In social psychology, propinquity (/prəˈpɪŋkwᵻtiː/; from Latinpropinquitas, "nearness") is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction. It refers to the physical or psychological proximity between people. Propinquity can mean physical proximity, a kinship between people, or a similarity in nature between things ("like-attracts-like"). Two people living on the same floor of a building, for example, have a higher propinquity than those living on different floors, just as two people with similar political beliefs possess a higher propinquity than those whose beliefs strongly differ. Propinquity is also one of the factors, set out by Jeremy Bentham, used to measure the amount of (utilitarian) pleasure in a method known as felicific calculus.
Propinquity effect
The propinquity effect is the tendency for people to form friendships or romantic relationships with those whom they encounter often, forming a bond between subject and friend. Occupational propinquity, based on a person's career, is also commonly seen as a factor in marriage selection. Workplace interactions are frequent and this frequent interaction is often a key indicator as to why close relationships can readily form in this type of environment. In other words, relationships tend to form between those who have a high propinquity. It was first theorized by psychologists Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter, and Kurt Back in what came to be called the Westgate studies conducted at MIT (1950). The typical Euler diagram used to represent the propinquity effect is shown below where U = universe, A = set A, B = set B, and S = similarity:
Propinquity is a 1986 novel by the Australian author/journalist John Macgregor. The manuscript won the Adelaide Festival Biennial Award for Literature; the novel was short-listed for The Age Book of the Year. Its author was compared by critics with PG Wodehouse, Don DeLillo, Julian Barnes, Umberto Eco and Australian Nobellist Patrick White. Despite its critical success, Propinquity was read by few people due to the collapse of its publisher, although in 2013 it was released on Amazon as a Kindle e-book and a CreateSpace print-on-demand paperback.
'Propinquity charts a project by a group of Oxford medical undergraduates to bring a medieval English queen - buried deep under Westminster Abbey - back to life. In reviving her, the students intend to expose a 2,000-year-old conspiracy by the Church to repress gnosis - the experiential core of spiritual teaching - to maintain its political power.
The attempt is led by a male Oxford medical student and the daughter of the Dean of Westminster, a medieval scholar, who had seen her father visit the secret tomb as a child, and later recalled the memories.
I've known for a long time The kind of girl you are Of a smile that covers teardrops The way your head yields to your heart Of things you've kept inside That most girls couldn't bear I've known you for a long time But I've just begun to care I've known of all the heartache And I've known of all the pain I've seen you when the sun shines And I've seen you when it rains I've seen you make a look of love From just an icy stare I've known you for a long time But I've just begun to care I know I've been blind To not have loved you all this time But the image of you wasn't clear I guess, I've been standing too near Oh, it's taken me a while But I have finally found What you are to me And that's what really counts And what you are to me Is something we can share I've known you for a long time But I've just begun to care Oh, it's taken me a while But I have finally found What you are to me And that's what really counts And what you are to me Is something we can share I've known you for a long time But I've just begun to care Yes, I've known you for a long time
