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.
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 16802, USA. ecp6@psu.edu
Elizabeth C
EC
Pinel
Anson E
AE
Long
Mark J
MJ
Landau
Kira
K
Alexander
Tom
T
Pyszczynski
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