6 Things That Fuels Interpersonal Attraction

Usually when we hear the word “attraction,” we automatically think of romance. We think of physical attraction as the only type. But there are many different types of interpersonal attraction besides the one in the romantic sense.
Have you ever met someone and felt or thought, “I feel like I’ve known them forever, and we’re going to be really great friends!” Well, if you have ever experienced that, then you know what interpersonal attraction is. But let’s take a closer look.

1. Appearance
This is an obvious one as far as romance goes. That’s usually what we notice first and attracts us to someone – their physical appearance.
But regardless of whether it’s a sexual attraction or simply noticing how someone looks or dresses, appearance plays a role in whether or not we have interpersonal attraction with someone.
2. Similarity
When you meet someone and you discover that they like doing the things that you like doing, it’s exciting, right? And also, if they have the same political views or outlooks on life, you are somewhat amazed.
It fires us up to find people who are similar to ourselves, and when we do, we want to be around them. Not that opposites don’t attract, but finding similarities does draw us to people.

3. Complimentary traits
On the other side of the coin, sometimes the opposite traits do attract us. Maybe you’re an introvert, but you find yourself drawn to extroverts. Or maybe you have great social skills but are a technological idiot *like myself*. So then you might be intrigued by people who do and think things the opposite of you. As the saying goes, sometimes opposites do attract.
4. Reciprocal attraction
When someone expresses that they like you, it makes you like them back, right? I mean, if they like you then they must have great taste in people!
When someone likes us – romantically or platonically – then it automatically makes us like them a bit more. That’s not saying that you can become physically attracted to all people who are attracted to you, but it does make it a little more likely.

5. Competence
It’s not surprising that a lot of people are drawn to others who seem like they have their act together in life. If they have a successful career, or have some other aspect of themselves and their lives that you find impressive, then you will likely have interpersonal attraction to them. Whether the feeling is mutual, however, well… that’s a different story.
6. Self-disclosure
Self-disclosure is how much we reveal about ourselves, our thoughts, and our feelings to another person. It’s difficult to become emotionally intimate with someone who doesn’t tell you much about themselves. So, when we do learn about another person, we automatically do feel like we have more interpersonal attraction to them.