Cognitive Approach

• Similarity-Attraction Model:


  1. People are attracted to those they perceive as similar to themselves.
  2. Similarity in attitudes, values, interests, personality traits, and demographic factors
  3. Applies to both initial attraction and long-term relationships
• Similarity-Attraction Model


  Cognitive psychologists argue that we are attracted to those we perceive as similar to ourselves. Markey and Markey's studies demonstrated that:

  1. People describe their ideal partner as similar to themselves
  2. Actual couples tend to have similar personality traits
• The Model suggests we use our self-schema as a template for partner selection, perhaps for self-validation. However, these studies were correlational and focused on American students, limiting causal conclusions and cross-cultural applicability.
• Cognitive Biases


  The halo effect exemplifies how cognitive shortcuts influence attraction. Dion et al.'s research showed that attractive individuals were assumed to possess other positive traits, demonstrating how appearance can trigger broader positive judgments. While this study had strong internal validity, its ecological validity may be limited.
• Internal Working Models


  John Bowlby proposed that early attachment experiences create mental schemas or "internal working models" that shape expectations in adult relationships. This theory suggests our cognitive representations of relationships, formed in childhood, guide our approach to intimacy later in life.
• A cognitive approach contributes significantly to our understanding of personal relationships by focusing on how mental processes, schemas, and biases influence attraction and relationship formation. However, this approach also has some limitations.