Similarity and Satisfaction in Roommate Relationships

Two studies examined the effects of similarity on friendship formation. In the first, 30 pairs of randomly assigned college roommates completed a questionnaire measuring personality and satisfaction. Judges rated subjects' physical attractiveness from photographs. Similarity in personality and attractiveness both resulted in greater satisfaction with roommate relationships. However, the effect of similarity in attractiveness was significant only for the more attractive member of each pair. In the second study, 67 freshmen rated their own and their roommates' attractiveness and personality characteristics. The more attractive subjects perceived themselves, relative to their roommates, the more they reported that their roommates interfered with their social lives and the less they reported that their roommates helped them to meet people, suggesting that the degree of similarity in attractiveness may be a more important determinant of satisfaction when one's fiend is less attractive than oneself