ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationships between interpersonal attraction and social influence. It explains the antecedents of interpersonal attraction and the antecedents of social influence. The chapter focus on two forms of attraction: liking and romantic love. Liking has been defined by a number of researchers; most definitions agree that liking is one person's positive attitude toward another, evidenced by the person's tendency to approach and interact with the other. Unusually intense liking between two persons is sometimes designated companionate love. The principle which is most often cited to explain interpersonal attraction is the principle of reinforcement. This principle states that people learn to like those who reward them and to dislike those who punish them. Balance theorists would certainly agree that reinforcement is an important determinant of interpersonal attraction. Interpersonal attraction and social influence are so intimately related that if one understands each process, can probably intuit the relationships between them.
