Discussion for Monday
edwardgoe
MyersChapter11-InterpersonalAttractionPart3-InteractiveDeterminants.pptChapter 11
Attraction & Intimacy:
Meeting, Liking, Becoming Acquainted
(Part 3 – Interactive Determinants)
Part Three
Interactive Determinants of Attraction:
Similarity and Mutual Liking
Interactions in Attraction
- As you probably noticed in the prior two sections on internal and external determinants of attraction, they often seem to overlap.
- This interaction is the main focus of this part of the lecture, where we will look at …
1). Similarity
2). Mutual Evaluations
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In dating behaviors, people often choose a partner who “matches” them in attractiveness (this is called the matching hypothesis)
Interactions in Attraction
- 1). Similarity: Do birds of a feather flock together?
Yup, similarity often predicts subsequent liking!
Equally true for males and females, as well as people of different ages, cultures, and educational statuses
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Interactions in Attraction
- 1). Similarity
The more similar someone is to us, the more we like them (recall the self-referencing effect!)
The matching hypothesis thus finds that people usually become romantically involved with others equivalent in attractiveness
Opposites usually do NOT attract, or they quickly fizzle when they do
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Interactions in Attraction
- 1). Similarity: Do birds of a feather flock together?
Like the matching hypothesis, the Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect posits that people respond positively when another person is similar to themselves and negatively when another person is dissimilar
Similar people are judged as more intelligent, moral, better informed, and better adjusted than dissimilar people
We feed on this, because when others remind us of us, it makes us feel all the better!
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Interactions in Attraction
- 2). Mutual evaluations: Reciprocal liking or disliking
Mutual liking is an intermediate, middle step between the initial attraction of two people and their subsequent relationship
People enjoy being evaluated positively by others, even if the evaluation is inaccurate or insincere
On the other hand, people dislike those who dislike and negatively evaluate them.
Unfortunately, people may lash out against even the closest of friends if they feel that their own self-concept is threatened
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Interactions in Attraction
- 2). Mutual evaluations: Reciprocal liking or disliking
You might really like or love your friend (or romantic partner), but you may turn on them if you yourself feel threatened
Make sure to watch the film on Envy (required), which you can find under supplemental materials
Why do you think turning on a friend makes you feel better? It’s probably due to that idea of “Misery loves company” we discussed earlier, but it also helps us feel better through social comparisons, doesn’t it? The funny thing is that this may happen unconsciously, as the video shows!
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Interactions in Attraction
- Short section, I know! Let’s move on and look at Part 4, which focuses on what you really want to discuss … love!
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