Internal Determinants of Attraction

The way people look at the world plays an essential role in determining how they see themselves. Therefore, the way that people look at the world is treated as an ever-changing circle of inspiration (Schiffenbauer 275). It has been observed that depressed people are never interested in getting in touch with the positive side of life like it is the case with happy people.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Internal Determinants of Attraction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is also evident that if a person is exposed to a household that is violent, abusive, or overly restrictive, the person has high chances of getting stressed (Singh 294). This paper will, therefore, illustrate attribution and analyze how internal determinants of attraction influence how a person makes decisions on who to get attracted. Attribution is a critical theory which influences the behavior of people and how they relate with each other. It is essential in that it tries to explain the behavior of an individual and how the behaviors of other people influence his conduct (Lo 1949). The attribute is, therefore, an inference about why a person behaves in a particular manner. For a person to adequately explain his behavior and the behavior of his friends and relatives, it is crucial for him to assign attributes to his behaviors and the behaviors of his friends and relatives. These behaviors play an essential role in enabling him to determine whether he will have a positive attraction to himself or other people around him (Nowicki and Blumberg 50). Kausel and Slaughterb stipulate that the two different types of behavior in people are influenced by either internal or external factors (5). For example, there are instances when a person may walk into his boss’s office, and his boss might tell him in an angry tone that he does not wish to be disturbed (Rose, Larkin and Hands 574). From an external point of view, one migh t argue that the boss is a nice guy and that he is being overwhelmed by stress. However, an internal explanation might refer to the boss as a rude person and that he is always angry all the time (Singh 296). There are very many factors which influence how people assign attributes to the behavior of people. They depend on how people portray themselves. These, in turn, influence the kind of attitude that people develop towards a specific person (Highhouse, Thornbury and Little 135). Attitudes are critical in shaping the degree of attraction a person may have towards another person.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It has been observed that a person is normally attracted to certain people and not others (Lo 1949). For example, in the case of friends, a person sees as if his friends are all similar to him in a particular way. This is although his friends are different in the way they beha ve (Schiffenbauer 276). For example, some of a person’s friends might be well mannered while others might be ill-mannered. A person might, however, be unable to distinguish between his best friends among his two categories of friends. Stockdale, therefore, asks what makes a person to choose his friends (192). Berry, on the other hand, stipulates that social psychology and a person’s beliefs play a very important part in influencing the kind of friends that a person chooses and gets attracted to (276). Several reasons have been attributed to why people get attracted to other people. White says that proximity is an essential determinant of why people develop an attraction towards each other (56). For example, it is true that many people live close to each other or they have at one time lived close to each other when their friendship was developing (Berry 279). Friendship and attraction develop after a person gets to know the other person. Therefore, the closer these two people are, the closer they get towards achieving this goal. It has been observed that people who have at one time lived closer to each other or who live close to each other tend to be more attracted to each other especially when they find themselves in a new place where they are surrounded by strangers (White 57). For example, in the case of those people who are assigned seats in a classroom, most of their friends tend to be those whose last names start with the same letter (Nowicki and Blumberg 50). The different fields that people engage in making them relate with each other and determine whether they can get attracted to each other (Lo 1948). For example, two people can meet in a class that they enjoy. In this case, the two people would be highly attracted to each other because they are brought together by a common course. In case a person encounters other people in a class that he does not like or attends a class which he does not understand anything, chances are that if he mee ts another person who he enjoys the same classes with, he would be more attracted to him as opposed to the person that he meets in the class that he does not enjoy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Internal Determinants of Attraction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Singh also points out that similarity determines whether a person would be attracted to another party (297). For example, in the case of a class that a person does not like, he would be attracted to the person who also shows negative feelings to the class because they would be sharing a common feeling. Reciprocal attractiveness also determines whether a person will be attracted to a particular person (Kausel and Slaughterb 10). White points out that people tend to like those people who like them too. People, therefore, need to understand that every person likes to feel likable. Whenever a person likes somebody, who does not like him back, the feeling of attraction begins to fade away (Stockdale 200). Also, if a person feels good when he is around a particular person, he develops a higher level of attraction towards that person. This, therefore, means that if a person wishes other people to get attracted to him, he must also be attracted to them. Physical attractiveness determines how people choose their friends (Singh 300). Although this is not a very significant determinant of attraction, most people tend to choose people who they believe are attractive and who are also close enough to notice their attractiveness as well. Berry stipulates that it is a common occurrence to see beautiful people hanging around other attractive people. It has also been noted that many physically active young women tend to be more attracted to wealthy men (Kausel and Slaughterb 10). This is true because most people tend to assign â€Å"attraction point† or â€Å"social assets† to everyone they meet. These social assets comprise of phys ical attractiveness, education, sense of humor, and education (Nowicki and Blumberg 52). These imply that if a person is educated, he will be attracted to those people who are also educated. In the case of wealth, a wealthy person gets attracted to other people who have more money. It is true therefore that people rate their attraction potential on social assets. Works Cited Berry, Diane. â€Å"Attractiveness, attraction, and sexual selection: Evolutionary perspectives on the form and function of physical attractiveness.† Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 32.1 (2004): 273-342. PrintAdvertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Highhouse, Scott, Erin Thornbury, and Ian Little. â€Å"Social-identity functions of attraction to organizations.† Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 103.1 (2007): 134-136. Print Kausel, Edgar and Jerel Slaughterb. â€Å"Narrow personality traits and organizational attraction: Evidence for the complementary hypothesis.† Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 114.1 (2011): 3-14. Print Lo, Shao-Kang. â€Å"The Impact of Online Game Character’s Outward Attractiveness and Social Status on Interpersonal Attraction.† Computers in Human Behavior 24.5 (2008): 1947-1948. Print Nowicki, Stephen and Neil Blumberg. â€Å"The role of locus of control of reinforcement in interpersonal attraction.† Journal of Research in Personality 9.1 (2004): 48-56. Print Rose, Elizabeth, Dawne Larkin, and Beth Hands. â€Å"Evidence for the validity of the Children’s Attraction to Physical Activity questionnaire (CAPA) with young children .† Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 12.5 (2009): 573-578. Print Schiffenbauer, Allen. â€Å"Physical distance and attraction: An intensification effect.† Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 12.3 (2004): 274-282. Print Singh, Ramadhar. â€Å"Reinforcement and attraction specifying the effects of affective states.† Journal of Research in Personality 8.3 (2004): 294-305. Print Stockdale, Janet. â€Å"Crowding: Determinants and Effects.† Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 11.1 (2008): 192-247. Print White, Gregory. â€Å"Misattribution of arousal and attraction: Effects of the salience of explanations for arousal.† Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 20.1 (2004): 55-64. 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