The search for contacts with other people is related to the emerging need for communication. Unlike animals, the need for communication or contact is quite an independent internal stimulus of other needs, such as food, clothing, and others. Basically, a person becomes the object and the subject of sympathy and antipathy. The components of mutual attraction are attraction and sympathy. The term “sympathy” means an emotional positive attitude toward the object. In the case of the mutual sympathetic emotional attitudes, people create a holistic intra-group state of the interaction by the satisfaction. As a result, this situation leads to intimacy. In this scientific research paper example, this work focuses on the explanation of the basic concepts of attraction and intimacy in the social psychology perspective.
Definition of Attraction
Starting with the first steps of the interaction, specific emotional relationships determine the attractiveness of one individual for another. During the initial contact at the level of the perception between people, this attitude is called attraction. For instance, it can absorb a whole range of feelings: from simple sympathy to love and further (Archer & Cook, 1986). The attraction manifests itself in the form of a special attitude towards another person. Moreover, friendly interaction is considered the highest level of cooperation. In this scientific research paper example, friendship is a special form of interpersonal interaction characterized by individual selective relations, the mutual attraction of participants in the communication, increased affiliation processes, a high level of satisfaction with contacts, and expectations of positive feelings.
Scientific Research Paper Example on Intimacy
The constant companions of the friendship are the fearless communication with another on intimate topics. These concepts can be considered in relationships, the openness of feelings, mutual interest in the affairs of other people, active assistance, maximum frankness and openness, demonstration of the understanding, and pleasure from the presence of others. The spatial proximity leads to a mutual attraction for some reason. If a person is close, making friends with this individual is much easier because obstacles are kept to a minimum. Being with people, the individual learns more about the contact, developing the information. It gives an opportunity to find the points in the case if two individuals have common interests and views on life and the world (Archer & Cook, 1986). According to the results, all of these lead to both a mutual affinity and a decrease in attraction. Also, unpleasant traits of people during such regular contacts become more visible.
The Role of Friends
The need to have a friend is especially noticeable and relevant in the adolescence. Teenagers are the demanding persons of those who pretend to be friends by considering this scientific research paper example. There are many cases when adolescents came up with special tests in order to check the reliability of another, loyalty, the desire to be useful, or helping (Archer & Cook, 1986). The establishment of friendly relations is characterized by a wider range of contacts with peers. It can be from discussing the film to pursuing activities in circles on interests.
At the same time, if friendship assumes the absorption of the person by the friendly relations entirely, then this interaction with peers can be limited to contacting the level of commonality of individual interests, such as sports, chess, and others. Basically, the friendly relations differ from fragmentary contacts by the fact that the person tries to be represented in the vital activity of others as important to himself or herself and others, characterizing of the individuality (Archer & Cook, 1986). In turn, superficial relations can be reduced to the use of the communicative aspects of the interaction. It can be the support of the process of communication.
Interpersonal Relationships in the Scientific Research Paper
Then, the friendship of adolescents is a particular stage in the development of interpersonal relationships. For high school students, friendly interaction usually occurs around the discussion of problems related to the choice of the profession (Archer & Cook, 1986). At a student age, friendly contacts cover the intensity of the relationships with friends, acquiring special significance. During this period, a high frequency of the meetings and a large amount of time spending together reach its peak in the third year. In the following courses, the intensity of the friendly contacts decreases, especially among those students who married and brought up families.
For young people, friendly relations cease to be unique at the level of domination in the system of value orientations. Also, business or professional relations come to the forefront, covering the scientific research paper example. In this case, the importance of friendly relations decreases over the years because of the change in the functions of friendship (Archer & Cook, 1986). At the same time and the later stages of the life cycle, friendship remains a serious factor. Also, it shapes the personality and supports the stability of the self-concept of the individual.
The Concept of Intimacy in the Scientific Research Paper Example
Further on, an important indicator that two people are friends is the concept of intimacy. Basically, it is the close relationship between individuals (Reis & Shaver, 1988). However, intimacy can also give rise to hostility. In this scientific research paper example, serious violations of the code of the friendship lead to superficial friendships, the gradual fading, and even its cessation. Among the factors that cause the break of the friendship, it is the jealousy or the critical attitude to other contacts of the former friend. Under such conditions, a phenomenon opposite to friendship or hostility can arise.
Moreover, the strength of friendship depends on the community of the goals, interests, ideals, intentions, and similarities of attitudes. Some of the psychologists among the demonstrative characteristics of friendship call the existence of certain norms and rules, such as voluntary assistance, respect for a friend’s personal life, confidentiality, protection of the interests even when the person is absent (Reis & Shaver, 1988). It also can be the prohibition to criticize each other in the presence of other people. In this scientific research paper example, the similarity feeds attraction and friendship and satisfies the need of the individual to join.
Similarity and intimacy enable people to exchange signs of attention, show trustfulness, reveal themselves as they really are, without hiding their vulnerable innermost features. The intimacy also causes affection in connection with the so-called effect of the simple existence in the field of the view of another person (Reis & Shaver, 1988). Besides, the similarity of positions especially often leads to mutual attraction.
Mutual Attraction
In the case when the person knows that someone likes him or her, the individual begins to treat this friend better. Such mutual attraction can cause voluntary interdependence, which helps to strengthen friendship. However, there are certain gender features in the friendship. First of all, it is taken into account the fact that the need for intimacy in girls is formed more quickly than in boys. This aspect leads to the fact that girls before young boys move from childhood to youthful friendship faster. In this scientific research paper, for the girl, the friend is the person with whom she can conduct confidential information. Basically, they can talk about feelings or problems of family life up to intimate details. Regarding the boys, they are looking for friends with similar interests (Centers, 1975). In respect of the male and female, beauty and physical attractiveness are usually pleasant and attractive.
The tendency of men and women to choose their friends and companions of life among those who are at the level not only for intellectual development but also for attractiveness is occurring. In such circumstances, the less attractive person has qualities that compensate for some lack that each partner brings assets to the social market, which creates the same value (Centers, 1975). In particular, for men, such assets may have a corresponding status in the society, high stable earnings, and others, while the girls should have the beauty.
Scientific Research Paper and Love
The greatest intimacy during the interaction is acquiring in love. Basically, this term means a high degree of an emotionally positive attitude toward another to unite with another person. By considering this scientific research paper, a man in love shows stable feelings that physiologically, emotionally. Also, the person morally indicates his desire by all his personally significant features to be represented in the vital activity of another individual in order to arouse appropriate reactions and needs (Moss & Schwebel, 1993). The person in love demonstrates emotions of tenderness, delight, and jealousy, which each person experiences in an own way, depending on the own individual psychological characteristics.
Sexual-Emotional Unity
The normal development of love involves the consideration of it as an action toward another person that leads to merging with the individual in a sexual-emotional unity. The term “love” means a two-way process in which the need to love and the ability to respond to great love is manifested (Moss & Schwebel, 1993). Therefore, the individual feeling of love links to culture, traditions, and social norms, covering the scientific research paper. In turn, people tend to link their feelings to the characteristics of the family upbringing. All of these are the source of the individuals’ ways of interpreting their own state.
In particular cultures, love does not necessarily lead to marriage. It is a well-known practice when partners are defined far ahead. Some factors also play a role, such as the social origin of the partner, financial position, professional status, and others (Moss & Schwebel, 1993). In some cultures, love becomes a condition of the marriage that arises after the formation of relations. The companion of the above feelings is friendship and intimacy. In turn, this tendency recently becomes an increasingly torn relationship, which can have serious consequences, especially when it comes to divorce.
Conclusion on Scientific Research Paper Example
In this scientific research paper example, attraction is the characteristic of the person. Basically, the concept defines the stage of the ability to communicate with different people. In fact, if the person is not attractive, then this individual has fewer chances to get friends in the society. Then, intimacy is the second stage of friendship. Basically, it means the opportunity to show more points in the life of the individual. The final stage of the attraction and intimacy is the love and possible marriage. Hence, this academic paper covered the theme of attraction and intimacy.
References
Archer, R. L., & Cook, C. E. (1986). Personalistic self-disclosure and attraction: Basis for relationship or scarce resource. Social Psychology Quarterly, 49(3), 268-272.
Centers, R. (1975). Attitude similarity-dissimilarity as a correlate of heterosexual attraction and love. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 37(2), 305-312.
Moss, B. F., & Schwebel, A. I. (1993). Defining intimacy in romantic relationships. Family Relations, 42(1), 31-37.
Reis, H. T., & Shaver, P. (1988). Intimacy as an interpersonal process. In Handbook of Personal Relationships (pp. 376-389).