Interpersonal Attraction and Love:
INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION AND LOVE:
Attraction is what makes us choose to interact with some people and not others. Many factors influence this attraction. Examples are: i. Propinquity: This is geographical closeness. People tend to be attracted to people they know well and interact with often. The propinquity effect is the finding that the more we see and interact with people; the more likely they are to be our friend and potential partners. ii. Similarity and Homogamy: while propinquity increases familiarity which leads to liking, more is needed to fuel a growing friendship or romantic relationship. The “fuel” is similarity – a match between our interests, attitudes, values, background, or personality and those of another person. Homogamy is similarity in age, intelligence, educational level, socioeconomic status, marital status, physical characteristics etc. iii. Cultural and social endogamy: people also tend to form attractions and relationships within their own race, culture, religion and ethnic groups. iv. Reciprocal liking: we tend to like those who like us. Given the information that a person likes us, we tend to be attracted to the person. Also, when we like someone, we assume that they like us back. v. Physical attractiveness: it is a reality that most people treat physical attractiveness as a good indicator of how likeable a person is. The physical appearance of an individual can be an important aspect of how that person is viewed by others. People who are seen as physically attractive are regarded more highly than others who are seen as being physically unattractive. They are also judged less harshly. It is unlikely that we would initiate conversation with a person that we are not physically attracted to, with the intention of building a romantic relationship.
Attraction leads to friendships which sometimes lead to romantic relationships and sometimes love.
Love represents a range of human emotions and experiences related to the
Attraction is what makes us choose to interact with some people and not others. Many factors influence this attraction. Examples are: i. Propinquity: This is geographical closeness. People tend to be attracted to people they know well and interact with often. The propinquity effect is the finding that the more we see and interact with people; the more likely they are to be our friend and potential partners. ii. Similarity and Homogamy: while propinquity increases familiarity which leads to liking, more is needed to fuel a growing friendship or romantic relationship. The “fuel” is similarity – a match between our interests, attitudes, values, background, or personality and those of another person. Homogamy is similarity in age, intelligence, educational level, socioeconomic status, marital status, physical characteristics etc. iii. Cultural and social endogamy: people also tend to form attractions and relationships within their own race, culture, religion and ethnic groups. iv. Reciprocal liking: we tend to like those who like us. Given the information that a person likes us, we tend to be attracted to the person. Also, when we like someone, we assume that they like us back. v. Physical attractiveness: it is a reality that most people treat physical attractiveness as a good indicator of how likeable a person is. The physical appearance of an individual can be an important aspect of how that person is viewed by others. People who are seen as physically attractive are regarded more highly than others who are seen as being physically unattractive. They are also judged less harshly. It is unlikely that we would initiate conversation with a person that we are not physically attracted to, with the intention of building a romantic relationship.
Attraction leads to friendships which sometimes lead to romantic relationships and sometimes love.
Love represents a range of human emotions and experiences related to the