Seeing I to I: a pathway to interpersonal connectedness.
The authors introduce the construct of I-sharing--the belief that one shares an identical subjective experience with another person--and the role it plays in liking. In Studies 1-3, participants indicated their liking for an objectively similar and an objectively dissimilar person, one of whom I-shared with them and the other of whom did not. Participants preferred the objectively similar person but only when that person I-shared with them. Studies 4 and 5 highlight the role that feelings of existential isolation and the need for closeness play in people's attraction to I-sharers. In Study 4, people with high needs for interpersonal closeness responded to I-sharers and non-I-sharers with great intensity. In Study 5, priming participants with feelings of existential isolation increased their liking for I-sharers over objectively similar others. The results highlight the importance of shared subjective experience and have implications for interpersonal and intergroup processes.
Pinel
Elizabeth C
EC
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 16802, USA. ecp6@psu.edu
Long
Anson E
AE
Landau
Mark J
MJ
Alexander
Kira
K
Pyszczynski
Tom
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003469:Culture; D004644:Emotions; D005086:Existentialism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012933:Social Identification; D012934:Social Isolation; D012938:Social Perception; D012944:Social Support