Gain-loss theory and the "law of infidelity": Mr. Doting versus the admiring stranger

The "law of infidelity," derived from E. Aronson's (1969) gain-loss theory of attraction, predicts that when 2 evaluators compete for the affections of an evaluatee, the one whose evaluations begin negatively but then become positive (a gain evaluator) will be liked more than a consistently positive evaluator. Experimental support for gain-loss theory has been obtained exclusively under single-evaluator conditions where the S evaluatee received evaluations from only one evaluator who either delivered a gain series or a continuously positive series of evaluations. The "law of infidelity," however, predicts attraction in a competitive triangle, a double-evaluator situation, where the S evaluatee receives evaluations both from the gain evaluator and the positive evaluator. The present study with 70 female undergraduates confirmed the hypotheses that while a gain evaluator is liked more than a positive evaluator under single-evaluator conditions, when placed in direct competition with each other in a double-evaluator situation, the gain evaluator is no longer preferred; rather, the positive evaluator is liked significantly more. These and other findings are discussed in terms of the importance of contextual factors in the prediction of interpersonal attraction. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).