attraction
Summary
Attraction (interpersonal attraction) is the tendency to like and want to approach or form a relationship with another person. The most testable point is that proximity, repeated exposure, and similarity usually increase liking, and similarity is better supported than "opposites attract."
Detail
Meaning: Interpersonal attraction is the positive feeling toward another person that draws people into friendship or romance. Social psychology links it to several factors. Proximity: people who live, work, or sit near each other meet more often. Mere exposure effect: repeated contact with a stimulus tends to raise liking for it. Similarity: shared attitudes, interests, and background increase liking. Reciprocity: people tend to like those who seem to like them. Physical attractiveness: it draws attention, and the halo effect leads people to assume attractive people have other good traits. Evolutionary accounts add that some cues may signal health or fertility.
On the MCAT: A passage might describe students who become friends with neighbors in their dorm, or participants who rate unfamiliar faces more favorably after seeing them several times. You name the factor (proximity or mere exposure) and predict the direction: more exposure usually means more liking, unless the first reaction was strongly negative.
Common confusion: Students expect "opposites attract." Research supports similarity more consistently, and complementarity (differences that meet each other's needs) has weaker support. Also keep attraction separate from attachment, which is the bond between infant and caregiver. In chemistry, attraction can mean intermolecular forces, which is a different idea.
Sources
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Introduction to Sociology
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.