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When does playing hard to get increase romantic attraction?

Xianchi Dai1, Ping Dong2, Jayson S Jia3

  • 1CUHK Business School, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|May 15, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Playing hard to get can increase romantic desire but decrease affection, depending on psychological commitment. This strategy only works if someone is committed to pursuing a relationship, otherwise it backfires.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Interpersonal Attraction

Background:

  • Folk wisdom suggests playing hard to get enhances romantic attraction.
  • Previous research provides limited empirical support for this belief.
  • The efficacy of playing hard to get remains debated in relationship psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the conditions under which playing hard to get influences romantic attraction.
  • To examine the roles of motivational (wanting) and affective (liking) responses.
  • To determine the moderating effect of psychological commitment on attraction dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Two empirical studies were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.
  • Participants' wanting and liking responses were measured in relation to a target individual's behavior.
  • Psychological commitment levels were assessed to explore their moderating influence.

Main Results:

  • Playing hard to get increased the target's "wanting" (motivation) but decreased "liking" (affection).
  • This effect was contingent on the pursuer's psychological commitment.
  • Low psychological commitment resulted in decreased wanting and liking.

Conclusions:

  • The effectiveness of playing hard to get is conditional, not universal.
  • Psychological commitment is a crucial factor in mediating attraction responses.
  • Understanding the interplay of motivation, affect, and commitment is key to interpersonal attraction.