationship between the variables under study. Following are examples of the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis based on the research problem.

Research Problem: What is the benefit of eating an apple daily on your health?

Alternative Hypothesis: Eating an apple daily reduces the chances of visiting the doctor.

Null Hypothesis : Eating an apple daily does not impact the frequency of visiting the doctor.

Research Problem: What is the impact of spending a lot of time on mobiles on the attention span of teenagers.

Alternative Problem: Spending time on the mobiles and attention span have a negative correlation.

Null Hypothesis: There does not exist any correlation between the use of mobile by teenagers on their attention span.

Research Problem: What is the impact of providing flexible working hours to the employees on the job satisfaction level.

Alternative Hypothesis : Employees who get the option of flexible working hours have better job satisfaction than the employees who don’t get the option of flexible working hours.

Null Hypothesis: There is no association between providing flexible working hours and job satisfaction.

2. Simple Hypothesis Examples

The hypothesis that includes only one independent variable (predictor variable) and one dependent variable (outcome variable) is termed the simple hypothesis. For example, the children are more likely to get clinical depression if their parents had also suffered from the clinical depression. Here, the independent variable is the parents suffering from clinical depression and the dependent or the outcome variable is the clinical depression observed in their child/children. Other examples of the simple hypothesis are given below,

• If the management provides the official snack breaks to the employees, the employees are less likely to take the off-site breaks. Here, providing snack breaks is the independent variable and the employees are less likely to take the off-site break is the dependent variable.

3. Complex Hypothesis Examples

If the hypothesis includes more than one independent (predictor variable) or more than one dependent variable (outcome variable) it is known as the complex hypothesis. For example, clinical depression in children is associated with a family clinical depression history and a stressful and hectic lifestyle. In this case, there are two independent variables, i.e., family history of clinical depression and hectic and stressful lifestyle, and one dependent variable, i.e., clinical depression. Following are some more examples of the complex hypothesis,

4. Logical Hypothesis Examples

If there are not many pieces of evidence and studies related to the concerned problem, then the researcher can take the help of the general logic to formulate the hypothesis. The logical hypothesis is proved true through various logic. For example, if the researcher wants to prove that the animal needs water for its survival, then this can be logically verified through the logic that ‘living beings can not survive without the water.’ Following are some more examples of logical hypotheses,

• Tia is not good at maths, hence she will not choose the accounting sector as her career.
• If there is a correlation between skin cancer and ultraviolet rays, then the people who are more exposed to the ultraviolet rays are more prone to skin cancer.
• The beings belonging to the different planets can not breathe in the earth’s atmosphere.
• The creatures living in the sea use anaerobic respiration as those living outside the sea use aerobic respiration.

5. Empirical Hypothesis Examples

The empirical hypothesis comes into existence when the statement is being tested by conducting various experiments. This hypothesis is not just an idea or notion, instead, it refers to the statement that undergoes various trials and errors, and various extraneous variables can impact the result. The trials and errors provide a set of results that can be testable over time. Following are the examples of the empirical hypothesis,

• The hungry cat will quickly reach the endpoint through the maze, if food is placed at the endpoint then the cat is not hungry.
• The people who consume vitamin c have more glowing skin than the people who consume vitamin E.
• Hair growth is faster after the consumption of Vitamin E than vitamin K.
• Plants will grow faster with fertilizer X than with fertilizer Y.

6. Statistical Hypothesis Examples

The statements that can be proven true by using the various statistical tools are considered the statistical hypothesis. The researcher uses statistical data about an area or the group in the analysis of the statistical hypothesis. For example, if you study the IQ level of the women belonging to nation X, it would be practically impossible to measure the IQ level of each woman belonging to nation X. Here, statistical methods come to the rescue. The researcher can choose the sample population, i.e., women belonging to the different states or provinces of the nation X, and conduct the statistical tests on this sample population to get the average IQ of the women belonging to the nation X. Following are the examples of the statistical hypothesis.

• 30 per cent of the women belonging to the nation X are working.
• 50 per cent of the people living in the savannah are above the age of 70 years.
• 45 per cent of the poor people in the United States are uneducated.

Significance of Hypothesis

A hypothesis is very crucial in experimental research as it aims to predict any particular outcome of the experiment. Hypothesis plays an important role in guiding the researchers to focus on the concerned area of research only. However, the hypothesis is not required by all researchers. The type of research that seeks for finding facts, i.e., historical research, does not need the formulation of the hypothesis. In the historical research, the researchers look for the pieces of evidence related to the human life, the history of a particular area, or the occurrence of any event, this means that the researcher does not have a strong basis to make an assumption in these types of researches, hence hypothesis is not needed in this case. As stated by Hillway (1964)

When fact-finding alone is the aim of the study, a hypothesis is not required.”

The hypothesis may not be an important part of the descriptive or historical studies, but it is a crucial part for the experimental researchers. Following are some of the points that show the importance of formulating a hypothesis before conducting the experiment.

• Hypothesis provides a tentative statement about the outcome of the experiment that can be validated and tested. It helps the researcher to directly focus on the problem under investigation by collecting the relevant data according to the variables mentioned in the hypothesis.
• Hypothesis facilitates a direction to the experimental research. It helps the researcher in analysing what is relevant for the study and what’s not. It prevents the researcher’s time as he does not need to waste time on reviewing the irrelevant research and literature, and also prevents the researcher from collecting the irrelevant data.
• Hypothesis helps the researcher in choosing the appropriate sample, statistical tests to conduct, variables to be studied and the research methodology. The hypothesis also helps the study from being generalised as it focuses on the limited and exact problem under investigation.
• Hypothesis act as a framework for deducing the outcomes of the experiment. The researcher can easily test the different hypotheses for understanding the interaction among the various variables involved in the study. On this basis of the results obtained from the testing of various hypotheses, the researcher can formulate the final meaningful report.

Related Posts

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Explained

13 Gaslighting Examples in Relationships

Psychology: Definition, Types, Perspectives

Psychology and Other Disciplines

3 Psychodynamic Theory Examples

15 Examples of Psychology in Everyday Life

Add comment cancel reply.

IResearchNet

Relaxation in Sport

Relaxation  has  been  defined  as  a  psychological strategy used by sports performers to help manage or reduce stress-related emotions (e.g., anxiety and anger) and physical symptoms (e.g., physical tension  and  increased  heart  rate  [HR])  during  high pressurized  situations.  Several  different  types  of physical  and  mental  relaxation  strategies  will  be discussed in this entry, all of which can be used to relax  the  performer  and,  potentially,  benefit  athletic performance.

Types of Relaxation Strategies

Different  types  of  relaxation  strategies  have  been advocated within the sport psychology (SP) literature and have been categorized as physical relaxation  strategies  or  mental  relaxation  strategies. The rationale for using either type of strategy often has  been  dependent  on  the  symptoms  described by the athlete. Specifically, researchers have advocated matching the treatment (i.e., relaxation type) to  the  dominant  set  symptoms  experienced  by the  athlete.  Ian  Maynard  and  colleagues  termed this treatment approach the matching hypothesis, whereby  symptoms  of  somatic  anxiety  are  primarily treated with a form of physical relaxation and symptoms of cognitive anxiety with a form of mental  relaxation.  The  notion  also  can  be  applicable  to  the  experience  and  implications  of  other emotions such as anger and excitement.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code, physical relaxation strategies.

Physical  relaxation  strategies  can  be  employed  to reduce muscular tension and improve coordination during  performance.  Examples  of  such  strategies taught  by  sport  psychologists  include  breathing exercises, progressive muscular relaxation (PMR), and biofeedback (BFB) .

Breathing Exercises

Breathing  correctly  is  a  simple  form  of  relaxation and has the benefits of increasing oxygen in the  blood,  improving  mood,  and  reducing  muscular  tension.  The  process  of  breathing  properly involves  diaphragmatic  breathing,  where  the  performer  is  directed  to  breathe  into  the  abdomen and  then  the  chest.  Specifically,  when  breathing in  deeply,  the  performer  should  concentrate  on filling  the  lungs  by  first  pushing  the  diaphragm down and the abdomen outward then by expanding the chest and raising the chest and shoulders. To promote this breathing in a controlled manner, so  that  it  is  of  benefit  during  competitive  performances,  athletes  can  be  encouraged  to  be  rhythmic  in  their  breathing  by  inhaling,  holding,  and exhaling  to  a  count  of  a  predetermined  number. In  addition,  making  the  exhalation  audible  (e.g., with a “hheerr” sound) could be of benefit to performance  by  helping  to  reduce  muscular  tension during  key  movements,  such  as  releasing  the  javelin or striking a tennis ball. Some support for the benefits of breathing exercises have been provided by Adam Nicholls and associates in SP research.

Progressive Muscular Relaxation

Derived from the work of Edmund Jacobson in the  1930s,  PMR  strategies  require  an  individual to  focus  on  progressively  tensing  and  then  relaxing specific muscle groups, one at a time. Through this  progressive  technique,  Jacobson’s  premise was that the individual would learn the difference between  tension  and  less  tension.  Consequently, the individual would become aware when tension occurred and begin reducing it by relaxing the relevant  muscles.  Jacobson  also  proposed  that  this form  of  physical  relaxation  would  also  decrease mental tension. Critically, Jacobson’s program was quite long and, consequently, inappropriate for the regular athlete. To overcome this issue, many sport psychologists  such  as  Graham  Jones  have  advocated a variant of Jacobson’s approach, where the objective  is  to  teach  a  performer  to  relax  within 20 to 30 seconds. To achieve this, a performer will undergo  several  relaxation  training  phases,  typically over a period of 10 to 12 weeks, that progress toward much quicker relaxation. The first training phase  involves  twice  daily  15-minute  relaxation sessions where the muscle groups are progressively tensed  (for  5  to  7  seconds)  and  relaxed.  During this phase, it is commonplace for the athlete to be provided  with  an  audio  track  that  helps  systematically work them through a full muscular tension or relaxation program. Once practiced, so that the performer is proficient in using this technique, a 5to 7-minute release only training phase is instigated. Here, the performer is guided (by an audio track or by the sport psychologist) only to relax (release) any  tension  in  the  muscles.  The  next  progression is  a  2 to  3-minute  cue-controlled  phase  where the focus is still on release only, but the release is instigated by the performer through words such as relax. Sometimes rather than associate the relaxed state with a cue word, sport psychologists link the relaxed state to a natural “trigger” cue within the athlete’s environment (e.g., gripping the racquet in tennis, holding a basketball prior to a free throw). This  phase  is,  therefore,  only  a  few  seconds  long and involves the performer recognizing tension in specific  muscles  and  focusing  solely  on  reducing that tension. Preliminary research by Ian Maynard and  colleagues  has  shown  that  PMR  can  help  to reduce the intensity of reported bodily symptoms associated  with  the  experience  of  anxiety  (e.g., muscular tension).

Biofeedback

Similar to PMR, in which performers are taught to  become  more  aware  of  muscular  tension,  BFB is  a  method  that  helps  performers  become  familiar  with  such  autonomic  nervous  system  (ANS) responses  as  muscular  activity,  HR,  and  respiration  (R)  rate.  By  becoming  more  aware  of  these and  other  physiological  responses,  performers can  then  attempt  to  control  them  for  the  benefit of sporting performance. Biofeedback training (BFBT)  involves  the  use  of  electronic  instruments to  provide  visual  or  auditory  feedback  about selected  physiological  responses  and  the  requirement of the performer to then use such strategies as relaxation to reduce the level of these responses. For example, if using an electromyograph to measure  the  electrical  activity  of  the  muscles,  a  high amount of electrical activity may mean muscle tension. Consequently, visual feedback showing high levels could help the performer become aware that muscular  relaxation  is  needed  when  experiencing sensations  associated  with  that  level  of  activity. This method does require some training in relaxation  techniques  such  as  PMR.  Limited  research has  been  conducted  on  the  combination  of  BFB and  relaxation,  but  some  evidence  has  been  provided by Tammy Evetovich and her associates that suggests BFB and relaxation can help reduce muscular tension.

Mental Relaxation Strategies

The  mental  relaxation  strategies  that  have  been promoted  within  the  SP  literature  have  been focused primarily on reducing anxiety, which is a negative emotion caused by situational appraisals of threat or harm. Nevertheless, they also can be used  to  reduce  the  intensity  of  other  emotions experienced such as anger or excitement, as these and other emotions can be distracting if too high in  intensity.  Examples  of  mental  relaxation  techniques  include  transcendental  meditation,  mindfulness meditation, and autogenic training.

Transcendental Meditation

Meditation  generally  involves  the  individual’s focusing  attention  on  a  single  thought,  sound (often  called  mantra ),  or  object.  Transcendental meditation is an approach in which the individual repeats  a  mantra,  which  is  a  sound  (e.g.,  the  syllable  om )  or  a  key  word  or  phrase  that  has  personal  meaning—such  as  “relax.”  This  technique has been suggested to reduce the focus on negative thoughts and also lower HR, blood pressure (BP), and  R,  all  cognitive  and  physiological  changes that  could  be  beneficial  in  fine-motor-skilled  performances such as rifle shooting, archery, or golf. When  practicing  transcendental  meditation,  the performer is required to sit in a quiet environment, adopt a comfortable position, and repeat the mantra  aloud.  As  with  PMR,  the  challenge  here  for a sport psychologist working with a performer is to  progress  from  prolonged  training  sessions  in quiet  environments  to  sessions  that  help  the  performer mentally relax within seconds in competitive environments. At present, few studies in the SP literature  have  documented  a  successful  transfer of  meditation  from  peaceful  surroundings  to  the pressurized sporting arena.

Mindfulness Meditation

The  practice  of  mindfulness,  which  originated within  the  Buddhist  tradition,  can  be  loosely defined  as  a  state  of  awareness  achieved  through purposely  and  nonjudgmentally  paying  attention to the present and ongoing experiences of yourself and others—that is, attempting to put aside judgments  of  current  situations,  thoughts,  or  feelings as “good” or “bad.” Mindfulness meditation is an approach  that  helps  develop  this  nonjudgmental awareness  and  that  promotes  calm  and  focus  in potentially stressful situations. Other documented benefits of mindfulness meditation include reduced reporting of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. Different forms of mindfulness training exist, but the  general  principle  is  to  guide  the  individual  to develop  concentration  by  focusing  their  attention to the sensation of breathing. Then, when thoughts, emotions,  or  body  sensations  distract  the  focus from the breathing task, the individual is directed to  nonjudgmentally  acknowledge  the  distraction and  return  to  the  breathing  exercise.  A  progression is to then focus on body sensations during the breathing task. If such labels as “good” or “bad” are  used  to  describe  sensations,  the  individual  is guided to again nonjudgmentally acknowledge the label and return to focusing on the body sensations while breathing. Such approaches help individuals to become more aware of the stressors in the present  situation  (e.g.,  work  demands,  family  issues, coach  expectations)  in  a  nonjudgmental  way  by reducing  the  common  appraisals  that  something experienced  is  good  or  bad.  This  nonjudgmental approach  then  influences  more  constructive  solutions  to  problems,  as  they  are  approached  in  a more  impartial  manner.  Although  the  benefits  of mindfulness are well documented in other areas of psychology, they have only recently been explored within  sport  and  exercise  psychology.  Early  findings   from   Rachel   Thompson   and   colleagues support the positive cognitive (appraisal) and performance outcomes of mindfulness training.

Autogenic Training

Autogenic  training  involves  a  series  of  exercises  designed  to  produce  warmth  and  heaviness sensations—feelings  that  are  typically  associated with relaxation. Within this form of self-hypnosis, attention is focused upon the sensations the individual  is  attempting  to  produce.  Developed  by Johan  Schultz  in  the  1930s,  autogenic  training has been associated with reduced anxiety, fatigue, HR, and an increased sense of control, and better focus and sleep. The process involves six sequential  training  stages  where  verbal  self-statements are  used  to  direct  the  focus  to  specific  bodily sensations. In Stage 1, the individual is guided to focus on achieving heaviness in the arms and legs, starting with the dominant arm or leg. Here, self statements  such  as  “My  right  arm  is  heavy”  are used  repeatedly  to  achieve  heaviness,  before  the sensation  is  “cancelled  out”  by  the  individual— often through bending the arm, breathing deeply, and/or  by  opening  their  eyes.  Once  trained,  the next  stage  is  to  achieve  warmth  in  the  arms  and legs.  Similarly,  the  self-statement  “my  right  arm is  warm”  may  be  used  repeatedly  during  training sessions to help facilitate warmth in the right arm  and  then  other  extremities.  The  third  stage involves  HR  regulation,  with  the  self-statement of  “my  heartbeat  is  slow,  relaxed,  and  calm.” Stage 4 focuses on regulating breathing rate (e.g., breathing  is  slow,  relaxed,  and  calm);  in  Stage  5, the sport psychologist aims to promote sensations of abdominal warmth (i.e., with hand on abdominal  area,  the  self-statement  is  “my  abdomen  is warm”), and stage six the cooling sensation of the forehead (i.e., the self-statement is “my forehead is cool”).  Once  the  individual  is  competent  enough to control the sensations of heaviness and warmth of  their  extremities,  their  sensations  of  heart  and breathing  rates,  and  the  perceived  temperature of  their  abdominal  area  and  forehead,  then  the potential to achieve a relaxed state increases.

Crossover Benefits of Relaxation

Even  though  the  relaxation  approaches  identified here  have  been  categorized  as  either  physical  or mental in nature, it is documented within the SP literature that a physical relaxation strategy focused on reducing muscular tension also may have mental effects, such as reducing the incidence of negative  thoughts.  Similar  crossover  effects  have  also been reported for mental relaxation strategies primarily focused on reducing negative thoughts and emotions; these strategies also have been found to reduce  the  incidence  of  negative  physical  symptoms associated with anxiety.

Relaxation Used With Other Psychological Strategies

Alongside  the  physical  and  mental  benefits  of relaxation,  a  further  benefit  is  that  the  reduced incidents  of  negative  thoughts  associated  with relaxation allows for other psychological strategies such as self-talk and visualization to be used. For example, consider a situation in which a sport psychologist attempts to guide a performer to use self talk, to talk to himself or herself more effectively to  help  change  negative  thoughts  experienced.  If the negative thoughts were causing extremely high levels of anxiety, then the thought changing exercise would prove fruitless. Consequently, the sport psychologist  could  first  reduce  the  experience  of anxiety  by  helping  the  performer  to  learn  to  use mental  relaxation  strategies.  Then,  with  the  performer able to achieve a more even-tempered state through the use of these strategies, the commitment to, and understanding of, appropriate self-talk can be  improved.  A  similar  example  can  be  provided when developing a performer’s ability to visualize himself or herself performing a certain skill effectively.  If  the  performer  is  not  sufficiently  relaxed, the  ability  to  image  effectively  may  be  compromised by experiences of intense negative thoughts, emotions, and images.

Centering  is  a  strategy  in  which  the  performer directs their thoughts toward adjusting their body weight so that the weight feels like it is about their center  of  mass.  This  allows  the  performer  to  feel in  control  and  comfortable  so  that  he  or  she  can consciously  modify  such  physiological  symptoms as HR and R, along with their focus of attention. Indeed,  focusing  internally  (in  this  case  focusing on  adjusting  their  body  weight)  helps  the  performer to ignore unwanted negative thoughts and then  focus  on  performance  relevant  information. Within  this  approach,  performers  are  guided  on becoming aware of their center of mass, so to promote  recall  of  where  their  center  of  mass  should be during stressful situations. This awareness gives the performer a point of focus to switch attention to.  Then,  the  performer  is  guided  to  concentrate on breathing appropriately to reduce arousal and tension,  which  helps  the  performer  focus  on  the task  at  hand.  This  three-step  approach  of  centering, breathing, and task focus is trained and then encouraged  just  before  the  performance  action is  to  occur;  this  way,  attention  is  directed  to  the appropriate information at the right time in competition (e.g., the behaviors needed to complete a free throw in basketball).

Autogenic Training and Imagery

The  use  of  autogenic  training  followed  by imagery (when trained to visualize effectively too) has numerous benefits. First, when the performer reaches  the  calm  state  at  the  end  of  autogenic relaxation, he or she can imagine relaxing scenes, colors, or thoughts that help translate the physical relaxation  reached  through  autogenic  relaxation into the mind. Second, the relaxed state promoted by  autogenic  training  will  allow  the  performer to  imagine  proficient  execution  of  performance related  skills  that  can  be  used  to  increase  confidence and performance, as no unwanted thoughts or  images  would  be  present  during  such  relaxed states  to  disrupt  such  constructive  imaging.  The benefit   of   combining   autogenic   training   and imagery  training  for  sporting  performance  has been documented by SP researchers such as Alain Groslambert and colleagues.

Given the proposed benefits of physical and mental relaxation strategies to sport performers, sport psychologists  will  continue  to  train  performers in  the  use  of  these  strategies  to  help  performers reduce  or  control  their  cognitive  and/or  physical state. However, as with any strategy, the effectiveness of the use of the strategy during competition depends on the extent to which the strategies have been practiced. Once learned, these strategies can be  used  by  performers  to  function  better  within competition and everyday life, and to allow other strategies to be learnt more effectively.

References:

• Cullen, M. (2011). Mindfulness-based interventions: An emerging phenomenon. Mindfulness, 2, 186–193.
• Evetovich, T. K., Conley, D. S., Todd, J. B., Rogers, D. C., & Stone, T. L. (2007). Effect of mechanomyography as a biofeedback method to enhance muscle relaxation and performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21, 96–99.
• Groslambert, A., Candau, R., Grappe, F., Dugué, B., & Rouillon, J. D. (2003). Effects of autogenic and imagery training on the shooting performance in biathlon. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 74, 337–341.
• Haddad, K., & Tremayne, P. (2009). The effects of centering on the free-throw shooting performance of young athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 23, 118–136.
• Jones, G. (1993). The role of performance profiling in cognitive behavioural interventions in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 7, 160–172.
• Langer, E. J., & Moldoveanu, M. (2000). The construct of mindfulness. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 1–9.
• Maynard, I. W., Hemmings, B., & Warwick-Evans, L. (1995). The effects of somatic intervention strategy on competition state anxiety and performance in semiprofessional soccer players. The Sport Psychologist, 9, 51–64.
• Maynard, I. W., Smith, M. J., & Warwick-Evans, L. (1995). The effects of a cognitive intervention strategy on competitive state anxiety and performance in semiprofessional soccer players. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 17, 428–446.
• Nicholls, A. R., Holt, N. L., & Polman, R. C. J. (2005). A phenomenological analysis of coping effectiveness in golf. The Sport Psychologist, 19, 111–130.
• Solberg, E. E., Berglund, K.-A., Engen, Ø., Ekeberg, Ø., & Loeb, M. (1996). The effect of meditation on shooting performance. British Journal of Sport Medicine, 30, 342–346.
• Vealey, R. S. (2007). Mental skills training in sport. In G. Tenenbaum & R. C. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (pp. 287–309). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Williams, J. M. (2010). Relaxation and energizing techniques for regulation of arousal. In J. M. Williams (Ed.), Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (5th ed., pp. 247–266). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
• Sports Psychology
• Psychological Skills

Don’t Date Up: Why It Could Be Best to Stay in Your Own League

How to get exactly what you need, and love it..

Posted August 17, 2022 | Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster

• The Science of Mating
• Find counselling near me
• The “matching hypothesis” predicts that people will end up with partners with similar mate values.
• In online dating, people want the best partner with the highest mate value and try to date up, but often fall short.
• Ultimately, partners with matched mate values have the best relationships.

When looking for a romantic partner, what’s your ideal? You most likely want to be with someone physically attractive, super smart, successful, with solid values and an amazing personality .

You want a partner with the highest mate value possible, the proverbial 10 out of 10. Really, who wouldn’t want to date a celebrity or supermodel?

That’s what we want, but how does the dating game really work?

A Simple “Rule” of Dating

Here's a thought experiment: Imagine 100 single people looking for a relationship, and put them in a room together for an evening. Who would end up together? It depends on lots of different factors and is potentially very complicated. Then again, it may be deceptively simple. One straightforward prediction about who ends up together is based on a longstanding relationship science theory.

Specifically, the “ matching hypothesis ” predicts that people will pair up with a partner with the same social mate value (Walster et al., 1966). Your social mate value includes all the factors that make you more or less desirable to date, such as your physical appearance, qualities, skills, traits, personality, etc. Essentially, according to the matching hypothesis, if you are a 7 out of 10 in terms of mate value, you’ll end up with another 7, or very close. 10s go with 10s, 2s with 2s, and so on.

But is that what actually happens?

What You Want vs. What You Get

Researchers had nearly 200 participants complete an online questionnaire about their mate value/self-worth based on qualities like physical attractiveness , self-esteem , likeability, warmth, kindness, and trustworthiness (Taylor et al., 2011).

Next, participants created their own online dating profiles and imagined they were looking for a partner. They viewed potential partners’ profiles and indicated whether they thought the person in the profile “would probably respond favorably to me if I contacted him/her.”

Highly attractive participants were more interested in contacting high mate value partners, while less attractive participants sought lower value partners. However, those lower mate value participants actually preferred the more attractive potential partners; they just weren’t inclined to follow through on that preference.

In other words, it seems that everyone wants a high mate value partner, but only those who think they have high value themselves are confident enough to pursue the 9s and 10s out there. Notably, it wasn’t clear if people would be successful in trying to “date up,” but it did show that people generally didn’t try—likely due to a fear of rejection.

They also followed up with daters on an online dating site and found similar results. Users often contacted targets who were out of their league (i.e., more attractive than them). Why not? Online dating and dating apps are low stakes in being rejected (i.e., people don’t have to flat out tell you no; they can simply not respond). That leads to a “shotgun” approach where you contact lots of more attractive people as a more viable strategy that is less threatening to your ego.

However, that wishful thinking didn’t really pay off in the study, because those contacts weren’t reciprocated (i.e., a 7 contacting a 10 didn’t hear back from them). Instead, users only received messages back when the user was in their league (i.e., when a 7 contacted another 7). It seems daters took their shot at better partners—you can’t blame them for trying—but those efforts were unsuccessful.

The lesson is clear: What we want, pursue, and get may be quite different. But, in this case, falling short may not be such a bad thing.

The Benefits of Not Getting What You Want

Ultimately what we all want is a fantastic relationship. We may assume that’s more likely with the highest possible mate value partner we can get. But we may be wrong about that.

To test the implications of matching and mismatching partners’ mate values, researchers conducted a study using > 12,000 partner ratings from members of a Namibian community (Prall & Scelza, 2022). As in the previously discussed study, participants wanted partners who were more attractive than they were. For example, 3s and 4s wanted 8s and 9s. Again, people aspired to get a partner who was better than them.

But again, it was wishful thinking. Although participants wanted to shoot for the stars, they ultimately ended up with partners matched to their own mate value. For example, a person with a mate value of 6 was likely to end up with another 6 (or potentially a 7 if they were a bit lucky, or a 5 if they were a bit unlucky). Ultimately, despite wanting much more, a 4 is most likely to partner with another 4.

And that's a good thing because when partners had matching mate values (i.e., an 8 with an 8, a 4 with a 4, or a 6 with a 6) they had better relationships. Specifically, they reported better sexual history, had more frequent interactions, and stayed together longer.

What This Means for You

Overall, the message seems to be: What you want and what you get may be two different things. It’s a fact of life: The love lottery doesn’t care about your wishes. Instead, your own mate value rating (how attractive you are to others based on your physical attributes and personality) determines the partner you'll most likely end up with. If you’re a 3, you have a different dating pool than if you’re an 8.

Instead of “dating up,” we should date “in our own league,” and “shop within our price range." It’s just another example of how we don’t always know what’s best for us in relationships. When seeking your perfect match, you may not get what you think you want. Instead, you may get exactly what you need to have a great relationship.

Facebook image: antoniodiaz/Shutterstock

Prall, S., & Scelza, B. (2022). The effect of mating market dynamics on partner preference and relationship quality among Himba pastoralists. Science Advances, 8 (18), https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm5629

Taylor, L. S., Fiore, A. T., Mendelsohn, G. A., & Cheshire, C. (2011). “Out of my league”: A real-world test of the matching hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 942–954. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211409947

Walster, E., Aronson, V., Abrahams, D., & Rottman, L. (1966). Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 508-516.

Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Ph.D., is the author of Stronger Than You Think: The 10 Blind Spots That Undermine Your Relationship...and How to See Past Them .

• Find Counselling
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United Kingdom
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Therapy Center NEW
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Understanding what emotional intelligence looks like and the steps needed to improve it could light a path to a more emotionally adept world.

• Coronavirus Disease 2019
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience