The Initial Attraction Affiliation
The Initial Attraction Affiliation is a necessary first step in the formation of a social relationship. But each of us is more drawn to some people than to others. If you’ve ever had a crush on someone, felt the tingly excitement of a first encounter, lusted after a celebrity, or enjoyed the first moments of a new friendship, then you know the meaning of the term attraction.
In many ways, the subject of attraction, liking, loving, lusting, and forming new relationships does not seem to conform to logic. For example, research using the online dating site OkCupid shows that women who look right into the camera or sport cleavage do quite well but that men are more successful when they look away, don’t smile—and hold animals! When researchers looked at commonalities in couples who had met on this site, they discovered that their answers tended beyond coincidence to match on certain odd questions, such as “Do you like horror movies?” and “Wouldn’t it be fun to chuck it all and go live on a sailboat?”. In light of these discoveries, writer Dan Slater chose a fitting title for his book Love in the Time of Algorithms: What Technology Does to Meeting and Mating.
When you meet someone for the first time, what qualities do you look for? Does familiarity breed fondness or contempt? Do birds of a feather flock together, or do oppo- sites attract? Is beauty the object of your desire, or do you believe that outward appearances are deceiving? And what is it about a situation or the circumstances of an initial meeting that draws you in for more?
