The Psychology of Attraction

Over the course of psychology's history, laboratories have explored human emotion and interaction, yet very little had been done to explore interpersonal attraction until late into last century. Despite changing cultural standards, major features of attraction have remained somewhat constant. Beginning in Wundt's laboratory, psychology has studied human feelings (Lawson, et al, 2007 p.172). However, until 1966, no one had studied interpersonal attraction (Aronson, et al, 2005, p 325). In that 1966 study, conducted at University of Minnesota, 752 students were randomly matched for a blind date after taking an array of personality tests, yet physical attractiveness was the most predictive factor in social attractiveness. (Walster, et al, 1966)

Throughout history, our standards for beauty have certainly changed. For example, when walking through a museum full of art dating prior to the 1800's, the majority of female models were much heavier than those fitting modern standards for beauty. Trends in preference of weight have varied over the last 500 years, and even over the last century, (Anderson, et al, 1992). That being said, over the last 50 years, the standard for women's beauty has become somewhat static in this country, and is beginning to become internationalized. This is in large part to cultural icons of beauty, such as Barbie, and Disney heroes and heroines like Cinderella who share nearly identical physical features as small noses, large eyes, shapely lips, clear skin, and athletic bodies, (Aronson, et al, 2005, p 326-7). Unsurprisingly, it is exactly these features that are found to be attractive in our country and world-wide, (Cunningham, et al, 1990). There are also features that seem to be considered attractive across time as well as culture, including a low waist-to-hip ratio in women, (Singh, 1995), and body symmetry in both men and women, (Thornton & Maurice, 1997).

Certainly, physical attractiveness is not the only factor influencing interpersonal attractiveness. Included in these factors are: physical proximity (Berscheid & Reis, 1998), similarity of personality and opinions (Byrne & Nelson, 1965), similarity of interpersonal style (Burleson & Samter, 1996), and similarity of experience (Byrne & Clore, 1970). In addition, it seems that warmth (Folkes & Seares, 1977) and competence (Leary, et al, 1986) are highly attractive qualities across time and geography. Finally, as a species, it seems that we tend to be attracted to those that find (and express) attraction in us. (Gold, Ryckman, and Mosley, 1984)

The clear picture that presents itself in this summary of interpersonal attraction is that while the physical features that we find attractive vary to some degree, many of the factors and standards that influence our mate selection remain stagnant over time and culture. Additionally, with less than 55 years of study devoted to the topic, we can only discover more about interpersonal attraction.

References

Anderson, J., Crawford, C., Nadeau, J., & Lindberg, T. (1992). Was the Dutchess of Windsor right? A cross-cultural review of the socioecology of ideals of female body shape. Ethology and Sociobiology, 13.

Aronson, E., Wilson, T., & Akert, R. (2005). Social Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Berscheid, E. & Reis, H. (1998). Attraction and close relationships. InD. Gilbert, S. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology New York: McGraw Hill.

Burleson, B. & Samter, W. (1996). Similarity in the communication skills of young adults: Foundations of attraction, friendship, and relationship satisfaction. Communication Reports, 9.

Byrne, C. & Clore, G. (1970). A reinforcement model of evaluative processes. Personality , 1.

Byrne, D. & Nelson, D. (1965). Attraction as a linear function of positive reinforcement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1.

Cunningham, M., Barbee, A., & Pike, C. (1990). What do women want? Facialmetric assessment of multiple motives in the perception of male facial physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59.

Folkes, V. & Sears, D. (1977). Does everybody like a liter. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 13.

Gold, J., Ryckman, R., & Mosley, N. (1984). Romantic mood induction and attraction to a dissimilar other: Is love blind? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10.

Lawson, R.B., Graham, J.E., & Baker, K.M. (2007). A history of psychology: Globalization, ideas, and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Leary, M., Rogers, P., Canfield, R., & Coe, C. (1986). Boredom in interpersonal encounters: Antecedents and social implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68.

Singh, D. (1995). Female judgment of male attractiveness and desirability for relationships: Role of waist-to-hip ratio and financial status. Journal of Personality Social Psychology, 69.

Thornton, B. & Maurice, J. (1997). Physique contrast effect: Adverse impact of idealized body images for women. Sex Roles, 37.

Walster, E., Aronson, V., Abrahams, D., & Rottman, L. (1966). Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5.