Similarity was assessed using a Euclidian distance measure. They found that there was a significantly smaller mean distance between the liked individuals than there was between the disliked individuals. That is, people perceived the liked individuals to be more similar to each other. 

Alma College

Participants listed 4 people that they liked and 4 that they disliked. Similarity among the liked and disliked others was assessed using pairwise ratings on a 1-9 scale to questions such as "How similar are Liked Person 1 and Liked Person 2 to each other regarding their personalities?”. Participants also indicated how much they liked, knew, and how much time they spent with each person.

Experiment 3; All My Friends Are Alike

Alves, H., Koch, A., & Unkelbach, C. (2016). My friends are all alike—the relation between liking and perceived similarity in person perception. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 62, 103-117.

My Friends Are All Alike

Participants liked disliked individuals less, had less knowledge about them, and spent less time with them compared to liked individuals.

Exp. 3 Results: Liking, Knowledge, and Time Together (Alves et al., 2016)

Exp. 3 Results: Similarities (Alves et al., 2016)

Participants were faster at making comparisons for two liked individuals than they were  for 2 disliked individuals; they suggest that people engaged in more effortful processing strategies when making judgements about negative stimuli (e.g. there could be a processing difference). 

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