- Propinquity
"The sense of the word "propinquity" as given here is a specialised one. For a more general definition of the word, see in the
Wiktionary ."In
social psychology , propinquity (fromLatin "propinquitas", nearness) is one of the main factors leading tointerpersonal attraction . It refers to the physical or psychologicalproximity between people. Two people living on the same floor of a building, for example, have a higher propinquity than those living on different floors. Propinquity can mean physical proximity, a kinship between people, or a similarity in nature between things. "Propinquity" is also one of the factors, set out byJeremy Bentham , used to measure the amount of (utilitarian )pleasure in a method known asfelicific calculus .Propinquity effect
The
propinquity effect is the tendency for people to form friendships or romantic relationships with those whom they encounter often. In other words, relationships tend to be formed between those who have a high propinquity. It was first theorized by psychologistsLeon Festinger ,Stanley Schachter ,Kurt Lewin andKurt Back in what came to be called the "Westgate studies" conducted atMIT (1950 ). The typicalEuler diagram used to represent the propinquity effect is shown below where U = universe, A = set A, B = set B, and S = similarity:The sets are basically any relevant subject matter about a person, persons, or non-persons, depending on the context. Propinquity can be more than just physical distance. Residents of an apartment building living near a stairway, for example, tend to have more friends from other floors than others. The propinquity effect is usually explained by the
mere exposure effect , which holds that the more exposure a stimulus gets, the more likeable it becomes.ee also
*
Human bonding
*Proxemics
*Westermark effectReferences
* Festinger, L., Schachter, S., Back, K., (1950) "The Spatial Ecology of Group Formation", in L. Festinger, S. Schachter, & K. Back (eds.), Social Pressure in Informal Groups, 1950. Chapter 4.
External links
* [http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/proprinquity_effect.htm Propinquity Effect]
* [http://forms.gradsch.psu.edu/equity/mcnair/2003/rauch.pdf Human Mate Selection - An Exploration of Assortive Mating Preferences] - (has two pages of propinquity studies)
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