User:Leibnesc/sandbox

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Wisdom of the crowd

"Wisdom of the crowd" is a part of the WikiProject Internet, High importance, and WikiProject Sociology, Medium importance. This article, as indicated by its C-class rating, is brief and undeveloped. it could likely be placed underneath other social psychology theories, such as decision-making, cognition, or heuristics. The information presented is highly relevant and neutral; the only section that appears slightly out of place is the one on the "Crowd within", and that only because of its length relative to the rest of the article, despite being a sub-category of the crowd effect. References are abundant and reliable, but nearly all of the sources are primary sources. Wikipedia's content policies note that authors should "be cautious about basing large sections on {primary sources}..." Likely due to this overemphasis on primary sources, much of the conversation on the Talk page is centered around definitions and the validity of the idea (which I don't think is up to Wikipedia to evaluate; much as Britannica might present the theory of the earth-centric universe, and note that it was disproved by Galileo; but it is not an encyclopedia's place to evaluate the validity of current knowledge, only to catalog it).

Romantic relationships generally
Romantic relationships have been defined in countless ways, by writers, philosophers, religions, scientists, and in the modern day, relationship counselors. Two popular definitions of love are Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love and Fisher’s theory of love. Steinberg defines love in terms of intimacy, passion, and commitment, which he claims exist in varying levels in different romantic relationships. Fisher defines love as composed of three stages, attraction, romantic love, and attachment. Romantic relationships may exist between two people of any gender, or among a group of people (see polyamory).

Romance (love)
The single defining quality of a romantic relationship is the presence of love. Love is therefore equally difficult to define. Hazan and Shaver define love, using Ainsworth’s attachment theory, as comprising proximity, emotional support, self-exploration, and separation distress when parted from the loved one. Other components commonly agreed to be necessary for love are physical attraction, similarity,   reciprocity , and self-disclosure.

Life stages
Early adolescent relationships are characterized by companionship, reciprocity, and sexual experiences. As emerging adults mature, they begin to develop attachment and caring qualities in their relationships, including love, bonding, security, and support for partners. Earlier relationships also tend to be shorter and exhibit greater involvement with social networks. Later relationships are often marked by shrinking social networks, as the couple dedicates more time to each other than to associates. Later relationships also tend to exhibit higher levels of commitment. Most psychologists and relationship counselors predict a decline of intimacy and passion over time, replaced by a greater emphasis on companionate love (differing from adolescent companionate love in the caring, committed, and partner-focused qualities). However, couple studies have found no decline in intimacy nor in the importance of sex, intimacy, and passionate love to those in longer or later-life relationships. Older people tend to be more satisfied in their relationships, but face greater barriers to entering new relationships than do younger or middle-aged people. Older women in particular face social, demographic, and personal barriers; men aged 65 and older are nearly twice as likely as women to be married, and widowers are nearly three times as likely to be dating 18 months following their partner’s loss compared to widows.

Significant other
The term significant other gained popularity during the 1990s, reflecting the growing acceptance of non-heteronormative relationships. It can be used to avoid making an assumption about the gender or relational status (e.g. married, cohabitating, civil union) of a person’s intimate partner. Cohabiting relationships continue to rise, with many partners considering cohabitation to be nearly as serious as, or a substitute for, marriage. LGBT, on the other hand, face unique challenges in establishing and maintaining intimate relationships. The strain of internalized homo-negativity and of presenting themselves in line with socially acceptable gender norms can reduce the satisfaction and emotional and health benefits they experience in their relationships. LGBT youth also lack the social support and peer connections enjoyed by hetero-normative young people. Nonetheless, comparative studies of homosexual and heterosexual couples have found few differences in relationship intensity, quality, satisfaction, or commitment.

Spouse
Although nontraditional relationships continue to rise, marriage still makes up the majority of relationships except among emerging adults. It is also still considered by many to occupy a place of greater importance among family and social structures.

Parent-child
Parent-child relationships have always concerned people. In ancient times they were often marked by fear, either of rebellion or abandonment, resulting in the strict filial roles in, for example, ancient Rome and China. Freud conceived of the Oedipal complex, the supposed obsession of young boys their mother and the accompanying fear and rivalry with their father, and the less well-known Electra complex, in which the young girl feels that her mother has castrated her and therefore becomes obsessed with her father. Freud’s ideas influenced thought on parent-child relationships for decades. Another early conception of parent-child relationships was that love only existed as a biological drive for survival and comfort on the child’s part. In 1958, however, Harry Harlow’s landmark study comparing rhesus’ reactions to wire “mothers” and cloth “mothers” demonstrated the depth of emotion felt by infants. The study also laid the groundwork for Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory, showing how the infants used their cloth “mothers” as a secure base from which to explore. Ainsworth defined three styles of parent-child relationships in a series of studies using the strange situation, a scenario in which an infant is separated from, then reunited with the parent. Securely attached infants miss the parent, greet them happily upon return, and show normal exploration and lack of fear when the parent is present. Insecure avoidant infants show little distress upon separation and ignore the caregiver when they return; they explore little when the parent is present. Insecure ambivalent infants are highly distressed by separation, but continue to be distressed upon the parent’s return; these infants also explore little and display fear even when the parent is present. Some psychologists have suggested a fourth attachment style, disorganized, so called because the infants’ behavior appeared disorganized or disoriented. Secure attachments styles are linked to better social and academic outcomes, greater moral internalization, and less delinquency for children, and have been found to predict later relationship success. For most of the late nineteenth through the twentieth century, the perception of adolescent-parent relationships was that of a time of upheaval. Stanley Hall popularized the “Sturm und drang”, or storm and stress, model of adolescence. Psychological research, however, has painted a much tamer picture. Although adolescents are more risk-seeking, and emerging adults have higher suicide rates, they are largely less volatile and have much better relationships with their parents than this model would suggest. Early adolescence often marks a decline in parent-child relationship quality, which then re-stabilizes through adolescence, and relationships are sometimes better in late adolescence than prior to its onset. With the increasing average age at marriage and more youths attending college and living with parents past their teens, the concept of a new period called emerging adulthood gained popularity. This is considered a period of uncertainty and experimentation between adolescence and adulthood. During this stage, interpersonal relationships are considered to be more self-focused, and relationships with parents may still be influential.

Siblings
Sibling relationships have a profound effect on social, psychological, emotional, and academic outcomes. Although proximity and contact usually decreases over time, sibling bonds continue to affect people throughout their lives. Sibling relationships are affected by parent-child relationships, such that sibling relationships in childhood often reflect the positive or negative aspects of children’s relationships with their parents.


 * Extended family
 * Culture
 * Egalitarian and Platonic friendship
 * Enemy or frenemy
 * Frenemy started as a slang term, has made its way into the Oxford dictionary. It describes a person that an individual is friendly with despite underlying conflict between the two. This conflict can include rivalries, mistrust, or competition. Frenemies who come about through a conflict of rivalries tend to want to be the center of attention > or are individuals who would be described as "Drama Queens." Frenemies who come about through a conflict of competition often feel the need to be better than the individual in some or many aspects of life, and in some cases feel the need to point out flaws in others. Conflicts of trust tend to involve individuals who gossip or say negative things about others.


 * Neighbor
 * Peer relationships/influence
 * Communities and culture
 * Business relationships
 * Partnership
 * Employer and employee
 * Contractor
 * Customer
 * Landlord and tenant
 * Official
 * Religious

Popular perceptions
Popular perceptions of intimate relationships are strongly influenced by movies and television. Common messages are that love is predestined, love at first sight is possible, and that love with the right person always succeeds. Those who consume the most romance-related media tend to believe in predestined romance and that those who are destined to be together implicitly understand each other. These beliefs, however, can lead to less communication and problem-solving as well as giving up on relationships more easily when conflict is encountered.


 * Literature
 * Song/poetry
 * Drama

Social media
Social media has changed the face of interpersonal relationships. Romantic interpersonal relationships are no less impacted. For example, FB has become an integral part of the dating process for emerging adults. Social media can have both positive and negative impacts on romantic relationships. For example, supportive social networks have been linked to more stable relationships. However, social media usage can also facilitate conflict, jealousy, and passive aggressive behaviors such as spying on a partner. Aside from direct effects on the development, maintenance, and perception of romantic relationships, excessive social network usage is linked to jealousy and dissatisfaction in relationships. A growing segment of the population is engaging in purely online dating, sometimes but not always moving towards traditional face-to-face interactions. These online relationships differ from face-to-face relationships; for example, self-disclosure may be of primary importance in developing an online relationship. Conflict management differs, since avoidance is easier and conflict resolution skills may not develop in the same way. Additionally, the definition of infidelity is both broadened and narrowed, since physical infidelity becomes easier to conceal but emotional infidelity (e.g. chatting with more than one online partner) becomes a more serious offense.

Pathological relationships
Abusive relationships involve either maltreatment or violence from one individual to another and include physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment. Abusive relationships within the family are very prevalent in the United States and usually involve women or children as victims. Common individual factors for abusers include low self-esteem, poor impulse control, external locus of control, drug use, alcohol abuse, and negative affectivity. There are also external factors such as stress, poverty, and loss which contribute to likelihood of abuse.
 * Abusive

Codependent
Codependency initially focused on a codependent partner enabling substance abuse, but has become more broadly defined to describe a dysfunctional relationship with extreme dependence on or preoccupation with another person. There are some who even refer to codependency as an addiction to the relationship. The focus of a codependent individual tends to be on the emotional state, behavioral choices, thoughts, and beliefs of another person. Often those who are codependent neglect themselves in favor of taking care of others and have difficulty fully developing their identity on their own.

Narcissists' focus on themselves and often distance themselves from intimate relationships; the focus of narcissistic interpersonal relationships is to promote one's self concept. Generally narcissists show less empathy in relationships and view love pragmatically or as a game involving others' emotions.
 * Narcissists