Arlene finds that even though she sat in the opposite corner of the classroom from ronda during the entire term of their chemistry class, when they bump into each other at a party, she seems to like ronda more than the strangers around. this is best explained by

The correct answer is known as the mere-exposure effect.

The Mere-exposure effect is described as the mental phenomenon by which humans generally tend to broaden a choice for things merely because they're familiar with them. In social psychology, this effect is on occasion known as the familiarity principle. The impact has been confirmed with many styles of matters, which may include phrases, artwork, images of faces, geometric figures, and sounds as well.

Absolute !