Interpersonal Attraction

One of the reasons that so many marriages today end up in divorce today has to do with the interpersonal personal relationship principle known as fatal attraction. When most people think of fatal attraction, they right away think of the popular definition represented in the movie “Fatal Attraction”. This paper will define the principle of fatal attraction from an interpersonal relationship perspective. Along with a definition of fatal attraction, I will explore some of the causes of fatal attraction. I will discuss my experiences with fatal attractions.

What are the social factors that influence interpersonal attraction? Discuss in relation to relevant psychological theories and studies

And did I mention about attraction and interest? Trust will show more interest, people will admire you and you will get noticed at the same time, which leads you to become more attractive to others.

According to the case, the attractiveness of meeting others online instead of finding them in the real world has increased dramatically over the last two decades. The primary drivers

McNulty, J. K., Neff, L. A., & Karney, B. R. (2008). Beyond initial attraction: Physical

Do you like certain people more than other? Do you love a song and humming it after you hate it? Do choose your same dish every time you go to your favorite restaurant? In the article “To know me is to like me I: Mere exposure’, Art Markman presents a psychological phenomenon known as mere exposure effect which is when people tend to like things that are familiar to them rather than the unfamiliar one. In my view, unfamiliar things like places, surroundings, music, food etc. can have strong effect than a familiar one, and it makes us feel less comfortable, but still it is new experiences.

It reinforces our understanding of how we mentally judge/assess people using "snap" and "systematic" judgements. The article shows that goodlooking people are attracted to other goodlooking people most likely because they subconsiously trust them and feel like they are virtuous people based on their looks because of the social stereotype and perceiver expectation that reinforce that thinking. On the other hand, the article and the experiments reinforce our understanding that when two people are friends for a relatively long time, they move onto "systematic" judgements that allow them to make more in-depth and more accurate evaluation of each other. They do so by observing the behaviour and understanding the motives, thoughts and feelings of

In today's world, the expectations to fall in love have perhaps become "online". This is because dating sites are no more regarded as a tricky way for getting in touch with and bonding with new people. Instead, online dating is now gaining immense popularity as information technologies and digital media have congregated. The contemporary virtual social media has increased the evolution from vital matchmaking sites to sites that make it possible for anyone to "date" in reality online without even leaving their places. Even though face-to-face dating has not disappeared completely, the social media has enhanced the process of online dating tremendously (Brown, 2011).

Physical attractiveness plays an influential role in determining communication behavior. Evidence from our culture supports that initially we respond much more favorable to those we perceive more physically attractive than those we see as less attractive. Studies have shown that physical attractive people are perceived to exceed unattractive people on socially desirable evaluation such as personality, success, sexuality, popularity and happiness.

The five factors that predict interpersonal relationships are: proximity, familiarity, similarity, physical appearance, and reciprocity. Proximity refers to the geographical location of persons. People are more likely to initiate, engage, or maintain relationships if someone’s geographical location is near or convenient to the person they are to pursue. Relationships, whether romantic or platonic, are not as likely to be initiated if the proximity does not allow individuals to cross paths or maintain a certain level of communication. As well, familiarity plays an important role in the fostering of relationships. People are said to have an increased attraction and fondness for individuals that they see more often than those they do not. In lay terms, similarity can be summed up by saying that people enjoy the presence of those like (or similar) to them. Individuals are more often drawn to and feel less intimidated by others that share their culture and belief systems; thus, are more likely to form relationships with them. Next, is physical attractiveness; which can be defined in two different ways. First off, people tend to believe that beautiful things equal good things and are more likely to seek out relationships with individuals they find beautiful. However, people are also likely to form relationships with people they believe to be on

People often spend more time with people who they can relate to or to people who they have something in common with. It is easier to get to know or get close to someone when you have similarities because you have something to do or talk about now. The next factor is When Opposites Attract; this factor just basically states that there is truth to the old saying “opposites attract,” and that some people develop a relationship with complementary qualities. But basing it on research it does not support this kind of view of attraction. The last but definitely not the least of the views of attraction is Reciprocity of liking; this view just basically states that people have the tendency to like other people who like them in return.

The Halo Effect is the cognitive bias that generalizes that if an individual has one outstanding favorable character trait, the rest of that individual’s trait will be favorable. Specific to physical attractiveness, this is known as the “Attractiveness Halo.” Attractiveness plays an important role in determining social interactions. In fact, the physical attractiveness of an individual is a vital social cue utilized by others to evaluate other aspects of that individual’s abilities (Kenealy, Frude, & Shaw, 2001). Because of the attractiveness halo, attractive applicants trying to enter the workforce tend to

In addition, an experiment by McClintock showed that women were attracted to the smell of a man who was genetically similar, but not too similar, to their fathers ((1)). Therefore, our genetic information might play a role in whether or not someone is desirable in order to avoid inbreeding or, on the other end of the spectrum, to avoid the loss of desirable gene combinations. Inevitably, however, it is our brain that processes another individual's appearance, lifestyle, how they relate to past individuals we have met, and, possibly, their pheromones. Then, based on this information, we decide, within our brain, whether or not this person is worth getting to know.

• But when an initial dislike in the liker changes to liking this is more valued than a uniformly positive attitude

A famous study by Leon Festinger, Stanley Schacter, and Kurtt Back (1950) in a student housing development revealed that the development of friendships was influenced by the distance between the units in which the people lived. The closer the students' rooms were to each other, the better the chances that they would become friends. The people who became friends were those who had the greatest opportunity to interact with each other.