My head says yes but my heart says no: cognitive and affective attraction as a function of similarity to the ideal self.

Full Abstract

The authors hypothesized that similarity to the ideal self (IS) simultaneously generates attraction and repulsion. Attraction research has suggested that a person likes individuals who are similar to his or her IS. Social comparison research has suggested that upward social comparison threatens self-evaluation. In Experiment 1, attraction to a partner increased and then decreased as the partner became more similar to and then surpassed the participant's IS. In Experiment 2, the cognitive and affective components of attraction increased and decreased, respectively, as the partner approached and surpassed the participant's IS to the extent that the dimension of comparison was meaningful and participants andicipated meeting their partner. Similarity to the IS generates opposing cognitive and affective reactions when the self-evaluative threat of upward comparison intensifies.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Herbst, Kenneth C (KC); Gaertner, Lowell (L); Insko, Chester A (CA);

Affiliation: Department of Food Marketing, Erivan K. Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131-1395, USA. kherbst(-atsign-)sju.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of personality and social psychology (J Pers Soc Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Jun; vol 84 (issue 6) : pp 1206-19

Dates: Created 2003/06/09; Completed 2003/10/10; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12793585, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.