Perceptions of attraction among acquaintances and strangers

Abstract

The present study tested naive perceivers' ability to predict liking among individuals who know one another well. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase One, students who were acquainted with one another and students who did not know one another predicted liking between every pair of students in their six-person group. The students' photographs were taken. In Phase Two, students who were unacquainted with the previous participants predicted how much one person liked another from these photographs. The data were analyzed using the Triadic Relations Model (Bond, Horn, & Kenny, 1997). Slide viewers demonstrated agreement regarding who was liked by others. Female slide viewers demonstrated accuracy in their predictions of liking among acquaintances, having used a balance heuristic to form impressions of acquaintances' relationships.