Personality and interpersonal attraction: basic assumptions.

The Psalmist dares ask, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" Present-day social psychologists might do well to ask the same question of the subjects in their studies of interpersonal attraction. Much of the work on interpersonal attraction falls short of specifying basic premises concerning the individual's motivational disposition with respect to his fellow humans. Occasionally an author appeals for conceptual and/or methodological integration, or for a "more sophisticated approach" to this area (see e.g. 6, 17). A small but perhaps helpful clarifying step may be taken by examining the problem at the level of basic motivational assumptions.