Similarity (psychology)

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Similarity refers to the psychological degree of identity of two mental representations. It is fundamental to human cognition since it provides the basis for categorization of entities into kinds and for various other cognitive processes. [1] It underpins our ability to interact with unknown entities by predicting how they will behave based on their similarity to entities we are familiar with. [2] Research in cognitive psychology has taken a number of approaches to the concept of similarity. Each of them is related to a particular set of assumptions about knowledge representation.

Contents

Cognitive psychological approaches

Mental distance approaches

Mental distance approaches ( Shepard 1962 ) assume that mental representations can be conceptualized as some kind of mental space. Concepts are represented as points within the space. Similarity between concepts is a function of the distance between the concepts in space. Concepts represented by points that are near to each other are more psychologically similar than are points that are conceptually distant. A strength of this approach is there are many mathematical techniques for deriving spaces from data such as multidimensional scaling ( Shepard 1962 ) and latent semantic analysis ( Landauer & Dumais 1997 ).

Featural approaches

Featural approaches ( Tversky 1977 ) were developed to address limitations of the mental distance approaches. For example, spaces are symmetric. The distance between two points is the same regardless of which point you start from. However, psychological similarity is not symmetric. For example, we often prefer to state similarity in one direction. For example, it feels more natural to say that 101 is like 100 than to say that 100 is like 101. Furthermore, many metaphors are also directional. Saying "That surgeon is a butcher" means something quite different from saying "That butcher is a surgeon."

Featural approaches assumed that people represent concepts by lists of features that describe properties of the items. A similarity comparison involves comparing the feature lists that represent the concepts. Features that are shared in the feature lists are commonalities of the pair and features that are contained in one feature set but not the other are differences of the pair. It is possible to account for people's intuitions or ratings of the similarities between concepts by assuming that judgments of similarity increase with the number of commonalities (weighted by the salience of those commonalities) and decreases with the number of differences (weighted by the salience of the differences).

Structural approaches

Structural approaches to similarity ( Gentner & Markman 1997 ) were developed to address limitations of the featural account. In particular, featural approaches assume that the commonalities and differences are independent of each other. However, commonalities and differences are not psychologically independent. In fact, determining the differences between a pair requires finding the commonalities. Consider the comparison between a car and a motorcycle. Both have wheels. That is a commonality. However, cars have four wheels, while motorcycles have two wheels. That is a difference. Because this difference required first finding a commonality between the pair, it is called an alignable difference. Alignable differences contrast with nonalignable differences which are aspects of one concept that have no correspondence in the other. For example, cars have seatbelts and motorcycles do not. Research suggests that alignable differences have a larger impact on people's judgments of similarity than do nonalignable differences. Thus, the relationship between the commonalities of a pair and the differences is important for understanding people's assessments of similarity. Structural approaches to similarity emerged from research on analogy.

Transformational approaches

Transformational accounts of similarity ( Hahn, Chater & Richardson 2003 ) were developed to evaluate similarity independently of the type of mental representation. On this view, any mental representation can be transformed into another mental representation through some series of steps. For any representation system and set of transformations, it is possible to define the shortest set of steps (i.e., the shortest program) that will transform one representation into another. The shorter this minimal program, the more similarity the pair of concepts. Larkey & Markman (2005) found some evidence against this view, showing that the number of steps to transform the colors and shapes of geometric objects does not predict people's similarity judgments for those objects.

Social psychological approaches

In social psychology large amounts of empirical evidence indicate that similarity breeds liking; this is known as the similarity effect. [3] Similarity refers to personality, attitudes, values, interests, [4] and attraction shared between to individuals. [3] Similarity is closely related to Bryne's social psychology model of interpersonal attraction (1961) which is determined by four variables: propinquity (how our environment and situation play a role in determining how often and to what degree we come in contact), need for affiliation, overt stimulus characteristics (refers to the observable attributes of an individual that serve to elicit positive or negative responses from others), and similarity. [3] [5] [6] In short we determine our attraction or liking of another by positive and negative reinforcements and our emotions concerning the matter. [7] When Individual A receives positive reinforcement from individual B, A's attraction toward B, increases the reverse is also true. [7] Attitude similarity has also been found to serve as a strong foundation for long lasting friendship. [8] Friends who share a similar interest in activities where more likely to perceive similarity and liking then those who shared similar attitudes. [8] An individual's perceived similarity with another has been proven to show potential for romantic relationships even though actual similarity was reported to be low. [3] These findings explain that individuals are more likely to be attracted to those who they perceive to share similar activities with such as occupation and hobbies. [8] Propinquity also explains the relationship between liking and activities, those with similar interests tend to put themselves into similar types of settings increasing their chances of interaction. [3] [5] [8] As frequency of interaction between 2 or more people increases, the degree of perceived similarity and liking for one another increases eventually leading to long lasting relationships. [6]

Several explanations have been offered to explain in what way similarity increases interpersonal attraction (like-prefers-like). [9] First, people with similar interests tend to put themselves into similar types of settings. For example, two people interested in literature are likely to run into each other in the library and form a relationship (involving the propinquity effect). [10] Another explanation is that we notice similar people, and expect a relationship to be interpersonally validating and beneficial because of similar attitudes, behaviours and values. [9] [11] People are susceptible to making negative judgements about those who are 'out of group' than 'in group' from them socially, behaviorally or of different morals and values. [12] Specifically, the 'Big Five' personality trait dimensions (extroversion and introversion, agreeableness and disagreeableness, openness and closeness, conscientiousness and apathetic, as well as mental stability and neuroticism) are behavioural traits often used to assess similarity or dissimilarity in relationships. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the relationship between mental states and social situations, studying the social conditions under which thoughts, feelings, and behaviors occur, and how these variables influence social interactions.

Categorization is a type of cognition involving the conceptually discursive discernment between features or characteristics of conscious experience of the world, such as objects, events, or ideas. It involves the abstraction and differentiation of aspects of experience by assorting and distinguishing between their groupings, such as classification or typification on the basis of their traits, features, similarities or other criteria that are universal to the group. Categorization is considered one of the most fundamental cognitive abilities, and as such it is studied particularly by psychology and cognitive linguistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popularity</span> Concept in sociology

In sociology, popularity is how much a person, idea, place, item or other concept is either liked or accorded status by other people. Liking can be due to reciprocal liking, interpersonal attraction, and similar factors. Social status can be due to dominance, superiority, and similar factors. For example, a kind person may be considered likable and therefore more popular than another person, and a wealthy person may be considered superior and therefore more popular than another person.

In social psychology, propinquity is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction.

In philosophy of mind and cognitive science, folk psychology, or commonsense psychology, is a human capacity to explain and predict the behavior and mental state of other people. Processes and items encountered in daily life such as pain, pleasure, excitement, and anxiety use common linguistic terms as opposed to technical or scientific jargon.

Social cognition is a topic within psychology that focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in social interactions.

In the psychology of self, one's self-concept is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question "Who am I?".

The mere-exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop liking or disliking for things merely because they are familiar with them. In social psychology, this effect is sometimes called the familiarity principle. The effect has been demonstrated with many kinds of things, including words, Chinese characters, paintings, pictures of faces, geometric figures, and sounds. In studies of interpersonal attraction, the more often people see a person, the more pleasing and likeable they find that person.

Interpersonal attraction, as a part of social psychology, is the study of the attraction between people which leads to the development of platonic or romantic relationships. It is distinct from perceptions such as physical attractiveness, and involves views of what is and what is not considered beautiful or attractive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social support</span> Support systems for individuals

Social support is the perception and actuality that one is cared for, has assistance available from other people, and most popularly, that one is part of a supportive social network. These supportive resources can be emotional, informational, or companionship ; tangible or intangible. Social support can be measured as the perception that one has assistance available, the actual received assistance, or the degree to which a person is integrated in a social network. Support can come from many sources, such as family, friends, pets, neighbors, coworkers, organizations, etc.

Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others to reduce uncertainty in these domains and learn how to define the self. Comparing oneself to others socially is a form of measurement and self assessment to identify where an individual stands according to their own set of standards and emotions about themselves.

In social psychology, the pratfall effect is the tendency for interpersonal appeal to change after an individual makes a mistake, depending on the individual's perceived competence. In particular, highly competent individuals tend to become more likeable after committing mistakes, while average-seeming individuals tend to become less likeable even if they commit the same mistake.

Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.

Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, some people tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves. This implies a relationship that is greater than simple acquaintance or familiarity.

Self-enhancement is a type of motivation that works to make people feel good about themselves and to maintain self-esteem. This motive becomes especially prominent in situations of threat, failure or blows to one's self-esteem. Self-enhancement involves a preference for positive over negative self-views. It is one of the three self-evaluation motives along with self-assessment and self-verification . Self-evaluation motives drive the process of self-regulation, that is, how people control and direct their own actions.

Self-categorization theory is a theory in social psychology that describes the circumstances under which a person will perceive collections of people as a group, as well as the consequences of perceiving people in group terms. Although the theory is often introduced as an explanation of psychological group formation, it is more accurately thought of as general analysis of the functioning of categorization processes in social perception and interaction that speaks to issues of individual identity as much as group phenomena. It was developed by John Turner and colleagues, and along with social identity theory it is a constituent part of the social identity approach. It was in part developed to address questions that arose in response to social identity theory about the mechanistic underpinnings of social identification.

The self-expansion model proposes that individuals seek to expand their sense of self by acquiring resources, broadening their perspectives, and increase competency to ultimately optimize their ability to thrive in their environment. It was developed in 1986 by Arthur Aron and Elaine Aron to provide a framework for the underlying experience and behavior in close relationships. The model has two distinct but related core principles: the motivational principle and the inclusion-of-other-in-self principle. The motivational principle refers to an individual's inherent desire to improve their self-efficacy and adapt, survive, and reproduce in their environment. The inclusion-of-other-in-self principle posits that close relationships serve as the primary way to expand our sense of self as we incorporate the identities, perspectives, resources, and experiences of others as our own through these relationships.

Within the realm of social psychology, the proximity principle accounts for the tendency for individuals to form interpersonal relations with those who are close by. Theodore Newcomb first documented this effect through his study of the acquaintance process, which demonstrated how people who interact and live close to each other will be more likely to develop a relationship. Leon Festinger also illustrates the proximity principle and propinquity by studying the network of attraction within a series of residential housing units at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Both of these studies provide evidence to support the fact that people who encounter each other more frequently tend to develop stronger relationships.

In social psychology, social projection is the psychological process through which an individual expects behaviors or attitudes of others to be similar to their own. Social projection occurs between individuals as well as across ingroup and outgroup contexts in a variety of domains. Research has shown that aspects of social categorization affect the extent to which social projection occurs. Cognitive and motivational approaches have been used to understand the psychological underpinnings of social projection as a phenomenon. Cognitive approaches emphasize social projection as a heuristic, while motivational approaches contextualize social projection as a means to feel connected to others. In contemporary research on social projection, researchers work to further distinguish between the effects of social projection and self-stereotyping on the individual’s perception of others.

Relationship science is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to the scientific study of interpersonal relationship processes. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, relationship science is made-up of researchers of various professional backgrounds within psychology and outside of psychology, but most researchers who identify with the field are psychologists by training. Additionally, the field's emphasis has historically been close and intimate relationships, which includes predominantly dating and married couples, parent-child relationships, and friendships & social networks, but some also study less salient social relationships such as colleagues and acquaintances.

References

  1. ↑ Cowling, Sam (2017). "Resemblance". Philosophy Compass. 12 (4): e12401. doi:10.1111/phc3.12401.
  2. ↑ Holyoak, K.; Morrison, B. (2005). "2. Similarity". The Cambridge Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning. Cambridge University Press.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Montoya, R. Matthew; Horton, Robert S.; Kirchner, Jeffrey (December 2008). "Is actual similarity necessary for attraction? A meta-analysis of actual and perceived similarity". Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 25 (6): 889–922. doi:10.1177/0265407508096700. ISSN   0265-4075. S2CID   145590102.
  4. ↑ Byrne, Donn; Nelson, Don (January 1964). "Attraction as a function of attitude similarity-dissimilarity: the effect of topic importance". Psychonomic Science. 1 (1–12): 93–94. doi: 10.3758/bf03342806 . ISSN   0033-3131.
  5. 1 2 Rand, Thomas M.; Wexley, Kenneth N. (April 1975). "Demonstration of the Effect, "Similar to Me," in Simulated Employment Interviews". Psychological Reports. 36 (2): 535–544. doi:10.2466/pr0.1975.36.2.535. ISSN   0033-2941. S2CID   145715659.
  6. 1 2 Newcomb, Theodore M. (1956). "The prediction of interpersonal attraction". American Psychologist. 11 (11): 575–586. doi:10.1037/h0046141. ISSN   0003-066X.
  7. 1 2 Byrne, Donn; Clore, Gerald L. Jr.; Worchel, Philip (1966). "Effect of economic similarity-dissimilarity on interpersonal attraction". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 4 (2): 220–224. doi:10.1037/h0023559. ISSN   0022-3514.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Werner, Carol; Parmelee, Pat (March 1979). "Similarity of Activity Preferences Among Friends: Those Who Play Together Stay Together". Social Psychology Quarterly. 42 (1): 62. doi:10.2307/3033874. ISSN   0190-2725. JSTOR   3033874.
  9. 1 2 Lydon, John E.; Jamieson, David W.; Zanna, Mark P. (1988-12-01). "Interpersonal Similarity and the Social and Intellectual Dimensions of First Impressions". Social Cognition. 6 (4): 269–286. doi:10.1521/soco.1988.6.4.269. ISSN   0278-016X.
  10. ↑ Liberman, Zoe; Shaw, Alex (2019-08-01). "Children use similarity, propinquity, and loyalty to predict which people are friends". Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 184: 1–17. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2019.03.002. ISSN   1096-0457. PMID   30974289. S2CID   109941102.
  11. ↑ Montoya, R. Matthew; Kershaw, Christine; Prosser, Julie L. (July 2018). "A meta-analytic investigation of the relation between interpersonal attraction and enacted behavior". Psychological Bulletin. 144 (7): 673–709. doi:10.1037/bul0000148. ISSN   1939-1455. PMID   29733622. S2CID   13685509.
  12. ↑ Marques, José M.; Robalo, Elisabete M.; Rocha, Susana A. (July 1992). "Ingroup bias and the 'black sheep' effect: Assessing the impact of social identification and perceived variability on group judgements". European Journal of Social Psychology. 22 (4): 331–352. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420220403.
  13. ↑ Buecker, Susanne; Maes, Marlies; Denissen, Jaap J. A.; Luhmann, Maike (January 2020). "Loneliness and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Meta–Analysis". European Journal of Personality. 34 (1): 8–28. doi: 10.1002/per.2229 . ISSN   0890-2070. S2CID   214301960.
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