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Causes Of Interpersonal Attraction In Romantic Relationships

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Question : Explain the causes for interpersonal attraction in romantic relationships using three different psychological perspectives. In the broader sense, attraction can be defined as 'a feeling of being drawn to another person or thing, usually with a positive feeling toward the other ', and interpersonal attraction as 'the sense of liking and wanting to be close to another person ' (Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology 2009). The William James award, which is the highest scientific honor of the Association for Psychological Science was awarded to Ellen Berscheid and Elaine Hatfield in 2012 for their contributions, starting as early as the 1960s, to the study of interpersonal attraction and close relationships (Reis, Aron, Clark and Finkel 2013). Coon and Mitterer, define interpersonal attraction as the social attraction that is experienced by one person to another (Coon and Mitterer 2011). Attraction and relationships have been studied by other researchers as well, before Berscheid and Hatfield. Adult relationships have been found essential in contributing for health, happiness, and productivity across several areas of human activity (Reis, Aron, Clark and Finkel 2013). According to the works of Lodhi (Lodhi 2014), the liking or loving experienced for another person, be it for friends, family members or any others in general is referred to as interpersonal attraction. This form of attraction is considered to be a process that can lead to friendships and romantic
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