Psychology of Attraction

What are the social factors that influence interpersonal attraction? Discuss in relation to relevant psychological theories and studies

In the book, The Red Queen, the author Matt Ridley claims that men find women’s ratio of waist width-to-hip width attractive (Ridley 292). It was observed by Physiologist Dev Singh who argued that a man will find a woman extremely attractive as long as her waist is much thinner than her hips (Ridley 292). In addition, this ratio is also hints if a woman is childbirth potential (Ridley 292). Throughout human time, this waist-to-hip ratio theory has changed on what is preferable (Bovet and Raymond 1). However, this sexual attraction is still a trait that influences men’s mate preference (Bovet and Raymond 1). I also found that a woman’s waist-to-hip ration also provides information about a woman’s age, and health (Bovet and Raymond 1). Overall,

Gonchar, Michael. “How Important Is It to Be Attractive in Our Society?” The New York Times,

Being physically attractive adds even more layers to the subjective mix. Is it blonde hair, fair skin blue eyes? Is it brown hair, dark eyes and a wonderfully tan physic the alpha trump card? Or could it be salt and pepper hair, emerald green eyes, and five o’clock shadow? See what I mean? This can

In the last few years a lot of research has been performed in the area of mate choice. This review highlights which kinds of signals affect our choice for a partner, discusses the most commonly known principles of beauty and considers the role of cultural differences and the beauty ideal propagated by the media.

The findings from the survey show that most cultures find other cultures more attractive, with an exception from Australian culture. As depicted in the above data (see Table 1 and Figure 1), the Australian culture finds Caucasian cultures more attractive. Research has been conducted on a similar topic of cultural differences and attractiveness. Rhodes investigated which faces- own race composites, mixed race composites (where the components are from two races) and other-race composites. To do this, college students were presented cards with faces on the cards and from the stack of cards, they were to take

It is well-known that diversity is common amongst individuals as each varies in their physical appearances, personality, values and beliefs. A person’s individuality can be shaped through many factors such as cognitive process, biological process, psychological origins of attraction, social perspective attributions, etc. Cognitive origins of attraction is the acquiring and understanding of thoughts and senses and the perceptions of the individual’s own experiences. Biological process is the idea in which sexual attraction (for the purpose of gene survival) is the driving force behind choosing a partner (Charles Darwin). Psychological origins of attraction assumes that people are more likely to be attracted tit e individuals who are perceived to be similar to themselves. Social perspective attributions is the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations. Due to these many factors, each decision an individual makes is different from that of another. This individuality is relied upon when a person chooses others to form a relationship with, including a romantic one. The following studies/research have been provided to explore whether the differences in gender and the types processes may have an effect on decision-making when multiple options are available.

It reinforces our understanding of how we mentally judge/assess people using "snap" and "systematic" judgements. The article shows that goodlooking people are attracted to other goodlooking people most likely because they subconsiously trust them and feel like they are virtuous people based on their looks because of the social stereotype and perceiver expectation that reinforce that thinking. On the other hand, the article and the experiments reinforce our understanding that when two people are friends for a relatively long time, they move onto "systematic" judgements that allow them to make more in-depth and more accurate evaluation of each other. They do so by observing the behaviour and understanding the motives, thoughts and feelings of

The researchers in these two studies wanted to test the hypothesis that sexual attraction increases during states of high emotion, such as hate or aggression. The researcher used questionnaires containing pictures from the Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) in the two studies. The questionnaires were given to forty different males by the same attractive female confederate. The female confederate distributed these questionnaires in two different settings; one was a highly emotional setting and the other was a minimal emotional setting. The two experiments that I will be discussing were designed to test the idea that an attractive female is seen as more attractive by males who encounter her while they experience a strong emotion, fear, than by

Literature on the topic of attractiveness is very extensive. The human face is something that catches every ones attention and more over the scientists as well the psychologists are interested in analyzing the ability of humans to extract information of the others. Several factors and features are associated with attractiveness. Some examples include facial symmetry, skin color, facial traits, clear skin and health of facial skin. It is hypothesized that facial symmetry is an important factors in measuring physical attractiveness. Different features may be perceived as attractive by different people.

The research findings showed that a man’s sexual attraction to a woman was increased by young women associated with red, but it was not increased by older women with red. It also revealed that the older participants found the two age groups of women equal in their sexual attraction, while the younger participants did not find the older women, as sexually attractive as the younger women. The color red did not affect physical attractiveness, intellect, and empathy. In addition, the article greatly contributed to the theories of social psychology. In Exploring Psychology in Modules, the author discusses physical attractiveness. He discusses how among different cultures, men are attracted to women through signs of the body. These signs indicate fertility, which makes the man more attracted to a woman. This understanding may help to show why both age groups of men were equally attracted to the younger women in the pictures, as opposed to the older women, where only the older men found them equally attractive to the younger women (Schwarz & Singer,

The Halo Effect is the cognitive bias that generalizes that if an individual has one outstanding favorable character trait, the rest of that individual’s trait will be favorable. Specific to physical attractiveness, this is known as the “Attractiveness Halo.” Attractiveness plays an important role in determining social interactions. In fact, the physical attractiveness of an individual is a vital social cue utilized by others to evaluate other aspects of that individual’s abilities (Kenealy, Frude, & Shaw, 2001). Because of the attractiveness halo, attractive applicants trying to enter the workforce tend to

In addition, an experiment by McClintock showed that women were attracted to the smell of a man who was genetically similar, but not too similar, to their fathers ((1)). Therefore, our genetic information might play a role in whether or not someone is desirable in order to avoid inbreeding or, on the other end of the spectrum, to avoid the loss of desirable gene combinations. Inevitably, however, it is our brain that processes another individual's appearance, lifestyle, how they relate to past individuals we have met, and, possibly, their pheromones. Then, based on this information, we decide, within our brain, whether or not this person is worth getting to know.

Attraction plays an important part in developing relationships because when a person is attracted to someone, he or she will want to get to know that person more by spending time with him or her, thus leading to a bond and deeper understanding of each other.

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.”