Liking gap(s) in getting-acquainted interactions

Bibliographic Data

ID21355434
AuthorsSprecher (0000-0003-2940-4220, Illinois State University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Pages1-6
Publication date2025-10-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4545 • E-ISSN: 1940-1183
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00224545.2025.2576765
PMID41128167
OpenAlexW4415468356
LanguageEN
References cited12

In first interactions, people often think about how much they like the other and how much the other likes them in return. Recently, a liking gap has been identified, which is the tendency for people to underestimate how much a new acquaintance likes them. With data from a compiled sample of pairs of strangers interacting for the first time, this investigation contributes to knowledge on how common it is to experience this perceived liking gap (versus no gap or an overestimation of how much one is liked). Also examined is an actual liking gap, the difference between how much people think they are liked by their interaction partner and how much the partner actually reports liking them in return. The liking gaps were found in the compiled sample and were robust across the individual studies and different conditions within the studies

Affect (linguistics) · Perception · Preference · Sample (material) · Social perception · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Social and Intergroup Psychology

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