This article was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.
Factors That Affect Attraction – Let’s begin by defining sexual attraction. An LGBT Center at UNC Chapel Hill defines “sexual attraction” as “attraction that causes persons to crave sexual interaction or to express their interest in another individual(s).
No need for more explanation, is there? It’s not clear how it works. It turns out that biology has a lot to do with why people are drawn to or not attracted to other people, and this is something that many people have experienced. You’ll learn about a variety of things that influence how attractive you are to others in this article.
Biological Causes Of Attraction
Excitement And A Rush Of Adrenalin
When it comes to attraction, the Love Bridge study has long been considered one of the most important in psychology. Researchers found a link between arousal and attraction in this study. Psychologists conducted a study in which they asked 85 men to cross either a terrifying suspension bridge or a more secure normal bridge.
A female interviewer stopped the men on the bridge and asked them to respond to photographs on questionnaires. She gave out her phone number after each encounter. As it turned out, those who had been on the spooky bridge were far more likely to call in and record explicit imagery and language on the survey. This is an example of arousal being incorrectly attributed.
As a result, they were able to reflect their excitement on someone else because that person was nearby. They may have only remembered being eager and then seeing a beautiful woman in the past.
A Body’s Natural Scent
Studies have discovered that smell has a part in allure in addition to adrenaline.
After being prompted to sniff different t-shirts worn by males, for example, women genuinely picked shirts worn by guys with genes that indicated their immune systems were unique from their own. Then there are pheromones, which are scents that your body naturally emits. Read more about the effects of pheromones on human attraction here.
Psychological Causes Of Attraction
Attachment Style
Attachment types, according to human behavior and romantic relationship specialist Dr. Patrick Wanis, can also have a significant impact on physical attraction. We subconsciously get drawn to people who will mirror and reaffirm our perceptions and beliefs about compassion, trustworthiness, abandonment, reliance, support, closeness, and vulnerability. According to Wanis, people look for partners who share their core values and ideas, as well as those who are in a comparable stage of life.
Another study backed up the assumption that people are drawn to persons who share their interests. In this study, it was discovered that people were more drawn to those whose emotions and goals were familiar.
People were asked to observe others while they went through a variety of emotions in the study. It found that individuals were more likely to be attracted to people whose feelings they were able to grasp without them having to openly declare them.
Your Mood
He elaborates on this by adding that mood can influence how attractive you find someone.
People are attracted to partners who are psychologically similar to themselves, according to Justin Lehmiller, Ph.D., a social psychologist.
People are more likely to be liked by you if you’ve just had a good experience, such as receiving a compliment. According to Lehmiller, this can have an effect on your likelihood of developing feelings for them.