Gain-Loss Theory of Attraction

The Gain-Loss Theory or model of interpersonal attraction is concerned with the effect that a sequence of positive, negative, or positive and negative evaluations about a person may have about that person's attraction to the person or persons making those evaluations. For example, when giving feedback to individuals on how they have performed on a task, is it better to start with what they have done well or what they need to improve? The model was first proposed in 1965 by Elliot Aronson and Darwyn Linder and was the subject of a relatively small number of studies carried out in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This entry defines the gain-loss effect in attraction and provides five explanations for its occurrence.

The model proposes that a change in evaluation (i.e., a gain or a loss) has a greater effect on a person's attraction toward the evaluator than does no change in evaluation (i.e., all positive or all negative). More specifically, the model states that a change in a sequence of evaluations of a person from negative to positive (i.e., a gain or − +) may be more rewarding to that person than a series of uniformly positive evaluations (i.e., all positive or + +). Similarly, a change in a series of evaluations of a person from positive to negative (i.e., a loss or + −) may be more punishing than a sequence of similarly negative evaluations (i.e., all negative or − −). Stated in this way, the model applies primarily to the way a person feels toward the evaluator, although the gain-loss phenomenon is likely to also affect how the person feels about him or herself. The model itself does not explicitly say that the effect of these evaluations works through recipients' feelings about themselves. The most rewarding sequence is gain (− +), followed by all positive (+ +), all negative (− −) and loss (+ −). More support has been found for the gain effect than for the loss effect.

Five explanations have been put forward for gain-loss effects. Recipient anxiety or anxiety reduction is one of them. A negative evaluation is likely to bring about negative affect such as anxiety, hurt, and self-doubt. A subsequent positive evaluation is likely to reduce these negative feelings of anxiety. Consequently, recipients should feel more positively toward an evaluator who has reduced their anxiety than toward someone who has not made them anxious in the first place. Although it seems clear how this explanation may account for a gain effect, it is more difficult to see how it can be applied to a loss effect where a generally more negative evaluation should evoke greater anxiety.

A second explanation is an evaluation contrast one. Positive evaluations may seem more positive after negative evaluations than after positive ones. Similarly, negative evaluations may appear more negative after positive evaluations than after negative ones. This explanation implies that these effects should be less pronounced when a neutral evaluation is used because the contrast is less strong.

Evaluator discernment is a third explanation. Evaluators expressing uniformly positive or negative evaluations about another person are likely to be seen as being less discerning or discriminating by that person than will evaluators whose evaluations vary because the unvarying evaluations will be seen as being more a reflection of the evaluator than of the person being evaluated. A less discerning person may be seen as less attractive than a more discerning one. When evaluators change their evaluation, later evaluations are seen as being more carefully considered and accurate than earlier ones. Thus, later evaluations have greater effect.

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