Behavioral Indicators of Interpersonal Attraction¹

Abstract

The laboratory study of attraction is based almost exclusively on verbal measures of the dependent variable. Various findings suggest that the physical distance separating two individuals indicates the degree of attraction between them. In two experiments, attitude similarity between a subject and two stooges was manipulated. Females were more attracted to and sat more closely beside a similar than a dissimilar stranger ( p < .01); males were more attracted to and sat directly across from a similar rather than a dissimilar stranger ( p < .02).