Moreland & Beach (1992) (mere exposure effect)

method

firld experiment

aim

investigate if people develop a preference for things or people because they are familiar

sample

130 undergrad psych students (63 m, 67 f)

procedure

1) 4 confederate women (listened to lecture, took notes, did not interact) attended different amount of lectures (0, 5, 10, 15) 2) end of semester: part. shown slides of women, asked to rank on attractiveness, popularity, intelligence, warmth, honesty, success; asked if women familiar

findings

men and women similar responses, women said not familiar, more classes attended: higher ranked (positive traits)

Strengths

+ longitudinal + large sample + high ecological validity

Limitations

- correlational study - chance for confounding variables - WEIRD