Interpersonal attraction and the polarity of similar attitudes: A test of three balance models.

In a variation of D. Byrne's (1965, 1971) anonymous-stranger technique, a PDP-11 computer was used to provide feedback on 5 attitude issues for each of the cells of a design created by 3 levels of the p-x variable (–2, 0, +2) and 3 levels of the o-x variable (–2, 0, +2). Measurements of p-o sentiment were used to test the adequacy of 3 models for the quantification of balance: the equal-weights tetrahedron model, the unequal-weights tetrahedron model, and the Feather model. Correlations of obtained and predicted measures for the 3 models were .48, .51, and .52, respectively, with various problems noted for each model. Results show a predicted shift in the polarity of similar attitudes, but a predicted difference between ambivalent and indifferent neutral attitudes was not supported. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)