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Updated: Aug 2, 2025
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A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
Published on: March 1, 2022
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Self-essentialist reasoning underlies the similarity-attraction effect
1Questrom School of Business, Boston University.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|April 13, 2023
Summary
Self-essentialist reasoning explains why similarity leads to attraction. Believing shared traits stem from an inner essence makes us like similar others more, fostering a sense of shared reality.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- The similarity-attraction effect is a well-documented phenomenon in social psychology.
- Existing theories often overlook the cognitive mechanisms underlying this effect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and test a model where self-essentialist reasoning mediates the similarity-attraction effect.
- To investigate how beliefs about the self's essence influence attraction to similar others.
Main Methods:
- Four experimental studies with 2,290 participants were conducted.
- Methods included individual difference measures and moderation-of-process manipulations.
- Studies manipulated key steps in the proposed self-essentialist reasoning pathway.
Main Results:
- Individual differences in self-essentialist beliefs amplified similarity's effect on attraction and perceived shared reality.
- Manipulating the link between attributes and essence reduced attraction.
- Interfering with the application of one's essence to similar others also attenuated attraction.
Conclusions:
- Self-essentialist reasoning is a foundational mechanism driving the similarity-attraction effect.
- This model offers a novel cognitive explanation for why similarity breeds attraction.
- Findings have implications for understanding the self, attraction, and intergroup relations.
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