Social Origins of Attraction By Mr Daniel Hansson

Question for discussion 1. How close does your best friend live to you? 2. How often do you meet with your best friend?

Social origins of attraction Proximity Familiarity

Proximity Festinger (1950): Friendship in a dormitory is more likely between those who live closer to one another than those who live further away Nahemov & Lawton (1975): In homes for college students and the elderly, the distances between rooms predicted friendship and attraction.

Evaluation Information technology has enabled us to be in closer contact with those that live far away from us It is natural that we have more friends among those that are close to us, as it gives opportunities for interaction, familiarity and getting to know each other Proximity is a tendency but not a direct relationship It is possible that familiarity is the underlying reason why proximity influences liking

Which of these two pictures of me do you prefer?

Familiarity Mere exposure effect: Familiarity increases liking Zajonc (1971): Subjects evaluated photos of strangers. Those photos that appeared more often than others were rated more positively

Familiarity Newcomb (1961): Roommates that were initially similar were more likely to like each other after one year. After two years, however, familiarity was the best predictor of liking. Segal (1974): Police cadets who were assigned to their rooms and classroom seats alphabetically were more likely to rate someone as a friend who was close in the alphabet to them.

Evaluation Strong empirical support that familiarity breeds liking Familiarity does not always breed liking There are many other factors contributing to liking