ABSTRACT
Unless stated otherwise, this review focused on work published between 1985 and June 2007. To identify studies for the review, we searched for all empirical studies dealing with the initiation of romantic relationships between adults published in English in refereed journals from 1985 to June 2007. The research studies reviewed here were identified by searching citations in earlier reviews and subsequent citation of earlier comprehensive reviews (e.g., Berscheid, 1985). We also used computerized searches of PsycINFO (1985 to 2007), including title, abstract, heading word, table of contents, and key concepts. Keywords used in the searches included initiation, initiation of relationships, initial attraction, and interpersonal attraction. The review is limited to articles that (a) offer data and are primarily empirical contributions, (b) appear in peer-reviewed journals or their equivalent, (c) are written in English, (d) focus on populations living in North America (i.e., Canada
and the United States of America), and (e) focus on nonclinical samples2 (as opposed to deficit-based groups). These studies were categorized based on their preponderant focus on the target of evaluation, on the perceiver who is evaluating, or on the perceiver X target interaction. Research studies can sometimes fit into more than one category, so all differences in categorization were resolved by discussion between the two authors.
