Do most of your friends wear glasses or have tattoos like you do? Turns out that humans are hard-wired to have more positive regard for individuals who have similar physical characteristics.
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A paper that included four separate studies reinforced the theory that individuals tend to associate with those who are similar to themselves. These similar factors include, but are not limited to, sex, race, hair color and length and even wearing glasses. This tendency may arise because when you see someone who looks similar to yourself, you feel more comfortable talking to them, potentially leading to lasting friendships and relationships.
While the findings of this study may seem like minor behavior phenomena, this could have larger societal implications. When we choose to sit next to people who are akin to us, we miss out on opportunity to establish relationships with individuals who are different from ourselves. Because of our world’s recurring issues that stem from racial, religious and cultural segregation, there is a need to do more in-depth research on this topic. Hopefully we can gain a better understanding of why we seek out people who are similar to us in order to find a way to initiate more diverse relationships, as well.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Physical Similarities Cause Students to Sit Next to One Another
Summary
This combination of four studies showed that individuals tend to flock together and sit with people who appear similar to them. The first study showed that those who wore glasses and belonged to the same gender sat together. The second study showed that sex, race, hair length and color and wearing glasses determined who sat next to whom. The third study was conducted in a laboratory setting and saw similar results. The fourth study showed that like-individuals preferred to sit together; similarity in appearance and glasses could also predict the distance between two seated people.
Introduction
It is known that people who are similar tend to form friendships and relationships. The similarities may be in appearance or values, attitudes, memberships to social groups, etc. It is speculated that this behavior of being with similar people may have longer-lasting implications. One individual could be sitting beside similar people and interacting with them more often; this can lead to forming relationships with similar people rather than dissimilar ones. This research combining four studies tries to assess the parameters of physical appearance which draw people to sit beside one another in both natural settings, as well as laboratory settings.
- For the first study, 356 undergraduate students were asked to participate in classes with 31 seats available. A total of 21 classes were held. Of the participants, 23 percent had glasses and 57.6 percent were females. The way the participants sat in classes was noted.
- For study two, 18 large classes were chosen with a total of 2,228 students. The study sample included 36.7 percent males, 18.1 percent with glasses, 36.9 percent blondes, 28.3 percent with long hair, 68.8 percent white, 8.5 percent Asians, 1.5 percent blacks, and 21.2 percent of other or mixed ethnicities.
- For study three, a moderately attractive female Caucasian peer was chosen. She wore glasses for half of the study participants (72 undergraduate students). Of the participants, 76.1 percent were Caucasian, 18.4 percent had the same hazel eyes as the peer, 15.7 percent had the same brown hair, 25.4 percent had glasses, 69 percent were women, 71.4 percent had normal body proportions and 29.2 percent had short hair like her. They staged a three-minute one-on-one interview in which the seating distance between the peer and the participant was noted.
- For study four, 174 participants were included in which they had to rate the pictures of eight people who differed in sex, glasses, etc. The participants also stated whether they would sit with the people in the pictures.
- Study one showed that those who wore glasses sat with others who wore glasses. People also grouped together based on their sex.
- Study two showed that all the different traits, like glasses, sex, hair color, hair length and ethnicity determined seating arrangements of the students.
- Study three showed that people who were similar to the peer in terms of eye color, hair color, hair length, body proportions, glasses, sex, etc., tended to sit closer to her than those who were dissimilar.
- Study four showed that wearing glasses and physical similarity with those in the pictures could predict the self-reports of seating distance of the participants. This replicated the results from the first three studies.
Next steps/shortcomings
Authors admit some limitations in their studies. The attractiveness of the confederate could have been a confounder in study three that assessed seating distance. In study four, people might have been biased in self-reporting their seating distance. The studies also do not reveal if acquaintance with a similar or dissimilar-looking person could interfere with seating choice. Further studies to clarify this are warranted.
Conclusion
This study concludes, from four different experiments, that people tend to sit beside others who are physically similar. The reasons are not completely explained by traditional similarities like race, ethnicity, sex and attractiveness. Other factors, like wearing glasses, hair, eye color and hair length, are also found to contribute to this social phenomenon. The study reveals that people prefer similar-looking strangers to decide their seating distance, also.
Authors speculate that the “simple process of choosing to sit beside people who are similar to us can have broad implications at a macro level.” When people gravitate toward others with the same eye, skin color, hair color or wear glasses, they tend to miss opportunities to form relationships with dissimilar-looking people. This could lead to segregation, misunderstandings and prejudices in the long run. Considering ethnic and racial segregation is a significant problem worldwide, this study may have wider consequences and needs deeper understanding.
For More Information:
Birds of a Feather Sit Together: Physical Similarity Predicts Seating Choice
Publication Journal: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, April 2011
By Sean P. Mackinnon; Christian H. Jordan; Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada