“Is It (Un)romantic in Here or Is It Just Me?”: Examining the Effects of Physical Settings on Relationship Initiation Processes

There is a large literature documenting the individual differences, and, to a lesser extent, the social contexts, that lead people to want to initiate an intimate relationship with another person. However, the environmental factors (i.e., the physical spaces) that might facilitate relationship initiation are not well understood. Employing the Fast-Friends Paradigm designed to generate intimacy between strangers, the present study (N = 201 individuals) examined whether markers of relationship initiation, such as interpersonal closeness and romantic interest, vary across different physical environments – namely, an appealing room versus an unappealing room. Counter to predictions, dyads interacting in an uninviting, uncomfortable, and unappealing environment experienced levels of interpersonal closeness and romantic interest comparable to those interacting in an inviting, comfortable, and appealing environment. Strengths and limitations of the study design, as well as possible explanations for the null findings, are discussed.