The Psychology of Attraction
I did my research project over the psychology of attraction. This interested me because I wanted to know if attraction is more scientific or something that can't be described. First impressions of attractiveness happen in a tenth of a second. Folk wisdom, when it comes to attraction, states that we have two cases of attraction. One is “opposites attract” and the other is “birds of a feather flock together.” My main question was, what causes us to connect with some people rather than others?
People choose a mate for many different reasons such as child-rearing, career-building, intimacy-sharing, and companionship. People have a stronger desire to date people who are similar to them and who find them more attractive. A reason we like people that are more similar to us is because they validate our view of the world. When we chose our friends or our mates we usually don't pick people who are not like us. If people do chose to form a relationship with someone who is not like them, their relationships most likely won't last.
Another connection people have is the connection to beauty. Most people are drawn to beauty. What makes a person more attractive compared to another person is their facial symmetry. This is when your right and left side of your face is proportionate to one another.The more proportionate, the more attractive.
People try to affiliate more with attractive people. One factor may be the stereotype, “what is beautiful is good.” People often assume that attractive people have more personable characteristics then unattractive people. The popular media reinforces this stereotype.
Psychologists have identified two types of love: passionate and companionate (Hatfield, 1988). Passionate love involves intense emotion, arousal, and yearning for the partner. Compassionate love involves affection and deep caring about the partner’s well-being. Both of these types of love contribute to satisfaction in long-term romantic relationships (Sprecher & Regan, 1998). However, Robert Sternberg (19988, 2006) views on love were more complex. His theory, triangular theory of love, proposes that love involves three major components: passion, intimacy, and commitment. Passion is the feelings of physical attraction and sexual desire; intimacy involves closeness, sharing, and valuing one’s partner; and commitment represents a decision to remain in the relationship. Sternberg states that the highest form of love is consummate love. This is when all of the components are present.
Overall, we are attracted to people that we are more similar to and people who chose to be with someone who is dissimilar to them, their relationships don’t usually last. Species have distinct physical features that attract their mates and facial symmetry is what people are most attracted to. The more a persons right and left side of their face is the same the more they are deemed attractive. Finally, according to Sternberg, consummate love is the highest form of love. This is when passion, intimacy, and commitment are all present.
People choose a mate for many different reasons such as child-rearing, career-building, intimacy-sharing, and companionship. People have a stronger desire to date people who are similar to them and who find them more attractive. A reason we like people that are more similar to us is because they validate our view of the world. When we chose our friends or our mates we usually don't pick people who are not like us. If people do chose to form a relationship with someone who is not like them, their relationships most likely won't last.
Another connection people have is the connection to beauty. Most people are drawn to beauty. What makes a person more attractive compared to another person is their facial symmetry. This is when your right and left side of your face is proportionate to one another.The more proportionate, the more attractive.
People try to affiliate more with attractive people. One factor may be the stereotype, “what is beautiful is good.” People often assume that attractive people have more personable characteristics then unattractive people. The popular media reinforces this stereotype.
Psychologists have identified two types of love: passionate and companionate (Hatfield, 1988). Passionate love involves intense emotion, arousal, and yearning for the partner. Compassionate love involves affection and deep caring about the partner’s well-being. Both of these types of love contribute to satisfaction in long-term romantic relationships (Sprecher & Regan, 1998). However, Robert Sternberg (19988, 2006) views on love were more complex. His theory, triangular theory of love, proposes that love involves three major components: passion, intimacy, and commitment. Passion is the feelings of physical attraction and sexual desire; intimacy involves closeness, sharing, and valuing one’s partner; and commitment represents a decision to remain in the relationship. Sternberg states that the highest form of love is consummate love. This is when all of the components are present.
Overall, we are attracted to people that we are more similar to and people who chose to be with someone who is dissimilar to them, their relationships don’t usually last. Species have distinct physical features that attract their mates and facial symmetry is what people are most attracted to. The more a persons right and left side of their face is the same the more they are deemed attractive. Finally, according to Sternberg, consummate love is the highest form of love. This is when passion, intimacy, and commitment are all present.