THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION ON INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION

Two studies are reported which indicate that high communication apprehensives are perceived as less interpersonally attractive than low communication apprehensives by members of the opposite sex. Effects of physical appearance and attitude similarity on interpersonal attraction, consistent with previous research, were also observed. It was also found that, in general, the more communication apprehensive the subject the less the subject was attracted to other people.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE OF PERCEIVED HOMOPHILY IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

This paper reports the development of a measure of perceived homophily. In both an initial investigation and in four subsequent studies employing samples from diverse populations, four dimensions of response were observed. These dimensions were labeled Attitude, Morality, Appearance, and Background. Additional results indicated that opinion leaders are perceived as more homophilous than non-opinion leaders on the dimensions of Attitude, Morality, and Background. The scales found to measure these dimensions are suggested for consideration by researchers concerned with homophily or interpersonal similarity in human communication.