Taking a Look at Interpersonal Attraction

The attraction theory of similarity is described in the book as simply that “people tend to like other people who are similar to themselves” (Social Psychology, 98). There are five main reasons that similarity

This literature review will investigate the role of attraction on cross-sex relationships and whether attraction hinders being friends with someone you like. Further, exploring the various common themes among the literature on attraction in cross-sex friendships: the definition of attraction is subjective and there are different types of attraction, attraction tends to confuse the definition of the relationship, men perceive attraction more than women and lastly, attraction indeed is a challenge but not necessarily detrimental. It is hypothesized that attraction creates a significant challenge for those involved in a cross-sex relationship. Therefore, once attraction becomes an issue in the relationship, the possibility of the relationship lasting is questionable. The following five studies support the

Blau states that “social attraction is the force that induces human beings to establish social associations on their own initiative and to expand the scope of their associations once they have been

I found it interesting that the authors found that actual similarity did not predict romantic attraction, that in fact similarity was significantly or marginally related to romantic liking for 6 of the 26 results were in the expected direction. They also found that significant effect of socio-sexuality similarity on liking, and socio-sexuality shares some conceptual overlap with extraversion.

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.

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

It is well-known that diversity is common amongst individuals as each varies in their physical appearances, personality, values and beliefs. A person’s individuality can be shaped through many factors such as cognitive process, biological process, psychological origins of attraction, social perspective attributions, etc. Cognitive origins of attraction is the acquiring and understanding of thoughts and senses and the perceptions of the individual’s own experiences. Biological process is the idea in which sexual attraction (for the purpose of gene survival) is the driving force behind choosing a partner (Charles Darwin). Psychological origins of attraction assumes that people are more likely to be attracted tit e individuals who are perceived to be similar to themselves. Social perspective attributions is the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations. Due to these many factors, each decision an individual makes is different from that of another. This individuality is relied upon when a person chooses others to form a relationship with, including a romantic one. The following studies/research have been provided to explore whether the differences in gender and the types processes may have an effect on decision-making when multiple options are available.

Modern day society, even with all of its technological and cultural advancements, still struggles with the question of “How do we love?” To put it in simpler terms, what factors exactly play a role in who we as human beings choose in partners over another? What attracts us to one person and not another? It is hard to imagine a concrete formula that works for each and every individual on the planet, since there are infinitely too many factors that play into the development of attraction between individuals. The advent of society has served only to introduce even more possible factors of attraction, which further complicate the issue. Whereas animals may choose to mate with each other due to a display of superior genetics, humans have to contend

The researchers in these two studies wanted to test the hypothesis that sexual attraction increases during states of high emotion, such as hate or aggression. The researcher used questionnaires containing pictures from the Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) in the two studies. The questionnaires were given to forty different males by the same attractive female confederate. The female confederate distributed these questionnaires in two different settings; one was a highly emotional setting and the other was a minimal emotional setting. The two experiments that I will be discussing were designed to test the idea that an attractive female is seen as more attractive by males who encounter her while they experience a strong emotion, fear, than by

According to Riela et al (2010), several factors such as gender, culture and ethnicity influence on the experiences of attraction, falling in love and nature of relationships. Ultimately, such factors also determine whether relationships are successful or not and from that context, Scenario Four – Attraction and Relationships, is the case study chosen for this project. However, Scenario Five – Scientist vs. Practitioner Decision Making Gap, was also a favorite alongside Scenario Four. The concept of sexual abuse by a person who is supposed to be the source of security and comfort for the victim makes Scenario Five worth further investigations. More specifically and in relation to the choice of Scenario Four, Ullman (2008) explained how and why child victims of sexual abuse have difficulties in their relationships later in life. It was, however, possible to narrow down to Scenario Four because of its focus on relationships from the psychological

Consider the elements of attraction as outlined in the text. Apply each to platonic and romantic relationships you have had.

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

(Baron, Bryne & Branscombe, 2007). Three basic components of romantic love relations are described in Sternberg’s Triangular Model of Love (1988) as intimacy which is felt as closeness between two people (Companionate Love), sexual passion and excitement between two people (Romantic Love) and the commitment to stay in a long term relationship. A combination of all three basic components is described as Consummate Love (intimacy, passion and commitment). In order to understand why some people are attracted to others, external determinants of attraction will be discussed in the following

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.

The term attraction will refer to a quality or feature in which it summons interest, liking or desire (Webster 2017). However, this essay will challenge why numerous people are more attractive than others. A new study claims that men who are long distance runners are more attractive in light of the fact that they have greater levels of testosterone which makes them all the more masculine and prolific. Firstly, this essay will investigate physical attractions. Secondly, it will discuss the non-physical attractions and Finally, Biological and Social variables. This essay will then be followed by a discussion about the significance in relation to these three points.