Interpersonal relationships

What is attraction and what is it influenced by

• The action or power of evoking interest in or liking someone or something

• Krueger and Caspi (1993) identified 4 key hypotheses:

• Similarity hypothesis

• Ideal partner hypothesis

• Repulsion hypothesis

• Optimal dissimilarity hypothesis

What is similarity hypothesis

• People are attracted to those with similiar personalities and attitudes

• Similarity enhances mutual understanding and validation

• Byrne (1971), reciprocal liking strengthens attraction

• Rushton (1989), genetic similarity may play a role

What is the ideal partner hypothesis

• People seek partners who possess ideal traits eg sociability, intelligence

• Attraction is higher when individuals match personal ideals

• Buss and Barnes (1986), ideal traits influence partner choice

• Kenrick and Keefe (1992) gender differences in ideal preferences

What is the repulsion hypothesis

• Dissimilarity leads to active avoidance

• Rosenbaum (1986), dissimilar individuals are eliminated first

• Emphasizes rejection of similarity over selection of similarity.

What is the optimal dissimilarity hypothesis

• Slight differences can be attractive

• Novelty in moderate dissimilarity is appealing (Berlyne, 1967)

• Excessive dissimilarity leads to challenges in understanding

What is fatal attraction

• Concept (Felmlee, 1995), traits initially attractive may later cause relationship dissatisfaction

• Common fatal attractions.