Attraction the unexpected force that draws two people together

B efore marriage, love or even dating, there is attraction, the unexpected force that draws two people together. Physical attractiveness is the physical traits which are perceived and believed to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. There are multiple factors which influence one person to be attracted to another. These factors can vary between many cultures, cultural and social aspects, and individual subjective preferences (Gangestad & Scyheyd, 2005). An individuals perceived attractiveness can have a significant effect on how they are judged in terms of employment or social opportunities, friendship, sexual behavior, and marriage (Townsend & Levy, 1990).

The media and general public portray a female’s sexuality as a mystery, but is it? Scientific research has revealed several factors that influence heterosexual women’s attraction to men. Researchers have shown that women are strongly attracted to men who are agreeable (Jensen-Campbell, Graziano, & West, 1995), intelligent (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1995), humorous (Bressler, Martin, & Balshine, 2006), generous (Sprecher & Regan, 2002), h igh level of income and social status are also key factors in mate selection (Townsend & Levy, 1990). The majority of women are attracted to symmetrical faces with masculine qualities such as a prominent chin and cheekbones as well as a body that is symmetrical and muscular, with the shoulders wider than the hips (Gangestad & Scyheyd, 2005). Women also prefer a man who is slightly taller than average with a deep voice (Buss, 2008). The combination of such traits is linked to good health and high testosterone levels, which increases the likelihood of reproduction (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005). This research reveals that a female’s se...

... middle of paper ...

...When compared with fake smiles an individual’s cheek raisers are more activated cause the orbicular oculi muscles to contract displaying crow’s feet wrinkles in the corners of the eyes (Hager & Ekman, 1985). There is evidence that people subconsciously check for the presence of crow’s feet when determining if a smile is genuine (Williams, Senior, David, Loughland, & Gordon, 2001). Further studies revealed fake smiles earn less trust during first impressions when compared to genuine smiles (Averbeck & Duchaine, 2009).

The purpose of our experiment is to explore the effects of smile type: real or fake, and background color: red or white, on an individual’s perceived attraction based on sexual preference. Based on previous research and experiments, we hypothesize that models with genuine smiles and red backgrounds will be perceived and rated as more attractive.