What truly guides attraction and relationship formation? Before taking this course I had an idea, but nothing to back it up. Why was I attracted to certain girls that my friends weren't? And why were they attracted to certain girls that I wasn't? Now, however, I have a much better understanding of attraction.
According to the textbook, proximity, similarity, and reciprocity are the three main principles that cause two people to feel attracted to each other. Personally, I am not in a relationship, but I can obviously see how these principles play a big role in attraction. For this post, however, I will use my friends as an example because the same principles apply. Most of my close friends here at school live close to me in the dorms, so the principle of proximity is in action here. In addition to living near each other, my friends and I have very similar personalities and/or interests (similarity). These two principles are key for friendships, but there is more that goes into relationship formation.
Physical attractiveness also plays a key role in the formation of relationships, but how big of a role? How much does proximity and similarity enhance the attractiveness of another person? And what if proximity or similarity starts the attraction between two people, and then it is later removed, e.g. not having the same class together or starting to like different things, can the relationship last? These are all good questions, and I think the answer will vary depending on the person you ask.
Interesting post! You raise a lot of good questions. I understand from reading the text that proximity, similarity and reciprocity are the three main principles of attraction, but are they the sole principles of attraction? Although I believe that these three principles are extremely important, I don't think that they determine the fate of a relationship. Well done!