Interactional approach to interpersonal attraction.

Believing they were exchanging attitude surveys with a stranger, 270 undergraduates of high or low self-esteem (Texas Social Behavior Inventory) were randomly assigned to 0, 50, or 100% attitude similarity conditions. They indicated on the Interpersonal Judgment Scale their attraction to the stranger and estimates of the stranger's probable attraction to them. Attitude similarity significantly affected Ss' attraction to the stranger and estimates of strangers' attraction to the S. Ss closely approximated predictions of D. Byrne and D. Nelson's (1965) formula in estimating attraction from the stranger. Moreover, attitude similarity influenced goodness of fit between formula predictions and attraction estimates and influenced assumptions about attraction reciprocity. Self-esteem did not influence attraction to the stranger or expected attraction from the stranger. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)