Lure of Ambiguity

Familiarity leads to liking; familiarity breeds contempt. The first proposition is supported by decades of research in psychology, whereas the second is supported by everyday experience: the disintegration of friendships, the demise of business relationships, and the prevalence of divorce. It is certainly the case that the more that is known about others, the more they are liked, on average. On countless occasions, individuals decide someone is not preferred after only minimal interaction, curtailing the acquisition of further information through subsequent interaction; if someone is preferred, on the other hand, this liking leads to acquisition of more information over repeated interactions. This selection process creates a positive correlation between knowledge and liking across the set of one’s acquaintances, but it may also lead individuals to believe that more knowledge causes greater liking within any given acquaintanceship. We propose that the relationship between...