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Are we looking for positivity or similarity in a partner's outlook on life? Similarity predicts perceptions of social attractiveness and relationship quality

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The Journal of Positive Psychology
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Previous research has shown that people with an optimistic life orientation are perceived as socially more attractive than pessimists. However, following the similarity-attraction hypothesis, we assumed that both the perceiver's and the target's life orientation affects perceptions of social attractiveness. Moreover, we were interested in how the composition of romantic partners’ life orientation (similar vs. dissimilar) affects perceived relationship quality. The results of an experimental online study (N = 316) confirmed previous findings: Overall, optimists were perceived as socially more attractive than pessimists. Furthermore, perceivers’ life orientation moderated that effect, which was larger with optimistic than with pessimistic perceivers. Moreover, with respect to ongoing relationships optimistic participants indicated higher relationship quality if they perceived their partners as similarly optimistic. The findings are in line with the similarity-attraction hypothesis. They are discussed with regard to the benefits of optimism in social interactions and relationships.
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The Journal of Positive Psychology
Vol. 5, No. 6, November 2010, 431–438
Are we looking for positivity or similarity in a partner’s outlook on life?
Similarity predicts perceptions of social attractiveness and relationship quality
Robert Bo
¨hm
a
*, Astrid Schu
¨tz
b
, Katrin Rentzsch
b
, Andre
´Ko
¨rner
b
and Friedrich Funke
c
a
Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences (CEREB), University of Erfurt, Germany;
b
Department of Psychology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany;
c
Graduate Academy, Friedrich Schiller
University Jena, Germany
(Received 7 June 2010; final version received 5 October 2010)
Previous research has shown that people with an optimistic life orientation are perceived as socially more
attractive than pessimists. However, following the similarity-attraction hypothesis, we assumed that both the
perceiver’s and the target’s life orientation affects perceptions of social attractiveness. Moreover, we were
interested in how the composition of romantic partners’ life orientation (similar vs. dissimilar) affects perceived
relationship quality. The results of an experimental online study (N¼316) confirmed previous findings: Overall,
optimists were perceived as socially more attractive than pessimists. Furthermore, perceivers’ life orientation
moderated that effect, which was larger with optimistic than with pessimistic perceivers. Moreover, with respect
to ongoing relationships optimistic participants indicated higher relationship quality if they perceived their
partners as similarly optimistic. The findings are in line with the similarity-attraction hypothesis. They are
discussed with regard to the benefits of optimism in social interactions and relationships.
Keywords: optimism; pessimism; social perception; relationships; similarity; attractiveness
Introduction
More than 100 years ago, the American philosopher
and writer Ralph W. Trine described benefits of being
optimistic in his bestseller In Tune with the Infinite:
‘Pessimism leads to weakness. Optimism leads to
power.’ (Trine, 1897/2006, p. 148). Recent research
has supported this view and has portrayed optimists as
better off than pessimists in various fields (for an
overview, see e.g., Carver & Scheier, 2005; Peterson,
2000). Moreover, previous research has provided first
evidence that optimists are perceived as socially more
attractive than pessimists (e.g., Vollman, Renner, &
Weber, 2007). However, social perceptions are the
result of transactional relations in that the interacting
partners, both perceiver and target, have a mutual
influence on each other (e.g., Kenny, 1994; Rummel,
1976). Therefore, social attractiveness perceptions may
differ between optimistic and pessimistic targets, and
between optimistic and pessimistic perceivers.
We examined this assumption and were interested in
both the social attractiveness of optimistic and pessi-
mistic targets per se, and the influence of perceivers’
life orientation on perceptions of targets’ social
attractiveness. Furthermore, we investigated the influ-
ence of (dis)similarity in a couple’s life orientation on
perceptions of relationship quality.
The benefits of being an optimist
Dispositional optimism has been linked to various
positive outcomes, for instance to positive mood and
high morale (Segerstrom, Taylor, Kemeny, & Fahey,
1998), effective problem solving (e.g., Segerstrom,
2001), effective coping (e.g., Segerstrom & Nes,
2006), life satisfaction (e.g., Bailey, Eng, Frisch, &
Snyder, 2007), good health (Fitzgerald, Tennen,
Affleck, & Pransky, 1993), and achievements in differ-
ent contexts, for instance entrepreneurial success
(Crane & Crane, 2007).
Recent studies have concentrated on the relation-
ship between peoples’ social attractiveness and their
life orientation. Optimists are viewed more favorably
than pessimists (Vollmann et al., 2007), they receive
more social support from friends (Park & Folkman,
1997), and have longer-lasting friendships (Geers,
Reilley, & Dember, 1998). Furthermore, Carver, Kus,
and Scheier (1994) found that college students were
more willing to interact with optimists than with
pessimists when their own mood was neutral.
As optimists are also more successful (Crane &
Crane, 2007) and success is generally considered a
positive feature, it is, however, possible that the
positive evaluations they receive are not due to their
outlook per se but due to their past success.
*Corresponding author. Email: robert.boehm@uni-erfurt.de
ISSN 1743–9760 print/ISSN 1743–9779 online
!2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2010.534105
http://www.informaworld.com
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To disentangle these two factors both success and
optimism should be manipulated in studies evaluating
target evaluations. In line with previous findings and
the reasoning elaborated above, we developed the
following hypothesis:
H1. We expect that optimists are perceived as more
socially attractive than pessimists (irrespective of past
success).
Similarity-attraction
Beyond the influence of the affective value (positive or
negative) of targets’ personality traits on other persons’
perceptions of social attractiveness (Ajzen, 1974),
similarity between perceiver and target has also been
shown to be a relevant factor in judgments of
attraction. The similarity-attraction hypothesis
assumes that attraction towards a person is positively
related to the proportion of attitudes that are similar
between perceiver and target (law of attraction; e.g.,
Byrne & Griffitt, 1966; Byrne, London, & Reeves,
1968). This hypothesis has been tested and supported
under various conditions and in different domains, for
instance in romantic relationships (Burleson &
Denton, 1992), in voting behavior (Quist & Crano,
2003), and in occupational contexts (Orphen, 1984).
Positive perceptions of social attractiveness have been
predicted by similarity in attitudes, but also by
similarity in personality. For instance, it has been
shown that people desire romantic partners who are
similar to themselves with regard to agreeableness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability,
and openness to experience (Botwin, Buss, &
Shackelford, 1997). A recent meta-analysis revealed
that the relation between actual similarity and
interpersonal attraction is particularly strong in
no-interaction and short-interaction studies
(Montoya, Horton, & Kirchner, 2008). However,
social attraction on the basis of (actual) similarity
between perceiver and target has not yet been studied
with respect to optimism and pessimism. Following the
similarity-attraction hypothesis, we developed our
second hypothesis:
H2. We expect that optimists perceive optimistic
targets as socially more attractive than pessimists do,
and pessimists perceive pessimistic targets as more
socially attractive than optimists do.
Life orientation and romantic relationships
Hypothesis 2 focuses on the interactive influence of
perceivers’ and the targets’ life orientation on
perceptions of social attractiveness at first sight (zero-
acquaintance paradigm, e.g., Norman & Goldberg,
1966). However, we were also interested in the question
of how both romantic partners’ life orientation affects
the long-term quality of their romantic relationship.
Prior research showed that optimists have relationships
that are more satisfying. In particular, it has been
shown that optimists (and their partners) have more
satisfying relationships because they perceive their
partners as being more supportive (Srivastava,
McGonigal, Richards, Butler, & Gross, 2006), and
because they are more likely to engage in cooperative
problem-solving in response to difficulties within the
relationship (Assad, Donnellan, & Conger, 2007). The
method of analysis that was used in these studies
controlled for effects due to partners’ similarity in life
orientation. However, we were especially interested in
the effects of similarity or dissimilarity of partners’ life
orientation on their relationship quality. In other
words, how does similarity (both optimistic or both
pessimistic) relative to dissimilarity (optimistic and
pessimistic) of partners’ life orientation affect relation-
ship quality?
Whereas several individual difference variables
have proved to be relevant predictors of relationship
quality per se (e.g., Karney & Bradbury, 1995; Robins,
Caspi, & Moffitt, 2000), there is relatively little
research on how partners’ personality trait similarity
relates to relationship quality. Recently, it has been
shown that friends’ similarity as well as partners’
similarity is an important predictor of friendship
quality and relationship quality respectively, for both
actual similarity (e.g., Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra,
2007) and perceived similarity (e.g., Linden-Andersen,
Markiewicz, & Doyle, 2009; Watson, Hubbard, &
Wiese, 2000). There is support that perceived similarity
(i.e., similarity between individuals as perceived by one
individual) might be a stronger predictor of friendship
intensity and attraction in (existing) relationships than
actual similarity (e.g., Montoya et al., 2008; Selfhout,
Denissen, Branje, & Meeus, 2009). However, it has not
yet been examined how partners’ perceived (dis)simi-
larity with respect to their life orientation influences
relationship quality. We expect that as has been shown
with other personality traits, perceived similarity could
lead to harmony and perceived dissimilarity to dis-
agreement and quarrel (e.g., Acitelli, Kenny, & Weiner,
2001). If persons perceive their partners as having
an opposing outlook on life, this may be a source
of conflicts within the relationship and therefore lead
to low perceived relationship quality. Following
the argument that partners’ perceived similarity has
a positive effect on a relationship’s harmony, we
developed our third hypothesis:
H3. We expect that partners with perceived similar
life orientation will experience higher relationship
quality than partners with perceived dissimilar life
orientation.
432 R. Bo
¨hm et al.
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Method
Participants
A total of N¼316 persons participated in an adaptive
online-questionnaire that had been distributed through
the web experiment list at the University of Zurich
(Reips, 2001). Additionally, the study was advertised at
Chemnitz University of Technology. Students received
partial course credit for participation. There was no
payment for participation. About 65% (204) of the
participants were students from Chemnitz University
or people who had been recruited through the students
(acquaintances, friends, relatives, or partners).
1
Other
participants were from all over Germany and the
German-speaking part of Switzerland.
2
Age of partic-
ipants ranged from 15 to 65 years with a mean age of
M¼26.2 years (SD ¼8.60). The majority of the
participants were female (71%). There was a dropout
rate of almost 22% during different stages of the
completion of the questionnaire, 248 participants
finished the questionnaire completely (but only 69%
of them completed the relationship part because the
remaining participants were single). Thus, the dropout
rate was comparable to the one in previous web
experiments (e.g., Frick, Ba
¨chtiger, & Reips, 2001;
Musch & Reips, 2000). Moreover dropout did not
seem to be systematic: Participants who dropped out
and participants who finished did not differ with
respect to age, gender, or the perception of targets in
the first section of the questionnaire.
Procedure
The questionnaire started with demographic questions
followed by a section with randomly ordered vignettes
describing four persons whose sex was opposite to the
participant’s. A question on relationship status was
next. If the participants indicated that they currently
had a romantic relationship, there was another section
with questions regarding the respective partner and the
perceived relationship quality. All other participants
were guided straight to the final section. In that section
participants completed a German translation of the
Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R; Scheier,
Carver, & Bridges, 1994). Altogether the questionnaire
took 15–25 min to complete. All measures are
described in detail below.
Measures
Vignettes
Each participant received four vignettes describing
young adults of the opposite sex. Each target was
identified by a first name (male/female). The names
had been pre-tested and did not differ in their
associations about age, attractiveness, and intelligence
(Rudolph, Bo
¨hm, & Lummer, 2007). In a within-
subjects design (random order of presentation) the
vignettes varied systematically in how the targets were
described with respect to general life orientation
(‘target optimism’: vignette describing an optimistic
vs. a pessimistic target) and general success in the past
(‘target success’: vignette describing a successful vs. an
unsuccessful target). The description of optimistic
versus pessimistic life orientation was manipulated by
redrafting the critical LOT-R items (Scheier et al.,
1994) to personal descriptions of highly optimistic
versus highly pessimistic targets (Table 1).
As a manipulation-check, participants answered
questions about how they perceive the targets’ life
orientation on a 5-point bipolar scale (‘perceived target
optimism’, "2¼very pessimistic to 2 ¼very optimistic).
Then participants indicated how much they would like
to have the target as a romantic partner (‘target
attractiveness’, "2¼not at all to 2 ¼very much).
Finally, participants who currently had a romantic
relationship rated on a 6-point bipolar scale how
similar they perceive the target to be to their partner
(‘perceived partner similarity’, 1 ¼not at all similar to
6¼very similar).
Relationship quality
If the participants currently had a romantic relation-
ship, they answered six items on a 4-point rating scale
from the marital interaction questionnaire (PFB;
Hahlweg, 1979). These questions concerned the per-
ceived quality of their relationship (e.g. ‘If we start
fighting, it is hard to stop’, ‘He/she tells me that he/she
is happy, when we are together’, 1 ¼never to 4 ¼very
often). From the answers an overall index of ‘relation-
ship quality’ was aggregated (Cronbach’s a¼0.75).
Participants’ life orientation
To assess participants’ life orientation we used a
German translation of the LOT-R (Scheier et al.,
1994). This instrument is a 6-item measure (plus four
filler items) of individual differences in dispositional
optimism and pessimism. Responses were made on
a 5-point scale (‘participant optimism’, 1 ¼strongly
disagree to 4 ¼strongly agree, Cronbach’s a¼0.72).
Results
Due to the within-subjects manipulation of target’s
optimism and success, observations were nested within
participants and might therefore be interdependent.
To address this nested data structure, we conducted
multilevel analyses (multilevel random coefficient
modeling, MRCM; Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) with
the software HLM6 (Raudenbush, Bryk, & Congdon,
2005) to predict perceived target optimism and target
The Journal of Positive Psychology 433
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attractiveness. In this study, we considered two levels:
observations on level 1 and participants on level 2. At
level 1, predictors were dummy coded (target opti-
mism: 0 ¼pessimistic, 1 ¼optimistic; target success:
0¼unsuccessful, 1 ¼successful; the interaction term
was computed as the product between the two predic-
tors). At level 2, participants’ life orientation (LOT-R)
was entered as a predictor. Prior to analyses, LOT-R
scores were z-standardized to compare their effects and
reduce potential multicollinearity. For all analyses, we
considered random-slopes models; when a random
effect revealed no meaningful variance, we treated the
variable as fixed. Analyses revealed neither main
effects of participants’ age or sex and targets’ sex,
nor were there significant interactions involving those
three variables in the subsequent analyses. Thus, these
variables were not included in the reported models.
As a manipulation-check, we predicted perceived
target optimism of all four vignettes by target opti-
mism at level 1. As intended, targets of the optimistic
vignettes were perceived as being more optimistic than
targets of the pessimistic vignettes (b¼3.08, t¼47.35,
p50.001).
3
Perception of targets’ attractiveness
To examine the influence of participants’ life orien-
tation on perceptions of targets’ attractiveness,
we conducted an intercept-and-slopes-as-outcomes
analysis, predicting target attractiveness by target
optimism, target success, and the interaction between
target optimism and success at level 1, as well as cross-
level-interactions between the level 1 predictors and
participants’ life orientation at level 2. Complete data
sets were available from 165 participants.
Supporting Hypothesis 1, results indicated that
optimistic targets were perceived as more socially
attractive than pessimistic targets (b¼1.61, t¼16.88,
p50.001). Successful targets were also perceived as
more socially attractive than unsuccessful targets
(b¼0.57, t¼6.39, p50.001).
4
In other words, target
optimism was a significant predictor of target attrac-
tiveness even when controlling for target success. The
interaction term of target optimism and target success
was not significant (b¼0.13, t¼0.88, p¼0.381).
Moreover, supporting Hypothesis 2, participant opti-
mism significantly moderated the relationship between
target optimism and target attractiveness (g¼0.37,
t¼3.92, p50.001).
5
Consistent with Hypothesis 2,
participants with high LOT-scores rated optimistic
targets as more attractive and pessimistic targets as less
attractive than participants with low LOT-scores did.
Within-person equations for this cross-level interaction
effect (consisting of an intercept and the slope for
target optimism) were estimated for people at the mean
on participants’ optimism, 1 SD above the mean, and
1SD below the mean on participants’ optimism
(Huguet et al., 2009). As Figure 1 shows, the effect
of target optimism on target attractiveness was
Table 1. Vignettes.
Life orientation
Success
Successful (unsuccessful)
Optimistic In X’s life most things go right (wrong). X generally expects the best for the future. X manages
mostly (rarely) what he/she is going to do. Apart from that, X is always looking forward
positively. Because (despite) of his/her predominately positive (negative) experiences,
X thinks, futurities will turn out well. Because (despite) of the past, he/she believes that
more good things will happen to her/him than bad things.
Pessimistic In X’s life most things go right (wrong). X generally expects the worst for the future.
X manages mostly (rarely) what he/she is going to do. Apart from that, X is always looking
forward negatively. Despite (because) of his/her predominately positive (negative) experi-
ences, X thinks, futurities will turn out bad. Despite (because) of the past, he/she believes
that more bad things will happen to her/him than good things.
Figure 1. Target attractiveness by target optimism and
participant optimism.
434 R. Bo
¨hm et al.
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stronger with highly optimistic participants (b¼1.98)
than with highly pessimistic participants (b¼1.24).
Composition of partners’ life orientations and
relationship quality
Finally, we were interested in the interactive influence
of partners’ life orientation on relationship quality. We
aggregated the perceived similarity ratings of the two
optimistic targets to the participant’s partner and the
(inverted) perceived similarity of the two pessimistic
targets to the partner as a measure of perceived
partner’s life orientation (‘perceived partner opti-
mism’). Participant optimism and perceived partner
optimism were positively related (r(157) ¼.45,
p50.001).
Following Cohen, Cohen, West, and Aiken’s (2003)
guidelines, we performed a moderated regression
analysis to examine whether life orientation of both
romantic partners (similar or dissimilar) relates to
relationship quality. Participant optimism, perceived
partner optimism (both mean-centered in order to
reduce potential multicollinearity; Aiken & West,
1991), and the interaction term of participant optimism
#perceived partner optimism were used to predict
perceived relationship quality simultaneously. Neither
participant optimism (b¼"0.002, SE ¼0.013,
t(156) ¼"0.15, p¼0.880), nor perceived partner opti-
mism (b¼0.030, SE ¼0.017, t(156) ¼1.83, p¼0.070)
predicted relationship quality significantly. However,
the interaction term of participant optimism and
perceived partner optimism became a significant pre-
dictor of relationship quality (b¼0.009, SE ¼0.004,
t(156) ¼2.40, p¼0.018; there was a significant
DR
2
¼0.035, p¼0.018 for the whole model when the
interaction term was included in addition to the two
single predictors). To explore this interaction effect, we
tested simple slopes of perceived partner optimism at
values one standard deviation above and below the
mean of participant optimism following Cohen and
Cohen (1983) (Figure 2). Supporting Hypothesis 3, the
results showed that among highly optimistic
participants, higher perceived partner optimism was
associated with higher relationship quality (b¼0.197,
SE ¼0.117, t(156) ¼3.03, p¼0.003). However, among
highly pessimistic participants there was no difference
in relationship quality relative to perceived partner
optimism (b¼"0.021, SE ¼0.122, t(156) ¼"0.31,
p¼0.758).
Discussion
The present study demonstrates that optimists are
perceived as socially attractive (Hypothesis 1), but also
that this perception differs with regard to the per-
ceiver’s own life orientation (Hypothesis 2).
Additionally, we found first evidence that perceived
similarity in partners’ life orientations has a positive
effect on the perceived relationship quality
(Hypothesis 3).
On the one hand – and supporting previous
research – we found that optimistic targets were
perceived as socially more attractive than pessimistic
targets (e.g., Vollmann et al., 2007). This effect was
independent of targets’ past success, supporting the
assumption that it is a person’s life orientation per se
that is attractive to perceivers. On the other hand,
perceivers’ own life orientation moderated that effect.
The effect indicates that optimists perceive optimistic
targets as more socially attractive than pessimists do
and pessimists perceive pessimistic targets as more
socially attractive than optimists do. Such a similarity-
attraction effect has been shown to be characteristic in
the field of attitudes. The similarity-attraction hypoth-
esis claims that people tend to perceive others who are
similar to themselves as more attractive than dissimilar
others (e.g., Byrne & Griffitt, 1966; Byrne et al., 1968).
Although this principle has been well supported in
other areas, there have been some doubts about its
unlimited generalizability in the field of social attrac-
tiveness (e.g., Walster, 1970). Our results supported the
similarity-attraction hypothesis with regard to social
attractiveness perceptions of optimists and pessimists.
This specifies the general notion of dispositional
optimism as an unrestricted beneficial personality
variable (e.g., Peterson, 2000). Although optimism
per se is perceived as socially attractive, this perception
is partly qualified by perceivers’ life orientation.
Moreover, this matching effect was not restricted to
mere perceptions of social attractiveness, but remained
significant when we looked at how the composition of
life orientation in romantic couples affects perceived
relationship quality. In line with our assumption,
Figure 2. Relationship quality by perceived partner
optimism and participant optimism (simple slopes).
The Journal of Positive Psychology 435
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optimists who perceived their partners as similarly
optimistic indicated higher relationship quality than
optimists who perceived their partners as dissimilar,
i.e., as pessimistic. To explain this finding we argue
that optimists may perceive a pessimistic partner as a
burden, which may in turn affect their perceptions of
relationship quality negatively. Interestingly, this was
not the case for pessimists, who reported the same
levels of relationship quality regardless of whether they
perceived their partners as pessimistic or as optimistic.
This leads us to the conclusion that optimism per se
may be a resource for relationships (see also Assad
et al., 2007; Srivastava et al., 2006). Therefore, a
dissimilar, i.e., optimistic, partner does not necessarily
reduce the pessimists’ perceived relationship quality
relative to a similar, i.e., a pessimistic, partner – even if
dissimilarity of life orientations per se is prone to bring
certain disruptions into a relationship. Our study
contributes to the literature by showing that perceived
similarity seems to be an important predictor of
attraction in existing relationships (e.g., Montoya
et al., 2008; Selfhout et al., 2009). One should,
however, note that results may not only be an indicator
of a similarity-attraction effect, but could also be
attributed to an attraction-similarity effect:
6
It has
been shown that the association between similarity and
attraction is bidirectional, particularly in existing
relationships (e.g., Morry, 2005; Selfhout et al.,
2009). This study was not designed to distinguish
between these two causal pathways and we have to
leave this question to future investigations.
Limitations
We were able to assess the life orientation of one
partner of a romantic relationship only. Therefore, the
(other) partner’s life orientation was measured indi-
rectly based on participants’ statements of how similar
their partners were to the (optimistic or pessimistic)
targets. Indirect measurement can be problematic with
regard to validity. As noted earlier, there was a positive
relation of participant optimism and perceived partner
optimism (r¼.45), which is somewhat higher than
previous correlations reported by Srivastava et al.
(2006; r¼.12), or Assad et al. (2007; r¼.20). This
interdependence might be one reason why we do not
find independent effects of participant optimism (actor
effect) and partner optimism (partner effect) on rela-
tionship quality when using both predictors at the
same time (in contrast, see Assad et al., 2007;
Srivastava et al., 2006). The fact that we find an
interaction but no main effects also suggests that the
results cannot be attributed to perceptional biases on
the basis of participants’ life orientation. Nevertheless,
only tentative conclusions can be drawn from per-
ceived partner optimism to actual partner optimism
(Montoya et al., 2008). Future research has to show
whether the matching effect on relationship quality
is restricted to perceptions of partners’ life orientation
or holds true when life orientation of both partners
is assessed directly, that is when actual similarity
is measured. Finally, it is worth mentioning that we
collected data from a relatively heterogeneous online
sample. Clearly, despite the advantages of such a data
collection, one has less control of possibly confounding
factors.
Conclusions
Previous research investigated the impact of life
orientation on social perception of others (e.g., social
attractiveness). Still, those studies neglected the inter-
active influence of perceivers and targets’ life orienta-
tion. The results of our study strengthen the
importance of taking perceivers’ as well as targets’
life orientation into account – as both may qualify
social perceptions. There were consistent effects with
respect to social attraction: in a zero-acquaintance
paradigm similarity of perceivers’ and targets’ life
orientation resulted in higher ratings of social attrac-
tiveness. With respect to ongoing romantic relation-
ships, similarity of (perceived) life orientation in a
couple was associated with higher ratings of relation-
ship quality. Our study provides evidence that the
widespread notion of unlimited benefits of optimism in
social interactions is qualified by the fact whether
partners have a (dis)similar life orientation. When
focusing on the benefits and drawbacks of life orien-
tation in social relationships and interactions, future
research should therefore consider both interaction
partners’ life orientation.
Acknowledgements
We thank Alison Benbow and Susanne Ta
¨uber for helpful
comments on an earlier version of this article.
Notes
1. There were only three participants who completed the
questionnaire and stated that their partner had also
participated in the questionnaire. Thus, the data points
can be considered fairly independent.
2. Adding the location from where people participated
(Chemnitz University or not) as an additional factor
revealed no differences in all the analyses.
3. Beta-coefficients refer to unstandardized level 1 coeffi-
cients from multilevel analyses. It has become a
convention in the literature on MRCMs to label the
coefficients that are reported as ‘beta-coefficients’,
although unstandardized coefficients are estimated. As
dummy coded predictors were used, it seemed appro-
priate to label the coefficients that were reported ‘betas’.
436 R. Bo
¨hm et al.
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4. Participants who were currently in a relationship did not
differ from participants who were single with respect to
attractiveness ratings of targets, F(1, 254) 51.
5. Gamma-coefficients refer to unstandardized level 2
coefficients from multilevel analyses.
6. We thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion.
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... One of the main predictors of whether a person likes another person is similarity (Byrne & Nelson, 1965). The so-called similarity hypothesis has received a lot of support with regard to personality traits such as optimism in romantic relationships (Böhm, Schütz, Rentzsch, Körner, & Funke, 2010), personality and physical attractiveness in roommate relationships (Carli, Ganley, & Pierce-Otay, 1991), humor style in married couples (Hahn & Campbell, 2016), gender-role self-concept and selection of dating partners (Morell, Twillman, & Sullaway, 1989), socially undesirable traits such as Machiavellianism (Ináncsi, Láng, & Bereczkei, 2016), and same-sex friendships regardless of duration or closeness (Morry, 2005). The meta-analytic effect of interpersonal attraction and perceived similarity was estimated to be r = .39 ...
... On the basis of these models, we hypothesized that liking would be a function of people's own trait self-control and the trait self-control described in the vignettes, a tendency that has been observed for optimism (Böhm et al., 2010). Specifically, we derived the following competing hypotheses: ...
Thesis
Anchoring effects, that is, the attraction of numerical judgments toward a previously considered number, are among the most robust findings in social psychology. At the same time, explaining the effect and its nuances such as moderator effects has not yet been accomplished despite numerous different models of anchoring. During the past decade, personality moderators of anchoring effects have gained attention and replications of findings beyond the classical anchoring effects have been conducted. I summarize the state of personality moderator research on anchoring effects. I systematizing the eight most thoroughly investigated personality traits (Big Five, cognitive ability, cognitive reflection, and self-control) into three broad paths (exploratory, based on theories of judgment and decision making, and based on anchoring theories). Meta-analyses for each of the potential moderators revealed that there is currently no evidence of any personality moderator of anchoring. The most plausible reason for the absence of personality moderators is that individuals’ susceptibility to anchoring cannot be measured reliably. I discuss possible solutions, such as parameters derived from the anchoring and adjustment model.
... One of the main predictors of whether a person likes another person is similarity (Byrne & Nelson, 1965). The so-called similarity hypothesis has received a lot of support with regard to personality traits such as optimism in romantic relationships (Böhm, Schütz, Rentzsch, Körner, & Funke, 2010), personality and physical attractiveness in roommate relationships (Carli, Ganley, & Pierce-Otay, 1991), humor style in married couples (Hahn & Campbell, 2016), gender-role self-concept and selection of dating partners (Morell, Twillman, & Sullaway, 1989), socially undesirable traits such as Machiavellianism (Ináncsi, Láng, & Bereczkei, 2016), and same-sex friendships regardless of duration or closeness (Morry, 2005). The meta-analytic effect of interpersonal attraction and perceived similarity was estimated to be r = .39 ...
... On the basis of these models, we hypothesized that liking would be a function of people's own trait self-control and the trait self-control described in the vignettes, a tendency that has been observed for optimism (Böhm et al., 2010). Specifically, we derived the following competing hypotheses: ...
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High trait self-control is generally depicted as favorable. We investigated whether this holds for social perception. Using vignettes, we tested whether a person with high self-control is 1) preferred as a partner for all or only certain social situations, 2) perceived as less likeable than a person with low self-control, 3) liked more if the person is female and the behavior thus fits the sex-stereotype, and 4) perceived differently from a person with low self-control with respect to a wide range of adjectives used to describe personality. Competing theories are presented for each area. Results indicate that although high self-control is associated with a wide range of socially desirable traits, choice of partners 1) depends on the type of situation in which the interaction will occur, 2) depends on the similarity between the respondent and the partner, 3) does not depend on a stereotype match, and 4) does not depend or depends only to a small degree on the partner's high self-control. The perception of individuals with high self-control is thus variable and situationally contingent, and more than a single theory is needed to explain it.
... For a successful manipulation, name carriers must actually be perceived to belong to the intended group and names need to be indeed associated with the intended characteristics. Furthermore, other characteristics associated with the respective names must be comparable and thus unconfounded with group membership (e.g., Böhm, Schütz, Rentzsch, Körner, & Funke, 2010;Brosi et al., 2016;Heyder & Kessels, 2015;Moss-Racusin et al., 2012;Schulz, Rudolph, Tscharaktschiew, & Rudolph, 2013;Steinpreis et al., 1999;I. Winkler, Jonas, & Rudolph, 2008, all controlled for one or multiple perceived characteristics of the given names). ...
... Winkler, Jonas, & Rudolph, 2008, all controlled for one or multiple perceived characteristics of the given names). Typically, researchers in previous studies using first names either generated small ad hoc samples of names that were rated by a small number of participants in a pilot study (e.g., Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004;Lütkenhöner, 2011;Stevens, Volstorf, Schooler, & Rieskamp, 2011), re-used names from previous studies with similar research questions (e.g., Gebauer et al., 2012;Moss-Racusin et al., 2012;Steinpreis et al., 1999), or referred to existing validated sets of first names (e.g., Böhm et al., 2010;Brosi et al., 2016;Greitemeyer & Kunz, 2013;Heyder & Kessels, 2015;Kuhlmann et al., 2016;Schulz et al., 2013;I. Winkler et al., 2008). ...
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... jedoch stark für die erste These. Beziehungen basieren in sehr viel stärkerem Maß auf Gemeinsamkeiten als auf Gegensätzen -und Beziehungen, die vor allem durch Gemeinsamkeiten geprägt sind, halten auch länger(Böhm et al., 2010). 17. ...
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... To solve this paradox, people low in CSE might exploit cognitive bias to justify the reality (i.e., having a less CORE SELF-EVALUATION MODERATES DISTINCTIVE SIMILARITY PREFERENCE similar or even dissimilar partner) to fit their expectations (i.e., having a highly similar partner; Lemay & Clark, 2015). In other words, they could, consciously or unconsciously, "see" their partners to share their distinctive characteristics, even though their partners do not possess these characteristics in reality, and this cognitive strategy is likely to help people to be happier in their relationships (Böhm, Schütz, Rentzsch, Körner, & Funke, 2010). Future studies could explore how people with different levels of CSE form and maintain their relationships in reality. ...
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This research investigated the moderation effects of core self-evaluation (CSE) on singles’ ideal partner preference, concerning distinctive similarity in personality. The data were collected from singles from three countries (i.e., China, Denmark, and US), and modelled in a multilevel profile analysis. The results show that CSE moderated distinctive profile similarity preference in that people high in CSE preferred higher distinctive profile similarity with their ideal partner. In addition, CSE moderated distinctive trait similarity preference in Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness in that people high in CSE preferred their ideal partner to share higher distinctive similarity on these four traits. Implications and limitations of the research and findings are also discussed.
... To solve this paradox, people low in CSE might exploit cognitive bias to justify the reality (i.e., having a less similar or even dissimilar partner) to fit their expectations (i.e., having a highly similar partner; Lemay & Clark, 2015). In other words, they could, consciously or unconsciously, ''see" their partners to share their distinctive characteristics, even though their partners do not possess these characteristics in reality, and this cognitive strategy is likely to help people to be happier in their relationships (Böhm, Schütz, Rentzsch, Körner, & Funke, 2010). Future studies could explore how people with different levels of CSE form and maintain their relationships in reality. ...
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This research investigated the moderation effects of core self-evaluation (CSE) on singles’ ideal partner preference, concerning distinctive similarity in personality. The data were collected from singles from three countries (i.e., China, Denmark, and US), and modelled in a multilevel profile analysis. The results show that CSE moderated distinctive profile similarity preference in that people high in CSE preferred higher distinctive profile similarity with their ideal partner. In addition, CSE moderated distinctive trait similarity preference in Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness in that people high in CSE preferred their ideal partner to share higher distinctive similarity on these four traits. Implications and limitations of the research and findings are also discussed.
... In this regard, research shows that optimists report a warm, slightly dominant interpersonal style, whereas pessimists report an interpersonal style that is more hostile and submissive (Smith, Ruiz, Cundiff, Baron, & Nealey-Moore, 2013;Terrill et al., 2010). Not surprisingly, optimists are perceived as more likable and attractive than are pessimists (Böhm, Schütz, Rentzsch, Körner, & Funke, 2010;Vollmann, Renner, & Weber, 2007), as well as more likely to be accepted by their peer group (Carver, Kus, & Scheier, 1994). ...
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... Several studies have investigated the impact of pessimism on social relationships. These studies have shown that people are less willing to engage in an interaction with a pessimistic than with an optimistic person ) and consider optimists more attractive, an effect that is especially strong if the perceiver also has an optimistic outlook (Böhm et al. 2010). Optimists have further been found to have more satisfying partnerships than pessimists, a finding that has been explained by optimists' stronger perception that they receive support from their partners (Srivastava et al. 2006) and their greater tendency to use cooperative problemsolving strategies to resolve conflicts (Assad et al. 2007). ...
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