The science of attraction

Part of the magical allure may be based deep in your subconscious. Scientific research indicates our brain's perception of certain aspects of another person can have a large influence on whether we regard someone as attractive or not. These aspects (and characteristics) go beyond physically appealing attributes—and the good news is you can increase some of them.

As the adage from Aesop's Fables goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Now science supposes it's the beholder's brain that decides what's beautiful.

Let's start with physical attraction:

While some believe that mate selection is based on a subconscious motive we have to choose a partner that has a healthy genetic code (and therefore would produce healthy children), others feel the selection is much more conscious.

In fact, some studies support the hypothesis of "self seeking like" which suggests that we are attracted to faces similar to our own or to those who match us in physical attraction—either because our perception of beauty is influenced as children by those around us (most notably our parents) or because people tend to seek partners whom they regard as their same level of attractiveness to avoid rejection. Still, other studies indicate we are actually attracted to opposites (Ref. #2).

Either way, the visual component, be it narcissistic or biological, is strong. Facial symmetry, facial similarity to our own and waist/hip ratios (the hour-glass figure) are instinctively perceived as attractive, indicating that good health, as well as a positive mental outlook, is interpreted as more appealing and, among men, regarded as an indicator of capability of having healthy offspring. Women may still regard factors such as intelligence, money, power, social status, etc., in addition to physical strength and health. (Ref. #3)

But according to the research paper "The effect on nonphysical traits on the perception of physical attractiveness-Three Naturalistic Studies," (Ref. #4) authored by both Dr. David Sloan Wilson, an evolutionary biologist at Binghamton State University of New York, and Dr. Kevin Kniffin, Ph.D., Honorary Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, "The value of potential social partners depends at least as much on non-physical traits—whether they are cooperative, dependable, brave, hardworking, intelligent and so on—as physical factors, such as smooth skin and symmetrical features. It follows that non-physical factors should be included in the subconscious assessment of beauty."

That research suggests it is our familiarity with a person that triggers a response—not simply our initial attraction to them. Their paper concludes: "If you want to enhance your physical attractiveness, become a valuable social partner."

When asked whether physical attraction must initially exist to create encounters, Kniffin believes that "given the potential to use non-face-to-face media such as email, telephones, etc.," initial physical attraction doesn't necessarily have to be present.

Thus, according to Kniffin's and Wilson's research, your personality strongly affects the degree to which others find you attractive. Think about your sense of humor, laughter, cheerfulness, dependability, trust and empathy; favorably regarded personality traits enhance your image causing others to actually perceive you as more physically attractive. As Sappho (the ancient Greek female lyric) eloquently expressed, "What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful."

How about chemistry?

Chemical attraction, too, may play a large role. Researchers have long known that pheromones (airborne chemical signals) are a significant factor in attraction between much of the animal kingdom, but could they be at play as well among human beings?

Dr. Winnifred Cutler, of the University of Pennsylvania, answered a resounding yes. "Our pheromones play a dominant role in drawing [and] attracting someone to us," said Cutler, co-discoverer of pheromones in humans and their crucial role in sexual communication. She is the author of numerous books and papers on courtship, health and sexuality, a founding member of the North American Menopause Society as well as founder and president of The Athena Institute.

The Athena Institute is biomedical research facility is dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare for women with its primary focus being Behavioral Endocrinology (the relationship between behavior and physiology) and partially funds its research (addressing avoiding unnecessary hysterectomy and ovariectomy; sexual response in women; menopause; osteoporosis; hormone replacement therapy; sex during menstruation; and pheromones as sexual attractants) through selling (synthesized human) pheromone cosmetic fragrance additives said to promote sexual attractiveness.

"As a behavioral endocrinologist, I know that our behavior can affect our pheromones … good nutrition promotes good health and well-being in general," said Cutler. "Mentally and physically healthy people increase their own inherent attractiveness."

Numerous human pheromone research has taken place in the last several years,.A 14-week San Francisco State University study of 36 unmarried women, published in Physiology and Behavior , found that "74 percent reported enhanced sex lives when their perfume was laced with the odorless chemical," as reported by ABC in 2002. (Ref. #5)

But what about perfume alone? Can the right dab behind ears do the trick?

"I believe that scent preference is personal; different fragrances appeal to all of us differently, and a particular perfume worn on one person may smell different on another. Hence, the hundreds of fragrances sold may each serve their own constituency," explained Cutler, adding that "good hygiene from regular bathing, combined with healthy habits of regular exercise, healthy eating and good dental hygiene [can also] combine to make the body emit attractive aromas."

So how does one really determine where we might rank on the chemical/physical scoreboard of love?

These, of course, are long-asked questions—conundrums considered by scholars across the ages. Even as the science of attraction delves into vials of fragrance, dips into the discovery of pheromones and disassembles the symmetry of physical attraction, we are still left with the age old question: "Will you go out with me?"

Behavior and biochemistry point to the realization that we, as human beings, choose our partners in ways much the same as the rest of the animal kingdom, hence our attempts to explain the elaborate "falling in love" experience finds us using terms like "animal magnetism," as we search to explain the mystery. And, once we're "in love," our bodies then produce a variety of chemicals all affecting behavior through our relationship's development. (Ref. #6).

As the Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume observed, "Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them."

References:

#1. human-nature.com/ep/articles/ep02177194.html

#2. jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsfall01/FinalArticles/TheNatureOfHumanAttractio.html

#3. Traflinger, Richard F. -Reproduction and Society" Social Basis of Human Sexual Behavior 28 May 1996. 7 Oct. 2001.Reference of Ehrlichman & Eichenstein, 1992 http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~taflinge/socsex.html

#4. biology.binghamton.edu/dwilson/publications.html

#5. www.abc.net.au/news/scitech/2002/03/item20020321094243_1.htm

#6. www.cyberparent.com/love/love-being-in-love-1.htm