The Rules Of Attraction

So I came across this extremely interesting article about the rules of attraction, and how scientists are actually trying to define if there is, in fact, a set of rules that guide us to one type of person as opposed to another.

Anna Saunders writes:
SCIENTISTS are analysing love and sexual attraction to identify what makes us fall for someone.

It’s a classic scenario. It’s nearly midnight at a heaving, inner-city club and a cluster of girls are giggling over their cocktails, when one looks up and spots a young man across the room.

Their eyes lock, they smile shyly … and, well, you know the rest.

What attracted them to each other? Was it her blonde hair? His muscular arms?

Not likely, say some scientists, who would argue it was his symmetrical face, the length of his index finger or even that she looks a little like his mother …

Joe’s Note: Ewwwwww…

Rose-toting romantics may scoff at the notion, but scientists are increasingly analysing love and sexual attraction, in a bid to identify exactly why we fall for one another.

The scent of a woman

So what makes one person’s dreamboat another person’s shipwreck?

Pheromones are probably the best known- and most controversial – scientific theory behind attraction.

“Pheromones are basically chemical signals. You detect them with tiny sensors in your nose,” says Dr Ann McDonnell, a biomedical science lecturer at Griffith University.

Scientists have long known that pheromones help animals attract each other, but it is less clear how they affect humans.

But we know they do affect us. Women know that their menstrual cycles often synchronise when they’re living together.

Research in the 1980s linked this to pheromones – and since then the race has been on to identify (and make millions off) pheromones that attract the opposite sex.

Because pheromones are found in underarm sweat, some researchers have even employed women to sniff men’s unwashed shirts, with Swiss scientists discovering that women prefer the smell of pheromones that are similar to their own.

“But what we know about pheromones is the tip of the iceberg,” says McDonnell.

Some companies are already selling pheromone perfumes over the internet. But do they work? McDonnell snorts.

“There’s nothing you can buy in a bottle from eBay that is going to make you irresistible.”

Personally, I’m not a big believer in the whole “Pheromone” thing. I think humans primarily rely on seeing, hearing, and touching as their primary senses. That’s not to say a good cologne can’t help your cause (or going for weeks without showering can hurt it), but I just don’t see the whole “pheromone” craze as something viable UNTILL scientists can create something, Love Potion #9-style, to get women going ga-ga for you on the first sniff.

I’ve heard of all sorts of things guys do to try and “capitalize” on this pheromone idea. One of the grossest examples was giving a woman hankerchiefs soaked in their sweat (presumably during dancing in the nightclub). I even heard this was a popular pick-up technique used in Europe for a while. Again, all I can say to this is: Ewwwwwww.

When it comes to the sense of smell, go for a good cologne or body spray. Don’t rely on your musk to attract a woman for you. Use it to give you a boost.

It’s evolution, baby

But while some researchers were out supervising the sniffing of sweaty armpits, others were pursuing more, ahem, pleasant research.

University of Texas researchers compiled the measurements of Playboy centrefolds and Miss America winners from the 1920s to the mid-80s.

They discovered that though the women’s bodies became slimmer over time, their waist-to-hip ratios were often about 0.7 – the hourglass figure.

“So the perfect 10 is actually the perfect 0.7,” says Dr Stephen Juan of the University of Sydney, who explains that this is evolutionary science.

“If you’re fat around the middle you won’t be as healthy and you won’t be able to carry a baby as well. The same if you’re very skinny.”

However, he says the latest research suggests that slenderness is becoming more important to men. But the same studies found that very skinny women were still the least attractive.

Other research in Scotland has found that women with high levels of oestrogen, and therefore more feminine features such as bigger lips, are most attractive to men.

“Again, this indicates good health and fertility,” says Juan.

He notes that some scientists believe men are more influenced by appearances than women, who go for status and earning power.

American researchers found that when they showed women photographs of men in blue-collar uniforms and in suits, they usually preferred the richer-looking men.

“Women have traditionally needed men to provide (for their children) and support them during childbirth,” explains Juan.

“Men are in the mating game for different reasons from women.”

Which all goes a long way to explain why Donald Trump is so popular with the ladies.

But what about those of us who don’t earn as much as The Donald and don’t look like Scarlett Johansson (or are just plain offended by the stereotypes)?

There is no shortage of alternative theories.

Pardon me while I ruin pretty much all these scientists’ research funding…

*Ahem*… DUH!

Chicks with DSLs, Big knockers, and skinny waists are more attractive to men… shocker. It’s no secret men are more attracted to visual stimuli than anything else (hense the huge popularity of porn). And it’s also no secret that women look for good providers, at least as they get older. There are lots of variables that go into physical attraction, but nothing beats human interaction. If two people connect well, there’s almost nothing you can do to stop the impending nookie.

Mirror image

Some studies have revealed that facial symmetry is a key attractant, particularly for men, with scientists speculating it indicates “developmental precision” or a lack of genetic mutations.

The latest studies suggest women are especially keen on symmetrical men during ovulation. In other words, they seek out the most genetically perfect mate when they’re most fertile.

And if you’re wondering about the compatibility of a new partner, some scientists suggest checking the length of their middle finger, ear lobe lengths or neck and wrist circumferences.

Studies of married couples have determined that these features often correlate.

Is your dad your perfect match?

Thankfully, no. But in 2002, Scottish researchers at The Perception Lab blended digital images of faces and discovered that when it comes to rating attractiveness, people generally prefer faces that are similar to their own.

They speculated that, rather than simply liking our own faces, we are attracted to people that remind us of our parents.

“For men, their first love attachment was their mother, “says Juan.

I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to get with a woman who has a face similar to mine, lol.

Look, all this stuff is well and good, but it really seems to discount the body’s biggest erogenous zone…

The Brain.

Initial visual reactions to people may help us form opinions of them in our minds, but when you boil everything to it’s core, what do you get? Personality is a much bigger factor in attraction than anything else.

How many times have we experienced this: We meet a girl we’re not immediately physically attracted to, and then after getting to know her, we find ourselves suddenly attracted! How many times have we been into a super-hot chick until we saw how dumb/mean/annoying she was?

Personality is all about how we communicate and interact with others, and as long as we can control that, we can create or destroy attraction at will.

It really is that simple.