The Relative Effects of Competence and Likability on Interpersonal Attraction

• Published in: The Journal of social psychology Vol. 148; no. 2; pp. 253 - 256
• Main Authors: Singh, Ramadhar, Tor, Xue Ling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Heldref 01.04.2008; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Achievement; Adolescent; Adult; Affect; attachment; Attitudes; attraction; Biological and medical sciences; Character; Choice Behavior; Competence; Decision Making; Emotions; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Hypotheses; Intelligence; Interpersonal Attraction; Interpersonal Relations; Interpersonal Relationship; Judgment; Likert Scales; Male; Object Attachment; Periodicals; Personality traits; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Resistance (Psychology); Singapore; Social interaction; Social interactions. Communication. Group processes; Social Networks; Social Perception; Social psychology; Statistical Analysis; Students; Students - psychology; Undergraduate Students; Variance analysis; Human; Affect affectivity; attraction; emotions; Affective attachment; attachment; Social interaction; Emotion emotionality; Interpersonal relation; Social attraction; Judgment
• ISSN: 0022-4545; 1940-1183
• DOI: 10.3200/SOCP.148.2.253-256

Undergraduate students in Singapore (N = 80) learned about the competence (low vs. high) and likability (low vs. high) of a future interaction partner and indicated their attraction toward that stranger. The effect of likability was two times as large as that of competence. Because of the additive effects of the two manipulated factors on attraction, the authors interpreted the preference for lovable fools over competent jerks as an outcome of a generalized supremacy of likability over competence.