A Test of Stimulus-Response Versus a Power-Oriented Cognitive Theory of Interpersonal Attraction

A basic postulate of reinforcement theories of attraction is that association of reward with a neutral stimulus person induces liking. The strongest support for this association principle is a study by Griffitt and Guay in which Ss' liking for an evaluator and a third party observer was directly related to the positive or negative nature of the evaluations. An alternative interpretation of these results is that actors like persons who perceive them as competent, because such esteem serves as a power base for future influence. A test of the competing hypotheses was carried out in a 2 × 2 factorial design in which Ss (N = 60 male undergraduates) received positive or negative evaluations in the presence of a third party who either did or did not observe the evaluations. The results clearly supported a power resource theory of attraction.