Effect of Occupational Prestige and Attitude Similarity on Attraction as a Function of Assumed Similarity of Attitude

Abstract

Previous research has shown that the effect of attitudes on attraction is independent of the prestige or status of the stranger expressing the attitudes. It was hypothesized that in the absence of additional information, attraction toward a stranger is a positive function of his occupational prestige and that attraction is a positive function of assumed attitudinal similarity between stranger and S. Ss were 139 Stanford students who were given either occupational information, attitudinal information, or both types of information about a stranger. It was found that either occupational information alone ( p < .02) or attitudinal information alone ( p < .001) influences attraction. When the two types of information are combined, as in earlier research, Ss respond only to attitude similarity ( p < .001). There was support for the proposed relationship between attraction and assumed similarity ( p < .01), but variations across conditions suggest caution in interpreting this finding.