Beautiful Question 2

By William M. Vega

What drives Attraction?  I chose this question because it’s something I’ve

wondered about my whole life. What makes a person attractive? Why is this person any more attractive than that person? Are looks everything? Or is it something more?

What is attraction?  Generally speaking, an attraction is what draws a

person to an object, person, place, or thing. Attraction manifests itself in a lot of ways.

Physical, Interpersonal, Sexual, etc.

Biological  There are various biological aspects to attraction.  Smell  Facial Symmetry

 Hormones  Voice Patterns

Smell  Smells are processed by the brain in a manner similar to emotions.  Major histocompatibility complex  “The MHC sections of our DNA that determine what diseases our immune system is

equipped to fight. There are over 100 genes in this region. No MHC is the same nor do two people smell the same.”(Andreae,2010)  Pheromones ( Scented Sex Hormones)  Pheromones are sex hormones that can attract people to one another. Men and

women have their own set of Pheromones.

Incest  Relatives give off a certain scent that is designed to drive off and disgust their

female family members.  Woman have are repulsed by the subtle scent of their male family members  Proximity  People who lived closely together during their early childhood years become

immune to future sexual attraction to each other after the onset of puberty.

Symmetry  “Faces with more Symmetry have higher mate value”

(Andreae,2010)  Thus faces that are more symmetrical are more

attractive than those that are not.

Hormones  Androstenol and Androstenone  Androstenol is made by the sweat of men generally after it is first

produced by the body. This is attractive to women.  Androstenone is made by sweat from men after exposure to oxygen.

This is generally unattractive to women.  Androstenone is the stinky after workout smell most women are used

to finding on a man.  Copulance

 Copulance is a female hormone that can cause a spike in male

testosterone levels. This can have the side effect of rendering a man unable to tell the difference between an attractive female and unattractive female.  Testosterone can impair a man’s ability to think clearly.

Voice Patterns  The voices of women change if they are ovulating. They

become more high pitched and feminine.  Men find the voice of a woman who is ovulating more

attractive than that of one who is not.  More often than not, Men won’t even notice this.  Women prefer deeper, more masculine voices.

Social  Status

 Physical Attractiveness  Interpersonal Attraction

Status  Status is a huge factor in determining people’s perceptions of one another.  Women find men of a higher social class much more than men who are in a

lesser social class.  This means women are more likely to be attracted to a rich guy than someone

who isn’t rich.  Men aren’t affected by social status and would not prefer a rich woman to one

who isn’t.

Physical Attraction  Skin plays a role in determining physical attraction due to genetic cues in

DNA.  Body movements can send messages that can make a person seem more

attractive.  Women find movements that express a masculine demeanor more attractive.  Men prefer body movements that are feminine.

Interpersonal Attraction  “Attractions that lead to interpersonal relationships such as friendships

and courtships.” (Interpersonal Attraction, Web. 15 Nov. 2013)  Propinquity. “People you interact with more are more likely to be

friends or more.” (Interpersonal Attraction, Web. 15 Nov. 2013)  Exposure Effect

 “Similarity plays a huge role in interpersonal attraction.” (Interpersonal Attraction, Web. 15 Nov. 2013)

Social Surveys  I conducted two types of experiments.  Date : November, 10th 2013

 Place: Online  For the first experiment, I surveyed over 15 people and asked them to

rate 10 of their past partners/love interests on a scale of 1-10 according to attractiveness. Then I had them rate themselves.

Survey Results  The purpose of the experiment was to find a correlation between one’s

personal perception of their own attractiveness and the attractiveness of chosen love interests and partners.  A pattern was found in which participants started choosing partners with

high levels of attractiveness then scaled down before scaling up.  This tells me that socially, we all aim for partners with a high level of

attractiveness but then slowly look for partners in our own level of attractiveness.

Facial Experiment  I put the face of several celebrities considered attractive on a Facial

Beauty/ Symmetry Analysis website.  Results showed that all celebrities have a high level of facial symmetry.  I also tested it on my own face out of curiosity. I found that the results

were reliable. I have some obvious imperfections such as long ears and

in the analysis, and this is pointed out while also showing in what ways my face was symmetrical.

Facial Symmetry Analysis Results

Facial Symmetry Analysis Pt.2

My Facial Symmetry Analysis Results

Conclusion  There is no clear cut answer on what drives attraction.  It could be all of these things or none of these things.  I believe physical attraction is not the definitive factor in determining attraction as a

whole. If this were true, then everyone would be attracted to the same type of person. It is apparent that attraction is driven by many different forces that cannot all be understood.  I personally believe the answer is a mixture of all I learned during this extensive

research process and more. Certainly only time will tell what the one true answer is.

Bibliography  Barker, Eric. "20 Scientific Insights About Sex And Attraction." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.  McDonnell, Charlie, Kat Akingbade, and Derren. "The Science of Attraction." The Science of

Attraction. Scienceofattraction.com, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.  Carey, Bjorn. "The Rules of Attraction in the Game of Love." LiveScience.com. Www.livescience.com, 13 Feb. 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.  Cooper-White, Macrina. "It's Better To Be Average." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.  Herz, Rachel. "The Science Of Scent & Attraction." AskMen. AskMen.com, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. .  "The Smell Report." Http://www.sirc.org/. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.  "Anaface - Facial Beauty Analysis - Score Your Face." Anaface - Facial Beauty Analysis - Score Your Face. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.  " ." Athena Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.  "Interpersonal Attraction: From First Impressions to Close Relationships."http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.