Relationship Science: Attraction

Chapter 3

The Primary features

• The desire to approach (feeling/ afect)

• Attracted to those whose presence is rewarding

Primary features: Direct rewards

• Pleasure experienced due to their presence

  • Ex: Enjoyable to look at beautiful people

  • Ex: We have fun together

  • Ex: Do Nice things for us

Primary features: Indirect rewards

• Pleasure experienced in their presence

  • Ex: Associate them with other good things

  • Ex: Things we have in common

  • Ex: Things we both like

Propinquity

• Physical or psychological proximity

  • Increased likelihood you’ll get to know them

  • Mere exposure effect: Exposure increases liking

• Caveat: Depends on initial attitude

Moreland and Beach (1952) Study

• 4 equally attractive women enrolled in class

• Each showed up to different number of classes

• 0,5, 10, or 15 classes

• How attractive do you find each women?

Moreland and Beach (1952) Study Results

• Women who showed up to the class the least were deemed less attractive then those who did

Similarity

• “Birds of a feather flock together”

• Personality traits and characteristics

• Interests, hobbies, values, ideologies

• Physical characteristics

• Mate value

• Humor styles

• Mimicry

Mimicry

• Similarity in body positive, movements, and mannerisms

• We like people who mimic us

• We also mimic others when attracted to them

knowledge

• Stimulus value-role theory

  • 3 types of info about new partners that gradually unfold over time

Physical attractiveness

• Mating phenomenon

  • we chose partners who are a good match for us in their attractiveness

  • Ex: Romantic couples, friends, Greek life

Attraction

• Universal features of physical attractiveness

  • Symmetry

    • People with more symmetrical faces are perceived to be more physically attractive

Averageness

• People with familiar looking faces are perceived as more physically attractive

Women’s facial attractiveness

• Neonate features

  • Large eyes, small nose/chin, full lips

• Sexual maturity features

  • High and narrow check bones, broad smile, secondary sexual characteristics

Men’s facial attractiveness

• Masculinity

• Square Jaw

• Promiant chin

• Heavier eyebrows

• Facial Hair

  • Single women prefer more masculine looking men’s face

  • Committed women prefer more feminine looking men’s faces

Body attractiveness

• Waist to hip ratio (WHR) of .70 for women

  • Hourglass figure

• WHR of .90 for men

• Shoulder to hip ratio of 1,20 for men

  • V shaped body

• Height for men

• Lumbar curvature around 45 degrees for women

• More attracted to curve of spine than checks

• Preference for body size varies across cultures

• Preferences for body shape is universal

Li et al (2002) study

• Design your ideal mate with 20 mate dollars

• Choose from 10 possible traits

  • Ex: Attractiveness, intelligence, income, humor, friendliness

• Each mate dollar corresponds to 10% increase in that trait

  • Ex: 50th percentile =$3

Li et al (2002) study results

• Men spend more on attractiveness than other traits while women spent more equally on income/ intelligence

Gallup and Frederick (2010) Study

• Men with attractive faces have better sperm

• People with attractive voices lose virginity earlier

• Men who spend more money than they earn have more sex partners

• Women with attractive bodies are more fertile

Buss et al (1993) Study

• Mate selection preferences across 37 cultures

  • Men preferred mates slightly younger and rated physical attractiveness most important

    • 2.5 years younger

    • Women preferred mates slightly older and rated OFFS and social status most important

    • 3.5 years

Eagly and Wood (1999) study

• Reanalyzed Buss et al (1993) data

• Found one consistently large gender difference

  • Women prefer GFPs and men prefer good domestic skills

  • Pos. correlation b/w attractiveness and skills

• Societal rules for division of labor are root of these differences

Perceptions of attractiveness: Mood

• Good mood find people more attractive

• Ex: why people are attracted to humor

Perceptions of attractiveness: Contrast effect

• Viewing attractive faces first makes other faces seem less attractive

Perceptions of attractiveness: Social influences

• who you find attractive depends on judgements of others

Perceptions of attractiveness: Meeting online

• People’s liking for others decreases as they learn more about each other

Perceptions of attractiveness: Reactance

• Freedom to choose is threatened or removed

• Forbidden fruit is more attractive

Perceptions of attractiveness: Height

• Both men and women prefer man is taller

• exaggerate height of more attractive people

Perceptions of attractiveness: Smell

• Attractive people smell better

• People who smell better are more attractive

Perceptions of attractiveness: Hair

• Men prefer women with longer hair

• Women prefer men who have shorter hair

Perceptions of attractiveness: Red color

• Both men and women find strangers to be more attractive when they are wearing red

Perceptions of attractiveness: Ovulation

• Women prefer more attractive men when ovulating

Provost et al (2008) study

• Heterosexual women at different points in menstrual cycle

• Rate how attracted to different “walkers”

• Women attracted to more masculine walks when ovulating

Miller and Maner (2008) study

• Men smell t-shirt worn by women at different points in cycle

• How pleasant is smell?

• Measured testosterone before and after smelling Preferred scent of ovulating women

• showed spike in testosterone after smelling shirt of ovulating woman

Pennebaker et al (1979) study

• closing time phenomenon

  • Men approached at 3 times throughout night to rate attractiveness of women at bar

Pennebaker et al (1979) study Results

Men in committed relationship rated women average throughout the night while single men rated women more attractive as it got closer to closing time.

What is beautiful is good (halo effect)

• Perception that attractive people possess other positive qualities

  • Rated more competant, well-adjusted, intelligent, stronger, and dominant

  • Only exception was modesty

• Earning higher salaries and are promoted often at work

  • Professors get better evaluations

  • Criminals treated better in court

  • Politicians judged more leniently

  • Less likely to be diagnosed with psychological disorders