Introduction to Communication Theory, Professor Lori Pindar Done by Eliza Larkin

1. Similarity and
Interpersonal
Attraction
Eliza Larkin

2. What is it?
“If we believe people are similar to
us, we are more attracted to them”
(Infante, 2010).
It’s like bird of a feather-
we like people whose
looks, opinions, morals,
ect., are the same or
complementary to ours
more than we do
people whose looks are
unique, whose opinions
challenge ours, whose

3. Who uses it?
The relationship
between similarity and
interpersonal attraction
was first studied during the
rise of communication
research and social
sciences. Early scientists
developed the theory as a
component of the
foundation of
communication as a
science. The theory can
be applied to numerous
situations today including

4. So What?
One of the most applicable effects of
researching similarity and interpersonal
attraction has been the discovery
that a communicator
has a better chance of
persuading his or her
audience if they perceived
to share more similarities with said audience
(Infante, 2010).

5. Criticism
One of the biggest issues with discussing and
more importantly testing the Similarity and
Interpersonal Attraction theory is the assessment of
similarity itself.
Scientists debate
perceived similarity
versus actual similarity
and criticize many
studies for their lack of
truly examining a
couple’s likenesses at
the core levels of their
personality and beliefs

6. What else?
Studies have shown that people are
even more attracted to someone
whose similarity shifts towards their
own than someone who has a higher
similarity in the first place (Reid, 2013).
This could be because of a proposed
key component of attraction- the
willingness of an individual to facilitate