PSYCHOLOGICAL KINSHIP FULFILLMENT AND DATING ATTRACTION

Males and females (N=185) were assigned to High and Low psychological kinship groups using the Nava and Bailey (1991) Kinship Scale. The KS measures an individual's desire to have ''as-if'' family type need ful fillment in nonbiologic relationships, such as dating. Ss were asked t o mentally visualize a present or past dating partner and to express l ove and liking for the partner as well as provide physical attractiven ess ratings for self and partner. Results indicated that Hi Kinship Ss clearly loved and liked their dating partners more than Lo Kinship Ss , and within-person congruency of physical attractiveness ratings char acterized Lo-Males and Hi-Females. It appears that kinship need fulfil lment can impact cognitive functioning as well as affective responses (i.e., love-liking feelings).