Evaluating Two Psychological Theories Of Interpersonal Attraction

Q.

Describe and evaluate two psychological theories of interpersonal attraction. In this consider the extent to which attraction is determined by cultural and social factors, rather than an act of choice.

A.

Attraction can be considered as a relatively simple process, which has a number of different forms such as friendships, sexual attraction and romantic love. There are various factors and processes which are involved in attraction, which will be covered in this essay.

Interpersonal attraction does have an important function, in that it firstly, fulfills the basic human need to reproduce. Secondly, man can be considered as gregarious. The effects of social deprivation have been outlined in various studies such as Bexton et al (1954),
4.(Loss) Person is initially positive but then becomes negative.

Aronson (1976) stated that the strongest attraction comes from condition 3 ie that you have won someone around. Aronson and Linder stated that this reaction was a general principle of interpersonal attraction which they termed as the gain-loss model. This was further supported by research conducted by Clore et al (1975) which followed the same conditions as Aronson 's results and fit 's the gain-loss model proposed by Aronson and Linder. This hypothesis is in essence highly mechanistic in it 's view of interpersonal attraction.

An interesting aspect of interpersonal attraction is that of perceived fallibillity, this was defined by Aronson et al (1966) which states that people of average self-esteem consider mistakes by high achievers as acceptable, however mistakes from those considered as less than high achievers is more likely to cause a feeling of aversion. This conclusion was supported by research conducted by Helmreich et al (1970), which stated that people of high or low self esteem liked superior people less if they made a
The main theories concerning relationship maintenance involve some form of reward system. The complementary needs theory proposed by Winch (1958) can also be applied to the maintenance of the relationship. Newcomb (1971) stated that in the formation of relationships there is a desire to create a balance, and that we seek to develop relationships with people of similar interest 's. This theory was supported by research conducted by Newcomb in (1961) and further research conducted by Hill, Rubin and Peplau (1976).

Other theories concerning this area of attraction paint a pessimistic picture of the nature under which relationships are formed. The equity theory proposed by Hatfield and Traupmann (1981) and Walster et al (1978) state that there is a high degree of selfishness involved. The key to sustaining a relationship according to this theory is that there should be a balance of each partners needs being satisfied. Another aspect of this theory was that developed by Thibaut and Kelly (1959), Huesmann and Levinger (1976) who decribed relationships in terms of cost and