Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 3: Drawing People Together: Forces of Social Attraction
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Vivian enjoys working with Chris on class projects, and she admires how
hardworking he is. What kind of attraction does Vivian feel for Chris?
A. social attraction
B. task attraction
C. physical attraction
D. occupational attraction
2. The tendency to perceive physically attractive people as more sociable is part
of what effect?
A. matching effect
B. social attraction effect
C. idealism effect
D. halo effect
3. Initially, Amy was attracted to Naomi due to her skill in flirting and her desire to
try new things—the exact opposite of Amy’s own shy personality. Recently, Amy
has discovered that Naomi often flirts with other women and makes plans to be
with them, so the very qualities that attracted Amy are now those that are
destroying the relationship. This exemplifies ______.
A. fatal attraction
B. the ignorance is bliss account
C. sexual attraction
D. the sour grapes account
4. According to most research, we are attracted to those who are attitudinally
similar to us because they are able to provide us with ______.
A. a different point of view
B. reinforcement
C. complementary resources
D. absolute verification
5. One explanation for differences between what is attractive to men and what is
attractive to women is the theory that men and women have different roles in
procreation and parenting, and thus need to look for different things in a potential
mate. What theory is this?
A. social exchange theory
B. dialectic theory
C. social evolutionary theory
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
D. gender orientation theory
6. According to research, women are most likely to be attracted to men who are
______.
A. unassertive and nonaltruistic
B. unassertive and altruistic
C. assertive and nonaltruistic
D. assertive and altruistic
7. Researchers explored the concept of “nice guys finish last.” According to their
study, people who are attracted to “nice guys” also value ______.
A. altruism
B. narcissism
C. passivity
D. assimilation
8. Koinophilia is a universal characteristic of beauty. When people possess this
feature, ______.
A. their faces have average features
B. their faces are perfectly symmetrical
C. their bodies are perfectly symmetrical
D. they have an appropriate mix of babyish and sexually mature facial features
9. Prof. Plum begins an interaction with his class using negative behavior. During
the course of the interaction, he switches to positive behavior. Prof. Reibolt
started an interaction with his class using positive behavior, but he switched to
negative behavior. How would the loss–gain effect explain how the class would
feel about Prof. Plum compared to Prof. Reibolt?
A. The class would not be attracted to either person due to an inability to predict
behavior.
B. The class would not be attracted to either person due to a dislike for any
negativity in interaction.
C. The class would be attracted to Prof. Plum because the students’ expectations
were exceeded.
D. The class would be attracted to Prof. Reibolt because impressions are formed
early in interactions.
10. Which of the following men would Olivia be likely to find most attractive?
A. Nick, who is hard to get for everyone, including her
B. Javier, who is hard to get for everyone, except for her
C. Ramon, who is moderately hard for her and everyone else to get
D. Aaron, who is easy for everyone, except for her, to get
11. People who are poor communicators are not aware that someone may
communicate better than they do. This is explained by which of the following
explanations?
A. differential importance explanation
B. “sour grapes” explanation
C. “ignorance is bliss” explanation
D. skill-as-culture explanation
12. The matching hypothesis states that people search for partners who ______.
A. have roughly the same level of physical attractiveness as they do
B. have the same physical features as their own
C. have a complementary level of physical attractiveness to their own
D. are highly physically attractive
13. The concept of ______ refers to the idea that we sometimes like people who
are similar to us in arbitrary ways, such as having similar names or being born
during the same month.
A. reinforcing bias
B. implicit egotism
C. dyadic association
D. self-other connection
14. In long-term committed relationships, ______.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. “opposites attract” is truer that “birds of a feather flock together”
B. “birds of a feather flock together” is truer that “opposites attract”
C. both “opposites attract” and “birds of a feather flock together” have been found
to be equally true
D. neither “opposites attract” nor “birds of a feather flock together” have been
found to be true
15. Max travels by plane on a business trip even though he is terrified of plane
rides. As he anxiously sits through take-off, he becomes aware of his attraction to
the woman sitting next to him and begins to talk with her. What led to Max
becoming more attracted to this woman than he would normally have been?
A. reductionist account
B. ignorance is bliss account
C. excitation transfer
D. arousal switching
16. Which of the following is one of the reasons given for the existence of the
“Romeo and Juliet” effect?
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. Individuals may desire to agree with the choice their parents make.
B. Individuals may be attracted to those who are easy to get.
C. Individuals may have feelings toward someone else.
D. Individuals may enjoy the feeling of an illicit secret.
17. Newcomb’s findings on the effect of proximity on attraction were especially
intriguing because they showed that proximity could outweigh ______ as a basis
of attraction.
A. physical attractiveness
B. similarity
C. communication competence
D. evolutionary factors
18. The famous “bridge studies” tested the excitation transfer hypothesis.
Researchers found that people ______.
A. were more attracted to individuals if they crossed short bridges as opposed to
long bridges
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. were more attracted to individuals if they crossed scary bridges as opposed to
safe bridges
C. who were scared of heights were most likely to be attracted to the person
waiting for them at the end of the bridge
D. were most attracted to the individual waiting for them at the end of the bridge if
they thought they would win money for crossing the bridge quickly
19. The assimilation effect occurs when ______.
A. the attention that physically attractive people get rubs off on their friends
B. people want others because they are already committed to someone else
C. people like others more when the social network approves of them
D. the expectations we hold about someone are exceeded
20. Which form of complementarity is least likely to be related to attraction and
liking?
A. complementarity in behavior
B. complementarity in resources
C. complementarity in values
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
D. complementarity in appearance
21. Which of the following increases interpersonal attraction in initial
relationships?
A. dissimilarity
B. proximity
C. physical attraction
D. intelligence
22. According to a 2008 study, those with around ______ Facebook friends were
rated as most attractive.
A. 100
B. 300
C. 500
D. 800
23. The desire to “hang out” and be friendly with someone is which type of
attraction?
A. task
B. physical
C. social
D. sexual
24. Which of the following statements best illustrates the process of fatal
attraction?
A. We are drawn to characteristics of the other person that are only “skin deep.”
B. We tend to fall in love with someone who is unavailable to us.
C. The relationship is doomed from the beginning because of inherent
psychological flaws.
D. The very qualities that draw us to someone can contribute to the eventual
relationship breakup.
25. Relational attraction is a subset of which form of attraction?
A. task
B. physical
C. social
D. sexual
True/False
1. Studies show that sites that include attractive images of a profile owner lead to
greater attraction to that person than those with no image.
2. Research supports the “Romeo and Juliet” effect, which predicts that parental
interference can strengthen attraction between two people.
3. The matching hypothesis refers to the tendency for people to seek partners
who are extremely physically attractive.
4. Research shows that “opposites attract” relationships last longer than
“similarities attract” relationships.
5. People like people with whom they are frequently in close proximity.
6. Knowledge of relational communication does not guarantee that we will be
attracted to the “right people.”
7. Fatal attraction occurs mainly because women are attracted to alpha males
who may be dangerous or violent.
8. Oxytocin and dopamine, among other chemicals, shape our attraction to other
people.
9. Attraction is a complex and dynamic process.
10. Teachers are affected by the physical attraction of their students.
11. Being attracted to a narcissistic person appears to be a common type of fatal
attraction.
12. People use physical appearance to make judgments about someone’s inner
character.
Essay
1. Research has shown that the number of Facebook friends someone has
influences his or her attractiveness level. Why is this important? What does this
say about a person?
2. What are the main dimensions of interpersonal attraction? What is the “halo
effect” and what impact does it have on these dimensions of attraction?
3. The demographic characteristic that has received the most attention in the
study of attraction is sex. Compare/contrast how sex differences and gender
differences influence what people find attractive.
4. What is the Romeo and Juliet effect? Based upon the research presented in
your text, discuss four reasons why this effect occurs and how it affects
relationships.
5. Researchers have discovered that there are biological aspects of attraction.
Discuss the role of oxytocin in the attraction process. What other naturally
occurring chemicals may have an effect on relational attraction?
6. What is meant by reward value of a person? What does reward value have to
do with attraction?