Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1983, Vol. 44, No. 4, 683-692 Copyright 1983 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0022-3514/83/4404-0683S00.75 Attraction in Aversive Environments: Some Evidence for Classical Conditioning and Negative Reinforcement Catherine A. Riordan Department of Social Sciences University of Missouri—Rolla James T. Tedeschi State University of New York at Albany Predictions derived from misattribution and negative-reinforcement theories con- cerning the mediators of attraction in aversive environments were examined. Male subjects, expecting to receive either high- or low-intensity shocks, participated with either a male or female confederate who was or was not present during the description of shock intensity. Subjects' arousal, attributions for their arousal, and attraction to the confederate were measured. Results were not consistent with the misattribution hypothesis. The negative-reinforcement hypothesis accurately predicted the arousal and attribution measures. The presence of the confederate did reduce the perceived aversiveness of the shock and made the subjects feel more calm. Additionally, subjects attributed their arousal to the threat and a calming influence to the confederate. Attraction to the confederate was most consistent with an incorporation of both negative-reinforcement and classical conditioning processes. Confederates who were absent during the high-shock threat were found to be most attractive and significantly more attractive than those who were present during the threat. This suggests that although both con- federates reduced arousal, the one present during threat also took on some of the negative qualities of that threat, as would be expected to result from classical conditioning processes. Interpersonal attraction has been shown to be affected both positively and negatively when a person experiences an aversive en- vironment. Some investigators have found low levels of attraction to be associated with aversive environments (Gouaux, 1971; Grif- fitt, 1970; Griffitt & Veitch, 1971), whereas others have found high levels of attraction to be associated with unpleasant situations (Brehm, Gatz, Goethals, McCrimmon, & Ward, 1978; Dutton & Aron, 1974; Kenrick This article is based on the doctoral dissertation of the senior author in partial fulfillment of PhD requirements at the State University of New York at Albany., She would like to extend her gratitude to the members of her com- mittee: James Tedeschi, Glenn Sanders, Jerry Suls, and Richard Teevan. She would also like to thank TimBaxter, Fran Berger, Tim Fogerty, Vanessa Gross, Amy Margolin, Tania Nagy, Lori Nelson, Laurie Newman, Terry Pinzer, Karen Schwartz, Lisa Shand, Steve Siegal, Marc Spector, and Lisa Tampa for their work as confederates and in data processing. Finally, she would like to acknowledge the helpful comments made by Robert Arkin, Stewart Cooper, and the anonymous reviewers on an earlier ver- sion of this manuscript. Requests for reprints should be sent to Catherine A. Riordan, Department of Social Sciences, University of Missouri, Rolla, Missouri 65401. & Johnson, 1979; Latan6, Eckman, & Joy, 1966; Morris et al., 1976). Two major hypotheses have been advanced to explain these findings. A reinforcement perspective has been proposed by Kenrick and Cialdini (1977) to explain the enhance- ment of attraction in aversive environments. They suggest that an increment in liking may occur in aversive environments because the presence of others in a stressful and unpleas- ant situation reduces anxiety or stress, as has been demonstrated in the literature on stress and affiliation (cf. Epley, 1974). This reduc- tion in stress is experienced as negatively reinforcing, which is associated with the other person, who as a consequence becomes more attractive. Explanations for why aver- sive environments sometimes lead to lowered attraction were detailed later by Kenrick and Johnson (1979). They argued that it is only when the subject is undergoing stress and the stimulus person does not really exist or is not actually present that aversive environments have negative effects on attraction. It is under these circumstances that generalization of the negative affect occurs and, because there is 683