Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Parental Influence On Romantic Attraction With Simulated Online Dating Profiles., Johanna Strokoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Romantic attraction is commonly studied in the scientific literature, with countless theories providing hypotheses for why we find particular characteristics attractive. This study focused on psychodynamic theories to investigate the attraction process, particularly regarding the influence of parental figures on romantic attraction through the psychoanalytic theory of partner selection (i.e., template matching hypothesis used interchangeably), attachment theory, and Core Conflictual Relational Themes theory. With previous research often relying solely on self-report measures of parental figures and romantic partners, this study contributed to the field through capturing the attraction phenomenon through the ratings and selection of simulated online dating profiles. Participants …