User:Jbarnesatm/sandbox

Similarity

social psychological approaches

In social psychology large amounts of empirical evidence indicate that similarity breeds liking, this is known as the similarity effect. Similarity refers to personality, attitudes, values, interests, and attraction shared between to individuals. Similarity is closely related to Bryne's social psychology model of interpersonal attraction (1961) which is determined by four variables: propinquity (is how our environment and situation play a role in determining how often and to what degree we come in contact), need for affiliation, overt stimulus characteristics (refers to the observable attributes of an individual that serve to elicit positive or negative responses from others), and similarity. In short we determine our attraction or liking of another by positive and negative reinforcements emotions concerning the matter. When Individual A receives positive reinforcement from individual B, A's attraction toward B increases the reverse is also true. Attitude similarity has also been found to serve as a strong foundation for long lasting friendship. Friends who share a similar interest in activities where more likely to perceive similarity and liking then those who shared similar attitudes. An individuals perceived similarity with another has been proven to show potential for romantic relationships even though actual similarity was reported to be low. These findings explain that individuals are more likely to be attracted to those who they perceive to share similar activities with such as occupation and hobbies. Propinquity also explains the relationship between liking and activities, those with similar interests tend to put themselves into similar types of settings increasing their chances of interaction. As frequency of interaction between 2 or more people increases, the degree of perceived similarity and liking for one another increases eventually leading to long lasting relationships.