What Leads to Romantic Attraction: Similarity, Reciprocity, Security, or Beauty? Evidence From a Speed‐Dating Study

TLDR

Attraction research has identified robust principles, yet prior studies rely mainly on controlled experiments that lack ecological validity. This study aimed to examine initial attraction in a real‑life speed‑dating context. The researchers employed a speed‑dating paradigm to assess initial attraction. Initial attraction depended on actor, partner, and dyadic factors; sex differences emerged, with women's attraction better predicted by self‑characteristics, men's by partner characteristics, and physical attractiveness being the strongest predictor for both sexes; reciprocity had limited support, while similarity was not supported.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Years of attraction research have established several “principles” of attraction with robust evidence. However, a major limitation of previous attraction studies is that they have almost exclusively relied on well‐controlled experiments, which are often criticized for lacking ecological validity. The current research was designed to examine initial attraction in a real‐life setting—speed‐dating. Social Relations Model analyses demonstrated that initial attraction was a function of the actor, the partner, and the unique dyadic relationship between these two. Meta‐analyses showed intriguing sex differences and similarities. Self characteristics better predicted women's attraction than they did for men, whereas partner characteristics predicted men's attraction far better than they did for women. The strongest predictor of attraction for both sexes was partners' physical attractiveness. Finally, there was some support for the reciprocity principle but no evidence for the similarity principle.