What Does A Social Psychology Research Tell Us About Factors That Enhance Or Deter Attraction?

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.

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

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

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.

Critique: I found this essay to be enlightening in several ways. Not only was the information presented in an organized way, but it was also very interesting. I agree with the author’s statements about the trials and tribulations of relationships, and I find myself agreeing most with his biological theory of attraction. I especially liked the psychological direction of the essay, as it remained fairly objective and scientific while still presenting new and different ideas as witnessed by his inclusion of historical facts with the addition of his own unique analysis and commentary

This book is needed because Tthe law of attraction is well known but misunderstood by many. We here at the institue have had tremendous success with attracting all that we desire into our lives and want to share with you our techniques, principles and inspirations that will give you the desired results you seek. Let us help you consciously create the life you want.

The studies I participated in were from FaceResearch.org. The description of this website was, ‘Participate in short, frequently updated experiments about the traits people find attractive in faces and voices, find out how you compare to others, and learn more about the psychology of attractiveness.’ I was very interested in this section in class, so I decided to do a few studies from this website. The first was one titled Facial Attractiveness, and I clicked on it because it had the most participants (over 77,000). In this experiment, participants were supposed to indicate which face was more attractive (and how much we prefer it) of the two shown. The participants could click on the following options: much more attractive, more attractive, somewhat more attractive, or slightly more attractive. There were abut forty sets of faces. They would show two female faces, one more feminized and one more masculinized. Then, they would show two males faces. In the end, the results were as follows: ‘On average, people preferred the more feminine women 80% of the time and the more feminine men 54% of the time. You preferred feminine women 100% of the time and feminine men 0% of the time.’ I also participated in the study What makes a face attractive? It was similar to the other study in which I was given two faces and had to choose which one was more attractive. The results were as follows: ‘On average, people had a 58% preference strength for the more feminine images. You had a 46%

The research findings showed that a man’s sexual attraction to a woman was increased by young women associated with red, but it was not increased by older women with red. It also revealed that the older participants found the two age groups of women equal in their sexual attraction, while the younger participants did not find the older women, as sexually attractive as the younger women. The color red did not affect physical attractiveness, intellect, and empathy. In addition, the article greatly contributed to the theories of social psychology. In Exploring Psychology in Modules, the author discusses physical attractiveness. He discusses how among different cultures, men are attracted to women through signs of the body. These signs indicate fertility, which makes the man more attracted to a woman. This understanding may help to show why both age groups of men were equally attracted to the younger women in the pictures, as opposed to the older women, where only the older men found them equally attractive to the younger women (Schwarz & Singer,

An experimental design was used to determine if interracial dating impacts openness to other cultures. Researchers created vignettes of scenarios involving couples of different races with different backgrounds to create a manipulation to assess participants views. In addition, a quasi-experimental design evaluated the participants influences to date outside their race and analyze their openness to other cultures. Vignettes consisted of statements like Matthew is likely to be more attracted to African American women than White women, Dating outside of his race is probably a phase for Matthew that he will outgrow, and Dating outside of her race is probably a phase for Kendra that she will outgrow. Participants personal interracial and openness measures included statements like, I would never date outside of my race, I enjoy learning about cultures other than my own, I have a lot in common with Whites in the United States, and I have

To explains one’s attitudes towards interracial dating, many studies consider race to be the one of the primary factors that explains how people of different races tend to act differently. A way a person acts is not primarily because of their race, but instead of their personal experiences. This illustrates that attitude is greatly influenced by an individual’s personal experiences. Based on race, both African-Americans and Caucasians have different experiences and learned behaviors. This is illustrated in a 1985 study, which showed that African Americans in general, particularly African-American women preferred interracial dating than Caucasian. However, Caucasian men preferred interracial dating more than women. One particular question that arose from this study 1) Is gender more important than race in explaining attitudes toward interracial dating?

Adversely to the concept of an attraction between similar individuals, a common perception in society is that opposite personalities and characteristics attract. In their study, “Do People know what they Want: A Similar or Complementary Partner”, Pieternal Dijkstra and Dick Barelds establish that opposing personality characteristics result in more spontaneous relationships. Furthermore, psychologists such as Christopher Dryer and Leonard Horowitz introduce the idea that differences in dominance levels and personality allow the best suited relationship to occur, in their study, “When do opposites attract? Interpersonal Complementarity Versus Similarity”. Both writers claim that individuals that contrast in personalities compensate for each other’s lacking of characteristics possessed by the other.

Over the years, researchers have been aiming to determine what draws an individual towards another. Attraction preference has changed as we have become more open-minded throughout the generations. There are specific traits that each individual finds attractive. While basing a person just upon physical characteristics, the study is going to observe how race affects a person’s attraction preference towards another individual. This will be demonstrated by seeing if a person is intrigued by similar traits in which they happen to contain or if they are drawn to unique differences.

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 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

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