The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings
Abstract
A practical methodology is presented for creating closeness in an experimental context. Whether or not an individual is in a relationship, particular pairings of individuals in the relationship, and circumstances of relationship development become manipulated variables. Over a 45-min period subject pairs carry out self-disclosure and relationship-building tasks that gradually escalate in intensity. Study 1 found greater postinteraction closeness with these tasks versus comparable small-talk tasks. Studies 2 and 3 found no significant closeness effects, inspite of adequate power, for (a) whether pairs were matched for nondisagreement on important attitudes, (b) whether pairs were led to expect mutual liking, or (c) whether getting close was made an explicit goal. These studies also illustrated applications for addressing theoretical issues, yielding provocative tentative findings relating to attachment style and introversion/extraversion.
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Social approach motivation encourages behavior directed toward pursuing social connection, including displays of active engagement and responsiveness.
“Social approach motivation is characterized by the desire to connect with others; it encourages behavior directed toward pursuing social connection,(7) including displays of active engagement and responsiveness(9) (e.g., self-disclosure,(10) positive emotional expressions(11)).”
The controlled laboratory-based relationship-building task used in the current study has previously been shown to facilitate interpersonal closeness.
“controlled laboratory-based relationship-building task previously shown to facilitate interpersonal closeness”
From The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder (2017) · cites this paper as Aron, Melinat, Aron, Vallone, & Bator, 1997
The conversation task is an abbreviated version of a previously validated relationship-building task.
“The conversation task, an abbreviated version of a previously validated relationship-building task (Aron et al., 1997)”
From The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder (2017) · cites this paper as Aron et al., 1997
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MethodMerged minds: Generalized shared reality in dyadic relationships.
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Romero‐Canyas, R., Downey, G., Reddy, K. S., Rodríguez, S., Cavanaugh, T. J., & Pelayo, R. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0020013 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Social closeness increases salivary progesterone in humans
Brown, S. L., Fredrickson, B. L., Wirth, M. M., Poulin, M. J., Meier, E. A., Heaphy, E. D., Cohen, M. D., & Schultheiss, O. C. (2009) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.03.022 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
“Participants were told that the purpose of this task was to “get to know each other a bit.” Early in the first session, each pair was given a packet of 16 questions drawn from the Closeness Generating Procedure developed by Aron et al. (1997) .”
MethodKashdan, T., & Roberts, J. E. (2007) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.05.009 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
“In the small-talk condition, the questions were somewhat superficial and never progressed in the amount of personal information necessary to answer them (see Aron et al., 1997 for details).”
BackgroundSelf-expansion motivation and inclusion of others in self: An updated review
Aron, A. P., Lewandowski, G., Branand, B., Mashek, D. J., & Aron, E. N. (2022) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075221110630 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
“, 2013) demonstrated several predictors of IOS: mutual, escalating self-disclosure was found to be a driver of including others in self among both individual strangers (Aron et al., 1997) and between two couples who had previously never met (Schwartz & Slater, 1991); sharing exciting activities in marriage (Tsapelas e…”
BackgroundSelf-citationKlohnen, E. C., Weller, J. A., Luo, S., & Choe, M. (2005) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167205278307 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Swaab, R. I., Schaerer, M., Anicich, E. M., Ronay, R., & Galinsky, A. D. (2014) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797614537280 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Clark, M. S., & Lemay, E. P. (2010) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy002025 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
The Psychology of Workplace Mentoring Relationships
Eby, L. T. D. T., & Robertson, M. M. (2019) · Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-044924 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Lin, R.-Y., & Utz, S. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.012 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Edlund, J. E., & Sagarin, B. J. (2016) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2016.10.004 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Person-Level Relatedness and the Incremental Value of Relating
Moller, A. C., Deci, E. L., & Elliot, A. J. (2010) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167210371622 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Santoro, E., & Broockman, D. E. (2022) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abn5515 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Vorauer, J. D., Martens, V., & Sasaki, S. J. (2009) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0013411 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Self-expansion motivation improves cross-group interactions and enhances self-growth
Dys‐Steenbergen, O., Wright, S. C., & Aron, A. P. (2015) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430215583517 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
“Thus, consistent with previous research using the Fast Friends Procedure (e.g., Aron et al., 1997) it appears that this activity did create interactions that were generally experienced as positive and engendered moderately strong feelings of closeness, self-growth, and self-efficacy.”
ResultSelf-citationCarr, P. B., Dweck, C. S., & Pauker, K. (2012) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0028849 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Changes in Adult Attachment Styles in American College Students Over Time
Konrath, S., Chopik, W. J., Hsing, C. K., & O’Brien, E. (2014) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868314530516 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Shared Cognition as a Product of, and Precursor to, Shared Identity in Negotiations
Swaab, R. I., Postmes, T., van Beest, I., & Spears, R. (2007) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167206294788 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Howell, N., Devendorf, L., Tian, R. (., Gálvez, T. A. V., Gong, N., Poupyrev, I., Paulos, E., & Ryokai, K. (2016) · Designing Interactive Systems Conference · doi:10.1145/2901790.2901850 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
“To probe anted to foste tions, so we chology stud ss [1].”
BackgroundLawrence, J., Goldman, D., Achar, S., Blascovich, G. M., Desloge, J. G., Fortes, T., Gomez, E. M., Häberling, S., Hoppe, H., Huibers, A. G., et al. (2021) · ACM Transactions on Graphics · doi:10.1145/3478513.3480490 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
“To control for content of conversations, we randomly selected questions that have been validated to foster a sense of social intimacy in strangers [Aron et al. 1997].”
MethodEpistemic companions: shared reality development in close relationships
Rossignac‐Milon, M., & Higgins, E. T. (2018) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.01.001 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Laban, G., Kappas, A., Morrison, V., & Cross, E. S. (2024) · International Journal of Social Robotics · doi:10.1007/s12369-023-01076-z · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Swaab, R. I., Postmes, T., Neijens, P. C., Kiers, M. H., & Dumay, A. C. M. (2002) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.1080/07421222.2002.11045708 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Cameron, J. J., Stinson, D. A., Gaetz, R., & Balchen, S. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0018558 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Slotter, E. B., & Gardner, W. L. (2009) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0013882 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
“Additionally, protocols that have included novel and interdependence enhancing experiences (e.g., threelegged races) have produced self–other integration between strangers brought into the laboratory ( Aron et al., 1997 ).”
BackgroundSprecher, S. (2013) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.029 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Modifying automatic approach action tendencies in individuals with elevated social anxiety symptoms
Taylor, C. T., & Amir, N. (2012) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2012.05.004 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
“…social approach behavior (d ¼ .48 and .93 for females and males, respectively); observerrated social approach behavior (d ¼ .93 and 1.13 for females and males, respectively); confederate DFI (d ¼ .91 and .82 for females and males, respectively). questions selected from Aron et al. (1997).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMorrison, K. E., DeBrabander, K. M., Jones, D. R., Ackerman, R. A., & Sasson, N. J. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591100 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Online versus face-to-face conversation: An examination of relational and discourse variables.
Mallen, M. J., Day, S. X., & Green, M. A. (2003) · Psychotherapy · doi:10.1037/0033-3204.40.1-2.155 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Secrets and Misperceptions: The Creation of Self-Fulfilling Illusions
Cowan, S. K. (2014) · Sociological Science · doi:10.15195/v1.a26 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
“…and Hazam 2000), feelings of intimacy (Laurenceau, Barrett, and Pietromonaco 1998), and greater emotional involvement (Rubin et al. 1980) and is used within experimental work to create “fast friends” of strangers within the laboratory (Aron et al. 1997; Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton and Tropp 2008).”
BackgroundMethodKashdan, T. B., Volkmann, J. R., Breen, W. E., & Han, S. C. (2006) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.08.007 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
“We included this scale to be used in conjunction with the IOS to measure the discrepancy between actual and desired closeness (similar to Aron et al., 1997).”
Coutifaris, C. V., & Grant, A. M. (2021) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2021.1498 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency
Mohan, B., Buell, R. W., & John, L. K. (2020) · Marketing Science · doi:10.1287/mksc.2019.1200 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Hiding personal information reveals the worst
John, L. K., Barasz, K., & Norton, M. I. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1516868113 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
“Experimental evidence suggests that partners experimentally induced to mutually selfdisclose like each other more relative to those not induced to divulge (16, 17).”
BackgroundOverly shallow?: Miscalibrated expectations create a barrier to deeper conversation.
Kardas, M., Kumar, A., & Nicholas Epley, A. (2021) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspa0000281 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
“People may expect that conversations are better when they become increasingly intimate over the course of the conversation, and hence start conversations more shallowly than they hope to end them (Aron et al., 1997).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialLaughing and liking: Exploring the interpersonal effects of humor use in initial social interactions
Treger, S., Sprecher, S., & Erber, R. (2013) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.1962 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
“Then, participants engaged in a social interaction task—derived from prior social interaction research (Aron et al., 1997; Sedikides et al., 1999)—in which we randomly assigned one person to disclose (while the other listened and asked questions) for an initial 12-minute interaction; the participants switched disclosu…”
MethodInfluentialAvoidant Attachment: Exploration of an Oxymoron
Edelstein, R. S., & Shaver, P. R. (2004) · doi:10.4324/9781410610010-32 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
von Dawans, B., Strojny, J., & Domes, G. (2020) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.026 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Kashdan, T. B., Adams, L., Savostyanova, A., Ferssizidis, P., McKnight, P. E., & Nezlek, J. B. (2011) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.03.004 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Interpersonal control, dehumanization, and violence: A self-determination theory perspective
Moller, A. C., & Deci, E. L. (2009) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430209350318 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
You can handle the truth: Mispredicting the consequences of honest communication
Levine, E. E., & Cohen, T. R. (2018) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/xge0000488 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Kotzur, P. F., Schäfer, S. J., & Wagner, U. (2018) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12304 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Cole, T., & Teboul, J. B. (2004) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2004.00075.x · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Effects of acute stress on social behavior in women
von Dawans, B., Ditzen, B., Trueg, A., Fischbacher, U., & Heinrichs, M. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.08.031 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
“investigate social interaction in the lab (Aron et al., 1997).”
Benefits of positive relationship experiences for avoidantly attached individuals.
Stanton, S. C. E., Campbell, L., & Pink, J. C. (2017) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000098 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“Similar to prior research where individuals viewed each other more positively after engaging in the intimacy-promoting tasks (A. Aron et al., 1997), romantic partners felt happier about their relationships post-manipulation.”
InfluentialThe Dynamics of Personal and Social Identity Formation
Postmes, T., Baray, G., Haslam, S. A., Morton, T. A., & Swaab, R. I. (2006) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446211946.n12 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
- Authors
- Aron, A., Melinat, E., Aron, E. N., Vallone, R. D., & Bator, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Stony Brook University (US)
- California Graduate School of Family Psychology
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- Arizona State University
- Corresponding author
- Aron, Arthur
- ORCID
- Aron, Arthur
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1997-04
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 363-377
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2167393292
- Cited by
- 902
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 67 · 2025: 88 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 70 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 113 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 4.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- relationship closeness, self-disclosure, relationship building, small talk, interpersonal attraction, attachment styles, extraversion-introversion
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