On How to Be Liked in First Encounters: The Effects of Agentic and Communal Behaviors on Popularity and Unique Liking

Abstract

When meeting other people for the first time, how should one behave in order to be liked? We investigated the effects of agentic and communal behaviors on two forms of being liked: popularity (being generally liked by others) and unique liking (being uniquely liked by specific interaction partners). In a round-robin study, 139 unacquainted German adults had dyadic conversations and provided liking ratings afterward. The conversations were recorded on video, and four agentic behaviors (leading, dominant, confident, boastful) and four communal behaviors (polite, benevolent, warm, friendly) were each rated by trained observers. Participants who generally showed agentic and communal behavior were also generally liked (popularity). When participants’ level of communal, but not agentic, behavior exceeded their personal standards during an interaction, they were particularly well-liked by the respective interaction partner (unique liking). The behavioral predictors of being liked thus differ, depending on whether one focuses on popularity or unique liking.

Popularity at first sight: Dominant behaviours mediate the link between extraversion and popularity in face‐to‐face and virtual group interactions

“…Second, the procedure of Study 1 and Study 2 differed in two major aspects: The interaction task (tower‐building vs. role‐playing exercise) and the mode of communication (face‐to‐face vs. virtual social interaction). As for the interaction task, Dufner and Krause (2023) point out that dominant behaviours are likely to contribute to popularity as long as they are beneficial to achieving a common goal. Particularly in Study 2, the common goal could only be obtained through communication and negotiation, which may have led to a more pronounced effect of verbal dominant behaviours than in Study 1.…”

“…As these factors could hinder the successful completion of the experimental task, it could be perceived as particularly positive and helpful when group members take the lead and moderate the discussion. In addition, the technical boundary conditions of videoconferences may lead to a more structured and balanced communication, which could mitigate less likable aspects of verbal dominant behaviours, such as interrupting others (Dufner et al., 2016; Dufner & Krause, 2023). Future research should explore the generalizability of our results to different types of social interactions.…”

Virtual speed dating: Utilizing online‐meeting platforms to study initial attraction and relationship formation

“…Virtual speed dating can be used to obtain recordings of people's initial dating encounters that would permit coding of myriad observable behaviors that may predict attraction and subsequent relationship formation, including smiling, body language (e.g., leaning in, crossing arms), mimicry, self disclosures, and laughing. One recent study examined predictors of interpersonal liking (Dufner & Krause, 2023) by video‐recording same‐sex dyadic first encounters and coding communal behaviors (polite, benevolent, warm and friendly) and agentic behaviors (leading, dominant, confident, and boastful). Although this recent work did not examine dating outcomes, communal and agentic behaviors may also be important for attraction.…”