Four studies were done in an attempt to test the misattribution explanation of earlier findings showing a connection between aversive arousal and attraction. All four studies indicated that subjects do not attribute arousal to a female confederate when a clear and salient aversive stimulus is present. Instead, subjects correctly assigned causality to the experimental situation. All four studies also failed to reproduce the original attraction finding, i.e., aversive circumstances were not found to enhance attraction for the confederate.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baron, R. A. , & Byrne, D.Social psychology; Understanding human interaction. 2nd Ed. Boston; Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1977.
2.
Berscheid, E. & Walster, E.Interpersonal Attraction:Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1978,
3.
Byrne, D.Social psychology and the study of sexual behavior . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1977, 3, 3-30.
4.
Byrne, D. & Byrne, L.Exploring human sexuality. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1977.
5.
CRM Editorial Staff . Psychology Today: An introduction. New York: CRM/ Random House, 1976.
6.
Calvert-Boyanowsky, J. , & Leventhal, H.The role of information in attenuating behavioral responses to stress: A reinterpretation of the misattribution phenomenon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975, 32, 214-221.
7.
Cantor, J. , Zillman, D., & Bryant, J.Enhancement of experienced sexual arousal in response to erotic stimuli through misattribution of unrelated residual excitation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975, 32, 69-75.
8.
Dutton, D. , & Aron, A.Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974, 30, 510-517.
9.
Harrison, A.Individuals and groups: Understanding social behavior. New York: Brooks-Cole, 1976.
10.
Huston, T.Foundations of interpersonal attraction. New York: Academic Press, 1974.
11.
Kenrick, D. T. , & Cialdini, R. B.Romantic attraction: misattribution vs. reinforcement explanations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1977, 35, 381-391.
12.
Kenrick, D. T. & Johnson, G. A.Interpersonal attraction in aversive environments: A problem for the classical conditioning paradigm?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (in press).
13.
McNeil, E. B. & Rubin Z.The Psychology of Being Human. San Francisco. Canfield Press, 1977.
14.
Middlebrook, P. N.Social psychology and modern life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974.
15.
Morris, W. N. , Worchel, S., Bois, S. L., Pearson, J. A., Rountree, C. A., Samaha, G. M., Wachtler, J., & Wright, S. L.Collective coping with stress: group reactions to fear, anxiety and ambiguity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1976, 33, 674-679.
16.
Murstein, B.Theories of attraction and love. New York: Springer, 1971.
17.
Schachter, S. & Singer, J.Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychological Review, 1962, 69, 379-399.
18.
Spielberger, C. D.Theory and research on anxiety. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety and Behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1966.
19.
Walster, E. & Berscheid, E.Adrenaline makes the heart grow fonder. Psychology Today, 1971, 5, 47-62.