The Similarity and Liking Effects on Interpersonal Attraction: A Test of the Two-Dimensional Cognitive Model

Abstract

In the two-dimensional model of interpersonal attraction, cognitively evaluated respect for capacity of and trust in willingness to facilitate goals/needs of each other have been postulated to be necessary for relationship development. However, the extant literature shows supremacy of trust over respect in drawing two strangers together. The present authors hypothesized that trust and respect might drive attraction equally when the partner’s liking for the participant is known along with attitude similarity between them. When attitude similarity and partner’s liking were manipulated and both respect and trust were measured before attraction in an experiment (N=176), there were similar additive effects on the three responses of trust, respect, and attraction. Importantly, and as hypothesized, trust and respect equally mediated the similarity and liking effects when trust was conceptualized as preceding respect in determining attraction.