Interpersonal attraction in reward allocation situations

The present study explored the effects of altruism and attitude similarity on interpersonal attraction in reward allocation situations. The main hypotheses were that subjects would be more attracted to those favoring similar rather than dissimilar allocation when their inputs were the same, while altruistic subjects would be more attracted to those favoring dissimilar rather than similar allocation when their inputs were opposite. One hundred and twelve male undergraduate students participated in a four-person dilemma game. After receiving their scores, subjects were asked to state their preferences for reward allocation. Following this, they were provided with bogus information about another group member's reward allocation choice. Finally each subject evaluated this member. The results supported the hypotheses. It was suggested that opinion similarity is the predominant determinant of interpersonal attraction under same input conditions, whereas perceived altruism is the main determinant under opposite input conditions.