Chapter 11Attraction & Intimacy Meeting, Liking, Beco

Chapter 11
Attraction & Intimacy:
Meeting, Liking, Becoming Acquainted
(Part 2 – External Determinants)
Part Two
External Determinants of Attraction Proximity and Observable
Characteristics
“Contrary to popular belief, I do not believe that friends are
necessarily the people you like best;
they are merely the people who got there first.”
(Sir Peter Ustinov, 1977)
External Determinants of AttractionIn this segment, we are
going to focus on the external aspects of relationships,
including:
1). The power of proximity
2). Observable characteristics
3). Biological aspects of attractiveness
4). Defining attractiveness

*
External Determinants of Attraction1). The power of proximity:
Unplanned contacts
Proximity refers to the physical distance or closeness between
two people, such as …
where they live
where they sit in a classroom
where they work
where they shop
where they exercise
where they go to church
and so on
*
Unplanned contacts
Why does proximity matter? Repeated exposure may be a key
Remember the mere exposure effect?
Frequent contact with positive, neutral, and even mildly
negative stimulus usually results in increasingly positive
evaluations of that stimulus (though this is unconscious)
Note I said mildly negative. If you really, really hate it,
repeated exposure might make you hate it more!
Repeated exposure lacking harmful results increases familiarity,
reduces uncertainty, and increases liking

*
Unplanned contacts
Why does proximity matter?
How might proximity affect love relationships? Think about this
guy, who weighs the advantages and disadvantages of long
distance relationships given our high gas prices
There is an optional (and very sad) video about proximity you
can find under supplemental materials
Let’s look at several facets of observable characteristics now …
*
External Determinants of Attraction2). Observable
characteristics: Instant evaluations also matter
A. First impressions can arouse strong affect (either positive or
negative) and may overcome the effects of proximity
Although our past experiences, stereotypes, and attributions
may not really apply to a new person we are about to meet, we
may still use those things to evaluate that new person
Any clown phobics out there?
All clowns are scary, even those you
have yet to meet!
How do we respond to physical
attractiveness?

*
2). Observable characteristics: Instant evaluations also matter
B. We use physical attractiveness to judge a book by its covers
Physical attractiveness involves a combination of features
Evaluated as beautiful or handsome at the positive end
Evaluated as unattractive at the negative end
Although people rarely fit both extremes, how would your first
impressions toward them differ if you saw the same person as
attractive or unattractive?
Thank you, Hollywood! …
External Determinants of Attraction
*
Gwenyth Paltrow – Shallow Hal
Charlize Theron - Monster
But how do we perceive the attractive and unattractive?
2). Observable characteristics: Instant evaluations also matte r
C. People hold stereotypes based on people’s appearance
Most people associate attractive men and women with being
interesting, sociable, exciting, well-adjusted, and successful
“What is beautiful is good” is a common stereotype
But what is “good” is socially derived. What about inner
beauty? The movie “Shallow Hal” with Jack Black has an
interesting idea about this

*
Are attractiveness stereotypes accurate? Who knows!
Attractiveness IS associated with popularity, high self-esteem,
and interpersonal skills
But these associations may result from how others treat
attractive people
Remember the self-fulfilling prophecy?
Maybe this is happening!
Consider this study …
*
In one study, men were led to believe (falsely) that their phone
partner was either very attractive or not attractive.
The men behaved consistently with this belief:
Attractive partner men acted sociable and friendly
Unattractive partner men acted less sociable and friendly
The woman responded in kind
If he behaved warmly toward
her, then she behaved warmly
and sociably toward him
*

*
Thus it is possible that attractive people respond in warm and
friendly manners (confirming the stereotype) because others act
friendly and warm toward them
The self-fulfilling prophecy … fulfilled!
*
But there are exceptions to positive stereotypes regarding
attractive people
Beautiful women may be seen as vain or materialistic
Only attractive male (not female) political candidates are more
likely to be elected
So beauty only goes so far. But what about culture? …
*

D. What about cultural aspects of beauty?
Although positive stereotypes are related to attractiveness, the
content of what is attractive differ according to the traits,
beliefs, and values of each specific culture
Large ear decorations in some cultures
Long necks in others
*
Although positive stereotypes are related to attractiveness, the
content of what is attractive differ according to the traits,
beliefs, and values of each specific culture
It even happens in the animal kingdom when the lions get
jealous of giraffes!
*
Judgments of beauty change over time, across cultures, and
across circumstances.
Beauty may simply be in the eye of the beholder!
*

Judgments of beauty change over time, across cultures, and
across circumstances.
How do these portraits compare to current ideals of feminine
beauty?
*
Three lines of research suggest that the appeal of physically
attractiveness may be biological
A. Infants (2-months old!) look longer at faces considered
attractive than at faces considered unattractive
B. There is cross-cultural consistency of what is beautiful
C. Some features are consistently and reliably associated with
attractiveness.
That is, regardless of race or culture, are the following people
attractive? …
*

Men “prefer” healthy women who can produce healthy offspring
Surface indicators of reproductive ability and health include …
Youthfulness
Attractiveness
Women “prefer” men who have healthy resources. Typical
indicators of healthy resources include
Older men
Money and status
*
Note that the “preferences” on the prior slide appear to have
some cross-cultural consistency, but that the availability of
partners who fit the “mold” is limited
Also note that this is a biological drive, and can be overridden
by our cognitions, culture, social, and personal drivesThat being
said, do you notice a pattern among these couples? …

*
Yeah, we may think this internally, but who really says it
aloud?
Imagine the Personal Ads for These People!
Her Ad: “Sexy blonde bombshell, 5’7” ,slender, seeking
friend / lover / companion. You must be confident, financially
secure, mature, and willing to please”

His Ad: “White male, 50, looking for female to be spoiled
and pampered in palatial home. Please be 21-29 and have
extremely sexy figure”
*
4). So what IS attractive? Defining “attractiveness”
A. Observable characteristics
Two different procedures are used to determine what facial
features are associated with attractiveness
First, identifying attractive individuals and discovering the
characteristics that they share
Waist-to-hip ratio of .7 for women (Playboy Models)
*
First, identifying attractive individuals and discovering the
characteristics that they share
Men find “baby-faced” features attractive in women: Big eyes
and forehead, round cheeks, a small nose, a wide smile. For
example …

*
*
Second, creating a composite image of combined faces
Attractiveness seems focused on facial symmetry and average,
so adding faces together can smooth out the “rough edges” in
people’s faces. Consider …
*
4 Faces
8 Faces
16 Faces

32 Faces
4 Faces
8 Faces
16 Faces
32 Faces
Below are “average” faces composited together. Don’t they
seem to become more attractive as more faces are included?
64 Female Faces: Composite
64 Male Faces: Composite
And now: The Freakiest Composite You Will Ever See!
A. Observable characteristics (all optional below)
Want to try your own hand at “compositing” faces? You can do
so through an interactive website. Find the link under
supplemental materials (optional) and see what kinds of
“freaks” you can create!
You can also find a link to a facial symmetry and attractiveness
Ted Talk under supplemental materials
*

Neatness and the color of one’s clothing, men’s facial hair,
observable disabilities, eyeglasses, perceived age, and actions
that suggest mental illness can al influence attractiveness
ratings
Men’s height also makes a difference …
*
Men’s height is perceived to be related to qualities such as
leadership, virility, and masculinity
People tend to elect the tallest (and most attractive) candidate
who is running for president
*
B. Observable characteristics – your own attractiveness ratings
Your judgments of your own attractiveness usually do not align
with other’s judgments of your attractiveness, but two people
usually agree when rating a third person
Greatest agreement occurs when men are judging the

attractiveness of a woman
*
C. Situational characteristics
Objects someone has just seen (like photos of attractive people)
influence their ratings of others (recall priming!)
A person recently exposed to exceptionally beautiful people are
more critical of other people’s looks than a person exposed to
average looking people
This also involves social comparison effects (Chapter 7)
*
C. Situational characteristics
Research in bars has found that bar patrons appear more
attractive to potential partners as closing time nears!
Of course, there are lots of explanations for this:
The good looking people leave early (go home with the other
good looking people!)
Alcohol makes everyone look more attractive!

*
D. Behavioral characteristics
A youthful walking style
A firm handshake
Animated behavior
Active participation in discussions
Modesty …
… all are associated with positive responses from others
*
D. Behavioral characteristics
Men who act in dominant, authoritative, and / or competitive
manners in initial encounters are liked better than those who
appear submissive and noncompetitive
However, after several interactions, men who are pro-social and
sensitive are preferred
Bad boys intrigue women, but they marry good guys!
*
E. Behavioral AND observable characteristics

A person’s physique is related to stereotypes that affect their
attractiveness even when there is no relationship between
physique and personality
Excess fat is the least favored physique in the US, and obesity
is stigmatized
It can even be associated with someone who is near a person
who is obese (that priming effect again!)
*
E. Behavioral AND observable characteristics
A person’s physique is related to stereotypes that affect their
attractiveness even when there is no relationship between
physique and personality
People who eat healthy food are judged as more likeable and
morally superior than those who eat “junk food.”
*
Of course, internal and external determinants of attraction are
not mutually exclusive. That is, they often overlap. In Part 3,
we will look further at that overlap, seeing how both similarity
and mutual evaluations impact attraction.

*
1
MMD010 Assignment
(November 2021)
Suppose we are interested in popularity of movies (the
dependent variable, measured by an index).
Use the movie dataset (Movies_data.csv) and answer the
following questions:
1. Check the distribution of Popularity. Visualise it using a
histogram and density. Discuss the shape
of the distribution and compare it to Normal Distribution. Make
a log transformation if needed and
explain your reasoning.
2. Summarize the following variables (Popularity, Total Cast
(number of actors), Total Crew (number
of people involved in movie production) and Genre Adventure
(adventure movies)) in a table where
you present Number of observations, Mean, Standard deviation,
Minimum and Maximum. Interpret

the results.
3. Create a correlation matrix among the above-mentioned
variables (Popularity, Total Cast, Total
Crew, and Genre Adventure) and interpret the results.
4. Construct a t-test to check whether there is a significant
difference in popularity among adventure
and non-adventure movies. Explain the findings.
5. Visualise the relationship between Popularity and Total Cast
using a scatter plot. Explain what you
observe. [hint: would you use Popularity or ln Popularity?]
6. Based on the hypothesis that more actors involved in movie
production leads to higher popularity,
run a simple regression between Popularity and Total Cast.
Export the table and interpret the results,
address the following: interpretations of the coefficient,
significance of the coefficient and R squared.
[hint: would you use Popularity or ln Popularity as dependent
variable? If ln Popularity used as
dependent variable, how would you interpret the coefficient?]
7. In order to get a ‘true’ effect of Total Cast on Popularity, we
need to use control variables. In our
data, such a control variable can be Total Crew. Run a multiple

regression by adding Total Crew as a
control variable in the simple regression in Q5. Make a
comparison between simple regression and
multiple regression: how do the interpretation of coefficients
and model fit change? Check whether
there is a multicollinearity issue after adding the additional
variable in the regression. [hint: command
vif]. Finally, select a better model between the two regressions
and explain your reasoning.
8. Popularity of the movie might depend on the type of the
movie. Add Genre Adventure in the
multiple regression in Q6 and interpret the results. Is there
evidence that suggests adventure movies
are more popular than non-adventure movies? Explain the
findings. Another argument is that the
relationship between total cast and popularity varies depending
on movie types. In order to check this
hypothesis, add an interaction term between Genre Adventure
and Total Cast to the multiple
regression. Export the table and interpret the results. [hint:
check whether interaction term is
significant or not and the sign of the interaction term]
9. Based on the same dataset, develop a hypothesis. Based on
your hypothesis, select the dependent

variable, independent variable and control variable(s) and run a
multiple regression. Then develop a
second hypothesis which addresses the potential heterogeneity
that might exist in the first hypothesis
and run a second multiple regression.
2
Here is an example:
Hypothesis 1: Total Cast has a positive effect on Popularity.
Hypothesis 2: The effect of Total Cast on Popularity differs
between Adventure and non-
Adventure movies.
Export the tables, interpret the results of both regressions and
state whether they support your
hypotheses or not. Free to use any variables of interests.
Submission instructions:
Email to Min Zou ([email protected]) and Irakli Barbakadze
([email protected]) by
23:59 Monday the 17th of January 2022.

- A pdf that includes all tables, graphs, text; Note: You need to
export your regression outputs using
outreg2 command. Screenshots from STATA are not accepted.
- A Stata code (.do file).
File name: MMD010_Assignment_2022_firstname_surname.pdf,
MMD010_Assignment_2022_firstname_surname.do.
Chapter 11
(Part 3 – Interactive Determinants)
Part Three
Interactive Determinants of Attraction:
Similarity and Mutual Liking
Interactions in AttractionAs you probably noticed in the prior
two sections on internal and external determinants of attraction,
they often seem to overlap. This interaction is the main focus of
this part of the lecture, where we will look at …

1). Similarity
2). Mutual Evaluations
*
In dating behaviors, people often choose a partner who
“matches” them in attractiveness (this is called the matching
hypothesis)
Interactions in Attraction1). Similarity: Do birds of a feather
flock together?
Yup, similarity often predicts subsequent liking!
Equally true for males and females, as well as people of
different ages, cultures, and educational statuses
*
Interactions in Attraction1). Similarity
The more similar someone is to us, the more we like them
(recall the self-referencing effect!)
The matching hypothesis thus finds that people usually become
romantically involved with others equivalent in attractiveness
Opposites usually do NOT attract, or they quickly fizzle when
they do

*
Interactions in Attraction1). Similarity: Do birds of a feather
flock together?
Like the matching hypothesis, the Similarity-Dissimilarity
Effect posits that people respond positively when another
person is similar to themselves and negatively when another
person is dissimilar
Similar people are judged as more intelligent, moral, better
informed, and better adjusted than dissimilar people
We feed on this, because when others remind us of us, it makes
us feel all the better!
*
Interactions in Attraction2). Mutual evaluations: Reciprocal
liking or disliking
Mutual liking is an intermediate, middle step between the initial
attraction of two people and their subsequent relationship
People enjoy being evaluated positively by others, even if the
evaluation is inaccurate or insincere
On the other hand, people dislike those who dislike and
negatively evaluate them.
Unfortunately, people may lash out against even the closest of
friends if they feel that their own self-concept is threatened

*
Interactions in Attraction2). Mutual evaluations: Reciprocal
liking or disliking
You might really like or love your friend (or romantic partner),
but you may turn on them if you yourself feel threatened
Make sure to watch the film on Envy (required), which you can
find under supplemental materials
Why do you think turning on a friend makes you feel better?
It’s probably due to that idea of “Misery loves company” we
discussed earlier, but it also helps us feel better through social
comparisons, doesn’t it? The funny thing is that this may
happen unconsciously, as the video shows!
*
Interactions in AttractionShort section, I know! Let’s move on
and look at Part 4, which focuses on what you really want to
discuss … love!
*

Chapter 11
(Part 1 – Internal Determinants)
An Overview of This ChapterThe tends to be one of the chapters
that students respond to most, as it often has a direct bearing on
your present lives
College is usually a time of transition, as you seek out who you
will become and start gaining skills for your future careers
Yet this time of your life entails a lot of relationship transitions
as well. You may have recently left home, leaving family and
friends and the familiarity of childhood.
In college, you are meeting new people and developing new
relationships (both friendship and romantic). This chapter will
focus on several aspects of these Interpersonal Relationships
*
An Overview of This ChapterThis chapter will focus on five
sections, including:
Part One: Internal Determinants of Attraction
Part Two: External Determinants of Attraction
Part Three: Interactive Determinants of Attraction
Part Four: Love Relationships
Part Five: End of a Relationship

*
Part One
Internal Determinants of Attraction:
The Need to Affiliate and the Basic Role of Affect
Internal Determinants of AttractionIn this segment, we are
going to focus on two internal aspects of relationships,
including:
1). The importance of affiliation for human existence
A. Neurobiological factors
B. Individual differences in the need to affiliate
C. Situational factors in the need to affiliate
2). The basic role of affect
A. Direct & Indirect (Associated) Effects
B. Excitation transfer
C. Laughter and liking
*
Internal Determinants of Attraction1). The importance of
affiliation for human existence

Our first task in this section is to figure out why human beings
are driven to affiliate, or to connect, with other people
Given what you have learned in this course thus far, you can see
that humans don’t always connect well with others (as is the
case in prejudice and with some of our self-serving biases
But don’t get too discouraged! We are social beings, and we
depend on one another for companionship, safety, affection,
love, and a whole host of needs, pretty much from birth
You can tell that these needs exist at a biological level …
*
A. Affiliation may be based on neurobiological factors
Human infants seem to be born with the motivation to seek
contact with those in their social environment.
Newborns prefer to look at faces more than other stimuli
In particular, they love looking at attractive faces!
Thus humans respond automatically to facial features
*
Think about such neurobiological factors in the context of other
kinds of facial features, namely facial expressions

Are facial expressions universal? If so, this helps support a
biological need to understand other human beings
On the following slides, try to pick out the emotion the person
is expressing!
I’m sure you got most of the six primary emotions correct on
the prior slides, as they are readily recognized by almost all
people across the world …
Happiness, Fear, Sadness, Anger, Surprise, Disgust
But here is a quick answer key for you just in case …
Happiness
Fear
Sadness
Anger
Surprise
Disgust
A. Affiliation may be based on neurobiological factors.
Our ability to recognize the emotional expressions of others
gives us adaptive cues, telling us what we can expect
These cues are not something that we need to learn. Instead,

they seem very innate and natural
Doesn’t this give support to the notion that we are hard-wired to
notice and affiliate with other people?
In that same vein, is it any wonder that we like and are attracted
to those who smile and exhibit positive energy (animation)
toward us?
B. Individual differences exist in our need to affiliate. Not all
people are motivated to affiliate with others to the same extent
The need for affiliation is a motive to seek and maintain
interpersonal relationships (this is a fairly stable trait)
Those high in need for affiliation can hardly go an hour alone
by themselves without feeling anxious
Those low in need for affiliation may find themselves living the
life of a hermit in the everglades!
Most of us fall between these extremes (thankfully!)
B. Individual differences exist in our need to affiliate. Not all
people are motivated to affiliate with others to the same extent
Yet even those of us “in the middle” desire human contact:
When our affiliation needs are not met, sadness and anger may
result, and our cognitive functioning may be affected
C. Situational influences may enhance our need to affiliate

Threatening situations (natural disasters) increase affiliation
People like to affiliate with those who are experiencing the
same negative event
This provides a means for social comparison
You can see this when people face crisis beyond their control.
During 9/11, people sought out churches and family and friends,
anything to avoid being alone
In one study, participants anticipated either a severe or a mild
electrical shock
While in a waiting room, those anticipating a severe shock sat
closer to other participants than those expecting mild shocks
Apparently, misery love company, especially if the rest of the
company is also miserable!
Internal Determinants of Attraction2). Affect as a basic
response system
We have already discussed affect many times—it’s a person’s
emotional state (positive and negative feelings and moods)
Affect greatly impacts our attraction to others
Once again, evolutionary factors offer an explanation regarding

why affect is a basic component of human behavior.
Simple, quick discriminations between stimuli can be made
Distinguishing between positive and negative stimuli helps us
identify potential threats, thus increasing our likelihood of
survival and reproduction
response system
A. At its most basic, emotion has a direct effect on attraction
Positive affect leads to liking others
We like others better when we are in a positive mood
Other people’s positive moods can be contagious, making us
feel better and increasing liking for them
response system
A. At its most basic, emotion has a direct effect on attraction
Negative affect leads to disliking or avoiding others
Have you ever lashed out at others or been particularly annoyed
by them when you are sad, in pain, worried?
Sometimes you just want to get away from everyone!
Others’ anger, unhappiness, and negati ve
affect may make them less appealing, so
we may try to avoid them, too
response system
A. Yet emotions can also have an indirect (associated) effect
Remember classical conditioning? A neutral stimulus (after
being paired with an unconditioned stimulus) leads to the same

response as that unconditioned stimulus
The same thing can happen with associated effects …
Subliminally present a pleasant picture, and the positive
feelings aroused by the pleasant picture may transfer to other
objects
Think about the following picture …
Viewing appealing pictures like this can increase expressed
liking of a person (or a product!) that one sees shortly after
viewing such positive pictures.
Of course, subliminally presenting unpleasant pictures can
provide a similar (albeit negative) associated effect.
Think about the following picture …
.
Yuck! Viewing this can decrease expressed liking of a
person one is about to meet. (Especially this guy, but others you
might meet also!)
Advertisers often pair their ad messages with positive images
(which increases consumers’ good feelings for the product and
makes purchases more likely)
Hi there.
Enjoying the picture?

Okay, you probably think I am being mean keeping this picture
on your computer screen, huh?
I am!
Let’s move on to another effect of affect on attraction
response system
B. Excitation Transfer / Arousal Misattribution
If we’re physiologically aroused (heart beating faster, sweaty
palms, etc.), we try to attribute that arousal to a source
This is what happened in the Schracter and Singer study
(injecting people with epinephrine and telling them there were
no side effects)
But sometimes we misattribute the source of our arousal, and
think it comes from (or because of) something else
For example, …
response system
B. Excitation Transfer / Arousal Misattribution
In one study, men ran in place for:
15 seconds OR
2 minutes
All men then saw a tape of an attractive woman
Those men who had been running for 2 minutes saw the
attractive woman as even more attractive than men who had
been running for only 15 seconds.
Thus arousal from the exercise was attributed to attraction

response system
C. Laughter and liking go hand in hand!
Laughter helps strengthen bonds between people. Indeed, early
interactions with others usually involve forms of play that
evoke laughter. It is even evolutionarily based
Think about laughing kids! They do it so naturally cross-
culturally, and it really improves their socialization
response system
C. Laughter and liking also apply to adults!
Sharing a humorous experience increases the likelihood of a
pleasant interaction between individuals.
A very shy guy goes into a bar and sees a beautiful woman
sitting at the bar. After an hour of gathering up his courage, he
finally goes over to her and asks, tentatively, "Um, would you
mind if I chatted with you for a while?"
She responds by yelling, at the top of her lungs, "NO! I w on't
sleep with you tonight!" Everyone in the bar is now staring at
them. Naturally, the guy is hopelessly, completely embarrassed,
and he slinks back to his table.
After a few minutes, the woman walks over to him and
apologizes. She smiles at him and says, "I'm sorry if I
embarrassed you. You see, I'm a student in psychology methods,
and I'm studying how people respond to embarrassing
situations."
To which he responds, at the top of his lungs, "What do you
mean $200?!" Did you like this joke? Well, if you did, maybe it
will strengthen our instructor/student bond! That is …

response system
C. Laughter and liking also apply to adults!
Sharing a humorous experience increases the likelihood of a
pleasant interaction between individuals.
Have you noticed how many speeches begin with a funny
anecdote or joke?
The speaker is “warming up” the audience so they will like the
speaker and the rest of the presented content, strengthening
their “bond”
response system
D. Manipulating affect can be used to influence behavior
Media advertising attempts to manipulate affect to influence
consumers’ and voters’ behaviors.
Attempts are often subtle and effective.
Effect of affect on evaluation is greatest …
when the audience is uninformed
when they are unaware that their emotional state is being
manipulated
when they are engaged in making decisions
Internal Determinants of AttractionAlthough it is very important
to have internal determinants for attraction, little can happen if
you never meet those you are bound to love! Part 2 explores
such external determinants in attraction

Chapter 11Attraction & Intimacy Meeting, Liking, Beco

Chapter 11Attraction & Intimacy Meeting, Liking, Beco

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Chapter 11Attraction & Intimacy Meeting, Liking, Beco