NEWCOMB'S SYMMETRY THEORY

NEWCOMB’S SYMMETRY THEORY

Social psychologist Theodore M. Newcomb took Heider's idea of balance out of the head of one person and applied it to communication between people. He uses the term symme¬try to distinguish it from balance theory and contends that we attempt to influence one another to bring about symmetry (or balance or equilibrium). Newcomb postulates that attempts to influence another person are a function of the attraction one person has for another. In this respect Newcomb's theory is more of a theory of interpersonal attraction than one of attitude change. If we fail to achieve symme¬try through communication with another person about an object important to both of us, we may then change our attitude toward either the other person or the object in question in order to establish symmetry.

Because Newcomb's model deals with two people and the communication between them, he labels them A and B (rather than Heider's P and O) and retains X to represent the object of their attitudes. As with Heider, he assumes a human need for consistency, which he calls a "persistent strain toward symmetry." If A and B disagree about X, the amount of this strain toward symmetry will depend on the intensity of A's attitude toward X and A's attraction for B. An increase in A's attraction for B and an increase in A's intensity of attitude toward X will result in (1) an increased strain toward symmetry on the part of A toward B about their attitudes toward X, (2) the likelihood that symmetry will be achieved, and (3) the probability of a communication by A to B about X. The last item, of course, is the focus of our concern.

Newcomb says, "The likelihood of a symmetry-directed A to B re X varies as a multiple function of the perceived discrepancy (i.e., inversely with perceived symmetry), with valence toward B and with valence toward X" (Newcomb, 1953).

Newcomb, in contrast to Heider, stresses communication. The less the symmetry between A and B about X, the more probable that A will communicate with B regarding X. Symmetry predicts that people associate with or become friends of people with whom they agree ("Birds of a feather flock together").

However, for attitude change to take place, a person must come into contact with information that differs from his or her present attitudes. Newcomb's symmetry model predicts that the more A is attracted to B (a person or a group), the greater the opinion change on the part of A toward the position of B.


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