Factors affecting attraction

Disclosure

Self-disclosure 

Kerchoff and Davis

The Filter theory 

1962

Dion

Partners should have shared attitudes towards morality, ethics, politics etc.

Complementarity 

That people link physical attractiveness to positive personality traits.

The sharing indicates the partners self-disclose much, meaning they have greater intimacy.

According to Kerchoff and Davis, physical proximity is one of the first filters we put potential partners through.

breadth

We often assume things about a person from their looks. If we find someone attractive we might also think they are a good or healthy person.

It is the idea that over time we share more with our partners and that leads to more emotional intimacy.

Physical

Angel

Walster et al. (1966).

To avoid rejection. 

It is supported by Palmer and Peterson (2012) study in which attractive people were judged as more knowledgeable and politically competent than unattractive people. 

Minimising

Hispanic, Inuit, Asian. 

Feingold 

Taylor (2011) found that on dating sites, people sought out those who they viewed as more attractive. This contradicts the matching hypothesis, as people did not seek out those with a similar level of attraction to themselves. 

Attractiveness is based on personal opinion and is subjective, meaning you cannot generalise who is attractive and who isn’t, as Dion et al. (1972) did in their study. 

Kerckhoff and Davis (1962).

Sociodemographic characteristics, the similarity of attitudes, and complementarity. 

Filter theory states people narrow down their selection of prospective partners by putting them through a series of filters. 

Anderson et al. (2003) and Davis and Rusbult (2001). 

At the start of their relationships, those with similar educational backgrounds and ages were more likely to succeed.

It has face validity, meaning it makes sense in everyday life. 

Newcomb (1961) studied roommates who lived in free accommodation for a year and found that those with similar backgrounds and attitudes got along best.

People tend to think those that share their beliefs and values are more attractive.

The dispute over the length of a long-term relationship and the direction of causality (instead of being similar from the start of a relationship, couples may become more similar as time goes on). 

Due to the internet, we may choose to have a relationship with someone further away. As a society, we are also more multicultural, so we may have a relationship with someone of a different demographic. 

Self-disclosure is the idea that relationships are formed through a gradual development of trust, as demonstrated by slowly but surely revealing personal information, such as your innermost thoughts and feelings. Revealing this 'inner self' leads to greater intimacy and ultimately more satisfaction. 

They found that people who engage in disclosing intimate information are more liked than those who don't disclose intimate information. They also found that people will be more likely to disclose information to those they personally initially like, and they like others based on if they have disclosed information to them.  

Altman and Taylor (1973)

It is often depicted using an onion metaphor - people peel back the layers to reveal deeper levels of personal information until they reach the core.  

Superficial layer, middle layer, inner layer, core personality

Breadth, Depth.

• Revealing political views
• Revealing a deep, personal secret
• Sharing hopes, dreams and aspirations
• Sharing information on your deepest fear
• Telling someone about your likes and dislikes (such as your favourite colours, foods, and music)

 Men and women reported similar, high levels of self-disclosure. They found that overall, in heterosexual relationships, as self-disclosure increased so did relationship satisfaction. This highlights the importance of self-disclosure in the satisfaction and longevity of relationships. 

They found that greater levels of self-disclosure or perception of disclosure led to increased feelings and actions of intimacy. Laurenceau also found that the reverse was true; the less self-disclosure, the less intimacy. 

They studied homosexual couples and found that 57% of gay men and women thought that open self-disclosure was an important way to maintain close relationships.  

 The 'Boom and Bust' phenomenon refers to Cooper and Sportolari's 1997 study, which found that in online relationships, anonymity meant users shared much more personal information more quickly. This information also became more important or overpowered physical levels of attractiveness. However, this meant that the couples didn't establish the foundation of trust needed for self-disclosure to be successful, leading to a 'bust' wherein the relationship breaks down. 

Sharing isn't everything: if self-disclosure was the key to the attraction we would feel romantically for everyone we shared our innermost thoughts and feelings with. 

Self-disclosure reduces attraction to a single factor and ignores many other important factors when choosing a partner, such as personality, appearance, cultural practices and more.  

Social penetration theory was developed based on research from western, more individualistic cultures. This means it may not apply to collectivist cultures. For instance, Tang et al. (2013) found that men and women in the USA tended to disclose more to their partners than couples in China, despite the level of relationship satisfaction being high in both cultures. Therefore, the suggestion that self-disclosure is necessary for relationship fulfilment is culturally biased.