Read each term where it’s used
In Augment’s notes, a marked term shows its definition when you hover or tap it, and each page ends with the terms it introduces.
In Augment’s notes, a marked term shows its definition when you hover or tap it, and each page ends with the terms it introduces.
62 terms from Human relationships, each defined in a sentence or two, with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A difference between family members, usually parents and children, in how far and how fast they acculturate, which can lead to conflict over values, language and behaviour.
Stress caused by the demands of acculturation, such as language difficulties, discrimination, loss of social support and conflict between cultural values, which can lead to anxiety and depression.
Behaviour intended to harm another person who wishes to avoid that harm, whether physically, verbally or through damage to relationships.
The process of explaining the causes of one's own or another person's behaviour, for example by referring to personality or intentions (internal) or to the situation (external).
A form of couples therapy based on learning theory that increases rewarding behaviour between partners and teaches communication and problem-solving skills.
An unintended result of a persuasive message in which behaviour moves in the opposite direction to the one intended, such as low energy users increasing their use after learning the average.
Sharing good news with another person; how the listener responds, especially with active and constructive enthusiasm, affects well-being and the quality of the relationship.
A theory of social loafing proposed by Karau and Williams (1993) stating that people work hard in groups only if they expect their effort to make a difference to an outcome they value.
The intention to continue a relationship and a feeling of psychological attachment to it; in the investment model, the variable that most directly predicts staying or leaving.
A model of prejudice reduction proposing that recategorising members of two groups as one larger shared group reduces bias between them.
A relationship in which people give benefits in response to the other person's needs without keeping track of returns, unlike an exchange relationship, in which benefits are expected to be repaid.
In social exchange theory, the standard of outcome a person believes they deserve, based on past experience and expectations; the comparison level for alternatives (CLalt) is the best outcome available elsewhere.
The proposal that contact between members of different groups reduces prejudice, especially under conditions of equal status, shared goals, cooperation and support from authorities.
A psychological treatment in which a therapist works with both partners together to reduce relationship distress, for example by changing communication, behaviour or emotional responses.
The confusion, anxiety and disorientation that can follow moving into an unfamiliar culture, when familiar cues and routines no longer apply.
The process of perceiving or treating members of a group as less than fully human, which weakens moral restraints on harming them.
A pattern of communication in conflict in which one partner pressures the other for change through requests, criticism or complaints while the other avoids the discussion or withdraws.
A social norm that describes what most people actually do in a situation, such as most hotel guests reusing their towels, as opposed to what people approve of.
Unfair behaviour towards a person because of their membership of a particular group, such as excluding, harming or giving fewer resources to them.
A form of couples therapy based on attachment theory that helps partners identify their negative cycle of interaction and express underlying attachment needs to rebuild a secure bond.
A communication strategy that builds educational messages into popular entertainment, such as soap operas, so that characters model behaviours the audience may learn and adopt.
A theory proposing that people are most satisfied when the ratio of each partner's contributions to benefits is similar, and that being under-benefited or over-benefited causes distress.
The public image and social dignity a person claims in interaction with others, which can be lost, protected or given; people try to maintain both their own face and that of others.
A theory proposing that people in all cultures manage face during conflict, and that values such as individualism–collectivism shape conflict styles through concern for one’s own or others’ face.
Gottman's term for four negative communication behaviours during conflict, criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling, which predict relationship breakdown.
The tendency to overestimate personal or dispositional causes and underestimate situational causes when explaining other people's behaviour.
The ways people think, feel and act as members of groups, including conformity, compliance, intergroup relations and how individuals become part of a group.
The tendency for a group's attitudes or decisions after discussion to be more extreme, in the direction members already leaned, than the average of their individual views before discussion.
A mode of thinking in a cohesive group in which the wish for agreement overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives, leading to poor decisions.
A cognitive bias in which one positive characteristic of a person, such as physical attractiveness, leads others to assume that the person also has other positive characteristics.
A social norm that describes what most people approve or disapprove of, that is, what a person ought to do, as opposed to what most people actually do.
A form of couples therapy that combines behavioural change strategies with strategies that help partners accept each other's differences, developed by Jacobson and Christensen.
Hostility, competition or aggression between groups, in which people act as group members rather than as individuals.
A positive evaluation of another person that makes someone want to approach them and spend time with them, the first step in forming a relationship.
Relationships between two people in which each influences the other's thoughts, feelings and behaviour, such as romantic partnerships, friendships and family relationships.
Giving a substance, such as oxytocin, as a nasal spray so that it is absorbed through the lining of the nose, used in experiments to raise its levels without an injection.
Rusbult's model in which commitment to a relationship rises with satisfaction and investment size and falls with the quality of alternatives, and commitment predicts whether the person stays.
A cooperative learning technique in which each student in a mixed group learns one part of a task and teaches it to the others, so every member depends on every other.
The proposal that people tend to form relationships with partners whose physical attractiveness or overall social desirability is similar to their own.
The tendency to develop a more positive attitude towards a person or stimulus simply because of repeated exposure to it.
A form of social influence in which a smaller group or individual changes the views of a majority, usually through a consistent argument that leads to private acceptance (conversion).
A society’s policy and attitude of accepting cultural diversity, in which different cultural groups keep their heritage while sharing full participation in the larger society.
The sending of information without words, through facial expression, eye contact, gesture, posture, touch, use of space and tone of voice.
The formation of a lasting, selective relationship between two mating partners, shown by a preference for the partner over others and by shared care of offspring.
A laboratory measure of pair bonding in animals in which an animal chooses between its familiar mate and an unfamiliar one; spending more time with the mate shows a preference.
A situation in which most members of a group privately reject a norm but wrongly believe that most others accept it, so they go along with it.
Idealised perceptions of a romantic partner that are more favourable than the partner's own self-view, linked to greater relationship satisfaction and stability.
A negative attitude towards members of a group based on their group membership, made up of beliefs (stereotypes), feelings and readiness to act.
A descriptive norm that refers to people in the same specific setting as the target, such as previous guests in the same hotel room, rather than people in general.
A theory proposing that hostility between groups arises when they compete for limited resources, and is reduced when they work together towards shared goals.
The degree to which people in a society or social context have opportunities to form new relationships and to end existing ones.
Programmes, usually given to groups of couples before or early in a relationship, that teach communication and conflict-management skills to prevent future distress.
An intense attraction to one particular person, involving focused attention, craving for emotional union and intrusive thoughts about the beloved, usually strongest early in a relationship.
The act of revealing personal information about oneself, such as thoughts, feelings and experiences, to another person.
A goal that two or more groups want but can achieve only by cooperating with each other.
A hormone and brain chemical messenger, closely related to oxytocin, that regulates water balance and, in the brain, is involved in partner bonding and social recognition, especially in males.
A region of the midbrain containing dopamine-producing neurons that form the starting point of the brain’s reward system.
A theory proposing that people evaluate relationships by comparing rewards with costs, and that satisfaction and stability depend on how this outcome compares with expectations and with available alternatives.