I always feel a bit awkward when my best friend is going on about how cute some guy is and I just have to sit there because I don’t agree. Has this ever happened to you? Why is it that I think brown hair guys are attractive, but other girls only like blondes? Or why is it that I think Ryan Gosling is so cute, but my friend, Anna, doesn’t think so and would prefer Justin Bieber. I have alway been curious as to why some people are attracted to some, but others are not.
First, I went out to discover why people are attracted to certain people. We are attracted to people in two ways: by their physical appearance, and their personality. There are a number of different things that factor into someone being physically attracted to someone. There can be the way we process different faces. If people’s brains find faces that are easier to process, it will make them more attractive. However, the ease of processing a face is linked to my overall question. People relate processing a face quickly to its familiarity to them. This is one reason why different people find some attractive. People that we are around often or see often we find more attractive than those who are complete strangers. Dr. Tamsin Saxton did a study on the influence of familiarity. He found that girls that went to an all girls school were more attracted to feminine-looking faces. The majority of guys, on the other hand, that went to an all-boy school, were more attracted to masculine looking males. Their preference of girl did not change, however, was the same as boys at coed schools. I related this idea of familiarity to how people that are in relationships with others at times find that person more attractive than when they first started dating. Another way of physical attractiveness is if someone is similar to you are someone close to you. In my Child Psychology class my senior year, we learned that girls are more likely to marry someone that looks similar to their dad, because that is what they were used to.
Now I will cover the other part of attractiveness: personality. Personality is highly linked to physical attraction. Whether a person has a positive or negative personality can affect their physical attractiveness. In a study done by Viren Swami, it was shown that personality really does matter. Men were to rate the pictures of women’s bodies, while half were given their personality traits, the others were not. It was shown that the men that were given the women’s personality traits rating women of all different shapes attractive and based their thoughts more off of positive personalities. The conclusion was that people with positive personalities are more attracted to others that were the same way. On the other hand, when it comes to relationships there may be some differences. For example, some girls like very sweet and funny boys that will always be surprising them with cute things. But, other girls would rather have a mysterious boy that keeps her guessing and does not like lovey-dovey things done to them. This is related to us being attracted to familiarity and someone with the same ideas and personality as you. If you don’t like lovey-dovey things and neither does your boyfriend, then you’re set! But girls that love to be surprised with cards and stuffed animals all the time, would find this person less attractive.
In conclusion, there are two ways in which people are found attractive: physically and personality wise. One’s different view on each of these categories will at times be different than others, even their best friends! This is the reason why some people find some attractive, while others are not attracted to them at all.
This was very interesting to read. I was wondering if people are attracted to a controlling or abusive type of man, does that mean their father acted that way? Because I know circumstances where girls want a more controlling man and her father is the complete opposite. In the article, I found different reasons why women would choose a more controlling and abusive husband over a sweet and caring one. There must be more studies on why women choose all different personalities in guys, which also could be very interesting to look at! Great job!
As a boy reading this, I simply reversed everything you said and processed it through a male’s perspective. Essentially, it is the same thing. Of course looks are a top priority, but personality does make a huge difference. Remember, as you get older you may start to look worse, but your personality will only get better
It was suggested in your post that we are attracted to familiar faces and traits more so than total strangers. However, we’ve all heard of love at first sight. Is it true? Could we REALLY fall in love at first sight? The falling in love at first sight theory goes against the familiarity theory, but personally I agree with the latter. True love isn’t based just off looks- it is based in large part to personality of course, just as you suggested. I really enjoyed this blog post!
This is something that everyone should take some hope in. No matter what you look like, everyone likes someone different. I thought it was really interesting that people are attracted to what they know. I wonder if this is why people usually marry someone of the same race? The other thing I’m curious about is how many personality traits you have to like to overcome physical dislike or vice-versa. What exactly is the tipping point of attractiveness versus un-attractiveness?
This topic caught my attention when I was scrolling through the blog. It can lead to so many debates among girls. I thought it was very interesting how you said that guys who go to an all guys school are more likely to like masculine looking men and girls who go to an all girls school are more likely to go for more feminine looking men. The different personalities people are attracted to is interesting as well. Do people go for the same personalities their parents have like they do when it comes to looks?
This is great and I can relate to it! I have had a few experiences with finding a guy not so attractive, but finding him more and more attractive as time went on. I always wondered why that was! This is very insightful. I also took AP Psychology in high school and yeah there are many strange studies about parents and children.
I really enjoyed reading your article and found many things you mentioned very interesting… I feel like with me, the more I am around someone it is usually the opposite, the less I find them attractive. Yet, every boy I meet in NYC or on the corner of Curtin RD I fall in love with (not actually but you know what I mean). I do agree with your idea of familiarity though, and how people tend to go for people similar or familiar to what they have grown up with in the sense of those who go to all boys school go for the athletic girls, or those who go to an all girls school go for the more feminine kind of guy. Personality is also the biggest component that usually makes or breaks a persons opinion on whether or not someone is attractive. Anyways, well written! I like that it was very organized and the thesis was very clear.
I remember I learned in my AP Psychology class my junior year of high school about pheromones which are chemical substances that are usually produced from an animal and serves as a stimulus for animals in the same species. If you ever wondered why were you attracted to someone and had no idea why, it could be the pheromones that they are releasing. You find someone more attractive by their pheromones because our bodies figure out if they will provide healthy offspring. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your post!
This was a very interesting topic to write a blog post about because it affects all of our lives daily. I read an article about how symmetry makes a person appear more attractive. So apparently, if you have very symmetric facial features, you appear more attractive to people. This stems from evolution and also, like you mentioned, how easy it is for us to process a persons face.
This is something I always think about. My roommate and I always argue about who we think is attractive and thankfully, we like different types of guys so we don’t fight over guys often. I clicked on your first link about Attractiveness perception psychology, and I reading through the bullet points about why we find certain people attractive and some had me very surprised. The one said that if you once were in love with someone, you are more likely to gravitate towards others that look like that person because you are familiar with the face and comfortable with that. I found that interesting because the last two boys I dated, are nothing alike and I was so into both of them, but I guess that proves that all facts aren’t facts to everyone. I really like the part you included about the study of the men getting the personality traits of the women. Good post!
I was very interested in reading this because I have also been very interested/curious about the idea of this topic. I do find it interesting though that males and females who go to a school with solely their same sex have that a different, specific view on their interpretation of who they deem attractive. I would love to know more, though, why every person is attracted to different personalities. Is it their brain functions? Or does it have more to do with the familiar people in their lives? Very good blog topic!