Reciprocity Of Liking

Reciprocity of liking (also known as reciprocity of attraction and reciprocal liking) describes the tendency for individuals to think positively of others who express positive regard for them. Essentially, we like people who say that they like us. Individuals are more likely to like someone who expresses that they like them. When you learn that someone has expressed liking us we are more likely to have positive feelings for that person. This doesn't work all the time though. Research has shown that people who don't like themselves (have low self esteem) don't like people who like them. Another example in which reciprocity of liking backfires can be with false flattery or 'brown-nosing'. If a person feels as if someone likes them falsely and is expressing it for ulterior motives then they are more likely to dislike that person.