Impact of Perceived Similarity on Likability

The research aims to understand to what extent perceived similarity affects likability or positive perception of a person. An experiment was conducted on twelve people in the age group of 18-24. A null hypothesis stating, ‘Perceived Similarity Affects Likeability’, was formulated. The participants were divided into two groups and one group was led to believe that other members among the group present are similar to them, whereas the other group wasn’t told anything. Following this interaction, both the groups were clubbed and asked to interact with each other. A score sheet was given to every participant at the end to rate all the people on the parameters of likability and compatibility. Statistical analysis was done on the data generated and it was found that the difference between in-group and general scores of the experimental group is 2.274, which was considerably higher than the difference found in the scores of the control group. Thus, Null hypothesis was retained, as it was seen that that perceived similarity does play some role in likeability.