WHEN DO OPPOSITES ATTRACT - INTERPERSONAL COMPLEMENTARITY VERSUS SIMILARITY

Two experiments examined whether interpersonal complementarity or simi larity influences people's satisfaction with dyadic interactions. Part icipants in complementary partnerships (submissive people with dominan t partners, dominant people with submissive partners) reported more sa tisfaction than did those with similar partners. In Study 1 complement arity referred to the match between the participants' self-reported in terpersonal style (dominant or submissive) and the role enacted by a c onfederate (dominant or submissive). Tn Study 2 participants interacte d in pairs, and complementarity referred to the match between one part icipant's interpersonal goals and the other's overt behavior Participa nts whose goals were complemented by their partners' behavior were mor e satisfied with the interaction than those whose goals were not. In b oth studies satisfied participants perceived their partners as similar to themselves.