Attraction

From behind the bike sheds, to the back of the cinema, to a cheap Italian restaurant you have vouchers for, attraction and romances occur all the time. There is something magical and intriguing about those butterflies in your stomach when you are around somebody you are head over heels in love with/slightly obsessed with/stalking from a far. Some people might say that such feelings of attraction, romance and love could not possibly be investigated scientifically: How could any scientist put their finger on something we have struggled with for hundreds of years?

Well……… those people would be wrong. The study of attraction in modern psychology is very common. In this blog I will touch on a few different points of interest; how attractive people really do have more going for them than just looks, why your girlfriend is potentially disastrous for your health! and clearing up the age old question – who is more loose with their morals? Men or women?

A wide base of research suggests that if you are attractive then others will make some very positive assumptions about your character. This has been examined using several experimental variations in academic psychology. For example, participants are given a photograph of a member of the opposite sex and a short text describing the person’s background or recent situation they found themselves in. However, although all participants receive the same piece of text the researchers give participants photographs with varying degrees of attractiveness to accompany the text. Thus, participant 1 might end up with a photograph of a stunner accompanying the text and participant 2 will receive the exact same text, but with a photo of a distinctively average looking member of the opposite sex. Participants are then asked to rate the person on several characteristics. This design is tweaked by researchers and slightly changed here and there but the general principles remain the same (everything the same for each participant apart from attractiveness of the person they are to make judgements about).

As you may or may not expect the results of such experiments appear to suggest we are terribly biased towards the beautiful. We assume that the more attractive a person is: the better their personalities are, the more psychologically stable and happy they are (Dion et al., 1972). As well as assuming them to be more honest and trustworthy (Yarmouck, 2000). Additionally, we generally assume attractive individuals to be younger and more successful in life than their unlucky unattractive counterparts. What’s even worse is that toddlers are getting in on the act too – Slater et al. (1998) have found that babies tend to spend far longer gazing at attractive faces than unattractive ones. Yet, the overwhelming majority of participants in psychology studies, people in the real world (and presumably babies too) don’t realise that so many appraisals are significantly influenced by attractiveness. Big deal? Maybe. But probably not if you’re in the waiting room for a job interview reading this and the competition is short, pale and looking a little bit rough.

Lonely and between boyfriends? Maybe it’s not such a bad thing? Especially if you attract the wrong type of boyfriend. Research examining the potential effects relationships have on physical and psychological health suggests so anyway. A study led by epidemiologists at University College London (UCL) suggests that the quality of a romantic relationship can have quite significant ramifications on your body. The study suggested that ‘bad’ relationships can have damaging effects. Following around 9,000 civil servants the researchers showed that being in a relationship that produced anxiety and hostility greatly increased the chance of developing heart problems. Based on the data this was calculated to be around a 34% increase in risk of developing heart problems.

Who is looser with their morals? Men or women?

Courtesy of Clark & Hatfield's (1989) study I will now explain why. This study is hilarious and probably on the short list for the greatest psychological experiment of all time. Two moderately attractive confederates to the researchers (1 male and 1 female) approached members of the opposite sex on a University campus. I tell no lies when I inform you that they were instructed to say 'I've been noticing you around campus. I find you to be very attractive'. To a third of approached students the confederate followed this up by asking 'Would you go out with me tonight’, the second third ‘Would you come over to my apartment tonight?' and the final third 'Would you go to bed with me tonight?’

I should also inform you that after participants responded to the question the study ended there. There was no night time goings on (I hope).To the results: Around 50% of men and women agreed to the date. To me that is shockingly high! But it is the answers to the other two questions that really tickle me. 69% of men agreed to go round to the apartment, in comparison to a 6% of women. But perhaps the benefit of doubt should be payed to the males in this study. It may just be this sample consisted of an awful lot of naïve people, unaware of what may have taken place at the apartment.

So, the big question is – When confronted by a complete stranger and offered sexual intercourse, how many men and women (if any at all) happily replied with 'oh, yes please'. Deep down are men and women just as promiscuous and sexually excitable as each other? A very respectable 0% of women agreed to the sex. Good on them. And the men?

75% of males agreed to the offer of sex with a complete stranger who was ‘moderately attractive’. Appalling behaviour!

Application?

-Make more of an effort with your appearance if babies regularly blank you.

-Dump your boyfriend if he annoys you quite a lot.

-If you want to have sex with a male student…… approach 100 blokes on a University campus and you can probably have your pick of 75 of them.