M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / Initial romantic attraction is a universal social phenomenon and can broadly be defined as the awareness for the potential of a long-term romantic relationship or the positive regard an individual has for another. In essence, it is the initial feelings an individual has toward a potential mate. Due to the significance of romantic relationships it is a well-researched topic however, most existing studies on the topic are quantitative in nature focusing on testing specific theories or principles. Consequently a qualitative study focusing on the experience of initial romantic attraction would add great value in terms of facilitating a better understanding the phenomenon. Furthermore, no qualitative studies pertaining to initial romantic attraction have been done using South African participants. Initial romantic attraction starts with an awareness of a potential partner. Previous studies have indicated that there are many different factors that influence who an individual may be attracted to once awareness of a partner has been established. The current study hopes to identify the factors leading to initial romantic attraction for white heterosexual South African men. Three white heterosexual South African men were sourced as participants. Openended interviews were conducted with each participant. The interviews were then transcribed verbatim and analysed according to specific descriptive phenomenological steps. The analyses yielded central themes pertaining to initial romantic attraction that could be organised into three broad categories namely, personal characteristics, interpersonal characteristics and external factors. Common personal characteristics leading to initial romantic attraction were physical attractiveness, hair, eyes, petiteness, slim physique, cleanliness and teeth. Common personality traits leading to initial romantic attraction were sense of humour, confidence/independence, mysteriousness, intelligence and good conversation skills and common interpersonal characteristics were reciprocal attraction, similarities, contrasting qualities and eye contact. The only common external factor that led to initial romantic attraction was novelty.It is hoped that the results of the current study will lead to a richer understanding of the factors that lead to initial romantic attraction for white heterosexual South African men.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10687 |
| Date | 15 April 2014 |
| Creators | Drummond, Michelle Leigh |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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