Studying relationships through three approaches

• A context is explored through the three approaches and the key concepts (perspective, causality, bias…).
• Group and interpersonal behaviour has biological (e.g. hormones), cognitive (e.g. appraisals, attributions) and sociocultural (e.g. norms, identity) roots.
• Much evidence is experimental or correlational — judge causal claims carefully.

Key idea: the same behaviour (e.g. aggression) can be explained at several levels at once.

Conformity, compliance and group norms

• Asch (1951) showed people often conform to a clearly wrong majority, revealing normative social influence.
• Conformity (matching group norms) differs from compliance (agreeing to a request) and obedience (following authority).
• Cultural dimensions (e.g. Hofstede's individualism–collectivism) predict differences in conformity between cultures.

Concept — perspective: whether behaviour looks 'normal' depends partly on the group and cultural frame.

Which is right?

Social identity, social learning and acculturation

• Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner): categorising into in-groups and out-groups produces in-group favouritism and the pursuit of positive distinctiveness.
• Social (observational) learning: Bandura's Bobo doll studies show behaviour, including aggression, can be learned by imitating models.
• Acculturation: sustained contact between cultures changes behaviour (integration, assimilation, separation, marginalisation).

Minimal group studies: even trivial group membership can trigger favouritism, supporting SIT.

Which is right?

Forming relationships: biology and cognition

• Attraction is linked to proximity, similarity and physical attractiveness.
• Chemical messengers: hormones and neurotransmitters (e.g. oxytocin) are associated with bonding and trust, though effects are context-dependent.
• Cognitive explanations: how we appraise and make attributions about a partner shapes satisfaction.

Caution: single hormone studies (e.g. oxytocin and trust) should be interpreted cautiously — replication is mixed.

Which is right?

Communication, conflict and aggression

• Communication patterns affect relationship quality; poor communication predicts breakdown.
• Realistic conflict theory (Sherif, Robbers Cave): competition for scarce resources drives intergroup hostility, reduced by superordinate goals.
• Aggression has biological correlates (e.g. testosterone) and social-learning roots (imitating aggressive models).

Concept — causality: conflict and aggression are multiply determined — biology, cognition and social context together.

Which is right?

Sort each idea to its approach

Tap an item, then tap the group it belongs to.

Studying relationships rigorously

• Ethics: classic social studies (Asch, Milgram) raised concerns about deception and psychological stress, requiring debriefing.
• Bias: self-reported relationship data suffers social desirability; lab studies of groups can lack ecological validity.
• Causality: field correlations (e.g. media and aggression) rarely establish cause on their own.

Strong causal claims need controlled experiments; naturalistic studies add ecological validity but less control.

Which is right?

Match each item to its idea

Tap on the left, then its match on the right.

HL extension — culture, motivation and technology in relationships

• Culture: cultural dimensions (e.g. individualism–collectivism) shape conformity, relationship norms and conflict styles.
• Motivation: the need to belong and to maintain a positive social identity motivates group behaviour.
• Technology: social media reshapes how relationships form and conflicts spread — evidence is growing but largely correlational.

Which is right?

The big ideas to know

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