No Physical Attraction

I believe there’s the thought of having a correlation between an individual’s physical appearance and his/her achievements, abilities and/or psychological well-being, but I do not think it occurs. However, since this thought is very common, attractiveness interacts with other status characteristics such as education, income, social status, and occupational prestige to create a positive or negative perception of an individual.

It is thought that men will look for women who are young whereas women are usually more interested in the resources of a mate. This can be explained from an evolutionary perspective as mating with a physically attractive woman will give better genes to pass onto their offspring, and women seek men with resources such as wealth as it will increase their security and therefore their chances of survival.

There is a difference between male and female preferences in a potential mate. As stated in the book Berger (1990) “men best serve the needs of the species by reproducing as frequently as possible.” With that being said men have the tendency to be attracted to women on high fertility, which coincides with being youthful and attractiveness. That’s why most men chose younger women. Women have a different outlook when looking for a potential mate. Women are more interested in men

Men are often harshly labeled as purely physical beings that are interested primarily in the physical aspects of women but in all actuality studies have shown that males are attracted a number of nonphysical attributes (Kniffen & Wilson, 2004). Such studies indicate that male’s are attracted to women who are extraverted (Swami, Greven, & Furnham, 2007), honest (Paunonen, 2006) and provocative (Hill, Nocks, & Gardner, 1986). It has also been suggested that as males age women in general become more attractive (Gladue & Delany, 1990). Multiple studies have been conducted that reveal males are influenced by similar physical features as females. Past research indicates that the majority of heterosexual men are strongly attracted to females who are highly feminine with symmetrical facial features (Weeden & Sabini, 2005), low waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005). From an evolutionary standpoint such factors are a predictor of good health and fertility as well as aid in child birth (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005). The past research provides understanding of what factors increase attraction between males and females but are there other outside factors that could influence attraction?

Both articles claim that love at first sight exists. There are strengths in each article that make it believable. In the article “Science Explains Instant Attraction” there are many strengths that make it believable. There is research evidence, quotes from the people to who ran the experiment and scientific terms for parts of the brain they were talking about all makes it believable. An example of research evidence is, “Some 63 percent of the time their initial , photograph based interest in dating a person was baked up by their real decision,”. An example of quotes from the people running the experiment is, “We joked quite a bi that we hoped there might be a wedding someday, but no invitations have come through yet,” This was said by

In most, if not all societies, beauty has been a determining factor in how people, namely women, are treated. Beautiful women are more likely to be accepted and respected among men and other women than women who are not conventionally attractive. Which is not to say that attractive women have it easier, considering the stigma surrounding attractive women that they get everything they want, are more promiscuous, and the fact that attractive women are more likely to be harassed in public by men. Women who are not attractive are often ignored or dismissed by others, specifically men who do not view them as a candidate for a relationship, so therefore do not believe they are worth their time. This is a very harmful part of how our society runs

How we select and lose our mates has always been a source of fascination and in the article, “The Strategies of Human Mating”, by David Buss surveys college students and more than 10,000 adult males and women from 37 countries to record that in the sexual selection process, humans choose between temporary (casual) and long-term (co-parenting) and use many strategies to draw in and keep a partner. There were 9 hypotheses Buss came up with about explaining different strategies of a long term and short term relationship between men and women. The hypotheses were that short term mating is more important for men than women, men seeking a short-term mate will solve the problem of identifying women who are sexually accessible, men seeing a short-term mate will minimize commitment and investment, men seeking a short-term mate will solve the problem of identifying fertile women, men seeking a long-term mate will solve the problem of identifying reproductively valuable women, men seeking a long-term mate will solve the problem of paternity confidence, women seeking short-term mate will prefer men willing to impart immediate resources, women will be more selective than men in choosing a short-term mate and lastly women seeking a long-term mate will prefer men

In the animal kingdom, animals find a mate for procreation on the basis of the Darwinian principle of Natural Selection. Whichever mate exudes the qualities that most represents the genes essential for survival get chosen. Thanks to evolution and our resultant powerful brains, humankind has lost many of its animal-like customs in favor of customs strictly seen in organisms with extremely developed brains. Beauty is a modification of this aforementioned animalistic instinct and a product of our hyperconscious brains. Now, beauty is a subjective taste that generally varies in small ways from person to person. The cause of such small variance in what would appear to be an extremely subjective matter is the prevalence and importance of societal values. Beauty, specifically among American men has been tailored to a certain mold in which the man has a muscular trim physique . The abundance of these muscular trim physique men in the media has made it a norm which American men feel forced to become, thus resulting in poor body image for those who cannot ascribe to such a standard as well as health detriments to those who try and or reject such a standard .

In this paper, I will be writing a personal journal entry in response to the textbook, “Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity (9th ed.)” written by Spencer Rathus, Jeffery Nevid, and Lois Fichner-Rathus (2014). They discuss attraction and an attraction-similarity hypothesis. Rathus et al. define the meaning as, “…people tend to develop romantic relationships with people who are similar to themselves in physical attractiveness and other traits” (p. 193). With so many different physical features, shapes, heights, and weight of all people, the hypothesis makes sense and in general I have witnessed most couples to also fit this hypothesis. However, the text further discusses that physical attractiveness is more important to the male when selecting a female partner. I have also witnessed this trend with couples and the female being more physically attractive in the relationship. Going deeper attraction can also be based on similar interests, personalities, intelligence, education,

Due to the natural human instinct to seek partners who will be suitable to carry children, humans along with other animals tend to search for physical indicators of genetic fitness. Although the media showcases that women who are thin are generally more attractive than fuller figured women it is possible that men are subconsciously more attracted to women who seem fit enough to have

Mate selection is an evolutionary process in which selection is dependent on the attractiveness of an individual’s phenotypic trait, such as age and sex. For example, women feel that reliability, dominance, wealth and generosity are important in a mate, while men believe attractiveness and creativity are important. Women investment more time in searching for a mate because women are, typically, responsible for birthing and raising a child and need a mate that would protect her and their offspring and provide for them. Men, on the other hand, do not invest much in mate selection. When resources are scarce, women seek resources in their mate and man look for attractiveness. However, the goal is to locate the best possible mate.

The relationship between physical attraction and economic status are some of the key factor for dating. It’s important to take into consideration that people often seek a partner for their wealth, rather than love. Based upon the social construct it may be beneficial to marry an individual of high social economics statues because it can introduce access to resource, job opportunities, and influence over those of lower socioeconomic status. This is in fact an issue because it supports traditional gender roles that prevents social change and people for discovering themselves.

Critical Evaluationg of Psychological Theories of Interpersonal Attraction Interpersonal Attraction suggests as attraction between people, and although it may not in terms of a romantic relationship scenario as the phrase suggests, it nethertheless suggests an important attraction to create a relationship with a particular person. It may by that we are attracted to a particular person or a social relationship because we find them pleasant or because we find life alone unpleasant or unrewarding. Schacter (1959) conducted a study in which female participants were told that they were going to receive an electric shock in a following experiment. Half of the subjects were told it would be painful and

In men the most desirable features are a big jaw and broad chin. Smooth skin, shiny hair, lean body and facial symmetry are also important qualities of beauty. Dateline conducted experiments to see if beautiful people were treated better than unattractive people. The results were an overwhelming, yes. Men would stop and help pretty women in distress every time, while they would walk right by a less attractive woman that needed help. Studies have consistently shown that attractive people get favorable treatment in many situations. They are more accepted in their peer groups, they receive better treatment in stores and restaurants, and they are hired more often with higher pay. Are these things that make up outer beauty more important than inner beauty?

A few relationships tend to be based solely on their partner’s level of attractiveness. We determine how attractive someone is, “ the prejudice of deciding what to do based solely on outward appearance could cost the pursuer the chance of a meaningful relationship” (Modern Day Adages). Although someone is “better” looking doesn’t mean anything when it comes to their character and personality. An “average” person can be more beautiful on the inside than a “better” looking person. As a society, we need to give others the opportunity to show themselves even if they’re “average.”