The Psychology of

Attraction

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Introduction

Do opposites attract? Or do birds of a feather flock

together? Two of the most common questions asked in
the psychology of attraction, but which is correct?

You probably know of couples who fall under each

category the timid guy who lives down the road with
a dominating wife or the couple you meet at the pub
every Friday night who are both as loud, sociable and
generally extraverted as each other.

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Introduction

A third crucial question is what makes us attractive? Is

beauty in the eye of the beholder, or is there agreement
regarding what is beautiful? It would seem that evolution
and culture are two major factors in determining
attractiveness. Read on to find out more.

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Introduction

The questions do not end there Im afraid. We also need to ask

what influences attraction? We do not simply find ourselves
attracted to everyone we see or come into contact with.
Rather, there are five influential factors in addition to physical
attractiveness:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Proximity - liking others who are physically close to us

Similarity liking others who are like us
Familiarity liking those we have frequent contact with
Reciprocity liking others who like us
Barriers liking others we cannot have

Research is ongoing on this topic, and particularly on trying to

answer these questions. Its not only a Popular Psychology
topic of significant interest to the general public but also a
subject taught on many undergraduate and postgraduate
psychology degree programmes.

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Introduction

We must not forget that

attraction is not solely implicated
in romantic relationships.
Friendships between peers and
colleagues also result from initial
attraction, for one reason or
another. The focus of the content
here however is on the former
seeing as that is what most of the
literature focuses on.

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Research

Note: The findings here are not exhaustive, but should

support some of the claims made in the introduction. At
the end of this PowerPoint doc is the list of full
references where these findings have been published.
Also check out the Useful Books section where you
can find further details and examples of research on
this topic.

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Research
The implications of evolution and
culture in perceptions of attractiveness

Marcus and Miller (2003) found that there is

a general consensus regarding what is
attractive.

Generally, women with youthful features

large eyes, full lips and a small nose are
perceived as more attractive than those
whose faces are not so baby-like. This is the
case cross-culturally (Jones, 1995).
However, signs of maturity are also
important prominent cheekbones and
broad smiles (Cunningham et al., 2002).

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Research

As for men, masculine features are perceived highly

attractive and more feminised faces are viewed more
attractive by fertile and non-fertile women respectively (Little
et al., 2002).

Average and symmetrical faces are also attractive in both

sexes (Rhodes, Sumich and Byatt, 1999).

In cultures where food is sparse, heavier women are more

desirable and vice versa (Nelson and Morrison, 2005).

Men and women both find warmth, vitality and status

attractive in the opposite sex; a finding notified around the
world (Tran et al., 2008).

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Research
Influential factors

Classic study by Festinger, Schachter and Back (1950) found

that students who lived closer together on campus were more
likely to become friends than those living apart. This indicates
the significance of proximity in the initial stages of a
relationship/friendship.

The influences of familiarity and mere exposure have been

demonstrated by Moreland and Beach (1992) who set up a study
whereby a woman attended a class either 5, 10 or 15 times
during the term. Although the woman was merely present (not
talking or interacting with the students) she was preferred by
the students who had been in the class with her on more
occasions.

Byrne et al. (1970) found that couples on blind dates who held
similar political attitudes liked each other more than those who
held dissimilar views.

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Research
Do opposites attract?

Miller and Perlman (2009) claim that opposites do not attract

and dissimilar views do not matter as long as neither partner
perceive them as significant.

Partners may in fact be complementary rather than

opposites per se. This is the case where one partner is
dominant and the other submissive (Markey et al., 2003).

Aron et al. (2006) found that relationships which provide

opportunities for one partner to grow are rewarding. So
finding a partner who is competent in a skill which is novel
to you can be appealing.

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Useful Journals

Journal of Applied Social

Psychology

Journal of Personality and

Social Psychology

Evolution and Human Behavior

Body Image

Archives of Sexual Behavior

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Useful Books

Intimate Relationships by Daniel

Perlman and Rowland Miller

Close Relationships by Harry T. Reis

and Caryl E. Rusbult. (Eds.) (2004).

Human Relationships by Steve Duck.

(2007)

Attachment Theory and Close

Relationships by Jeffry A. Simpson
and Steven W. Rholes. (Eds.) (1998)

The Psychology of Physical

Attraction by Viren Swami and Adrian
Furnham

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Experts
Although the psychology of attraction can be considered a topic of its own, it encompasses
other areas of psychology too, namely social and evolutionary psychology. Therefore, when
seeking for experts on this topic do not limit your searches to those solely with expertise in
relationships or love. Here is a list of some psychologists and academics whose work has
focused on the study of attraction:

Dr. Viren Swami - a social and evolutionary psychologist from University College London
and the author of The Psychology of Physical Attraction.

Prof. Adrian Furnham - co-author of The Psychology of Physical Attraction and lecturer at
University College London.

Dr. Martin Tovee - reader in visual cognition at Newcastle University whose research
focuses on mate selection in an evolutionary context.

Dr. Anthony Little - Royal Society University Research Fellow whose research focuses on
faces and how they can be manipulated when studying attraction.

Dr. Jinsheng Kang - lecturer at Brunel University in the School of Engineering and Design
whose recent projects include researching male and female body shape attractiveness.

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Videos/ Audio

Interview with Viren Swami on the Psychology of Physical

Attraction
Click here to listen

Secrets of the Sexes Male Status Attraction

Click here to watch

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Blogs

eHarmonyLabs Hot Science Blog

Do birds of a feather flock together?

Associated Content The Psychology of Attraction

BPS Research Digest

Beauty: Symmetry versus averageness

Science Blog
Old men chasing young women: A good thing

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Articles on the Web

Xenophilia Trustworthy vs lustworthy: The psychology of

attraction

Telegraph Why short women with long legs are the

most attractive

Science Daily Clues to mysteries of physical

attractiveness revealed

James C. McCroskey and Thomas A Mc.Cain The

measurement of interpersonal attraction

Psychology Today The biology of attraction

APA Do opposites attract of do birds of a feather flock

together?

BBC Opposites do not attract

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References
Aron, A., & Aron, E. N. (2006). Romantic relationships from the perspective of the self-expansion model and attachment theory:
Partially overlapping circles. In M. Mikulincer & G. S. Goodman (Eds.). Dynamics of romantic love: Attachment, caregiving, and sex
(pp. 359-382). New York: Guilford Press.
Byrne, D., Ervin, C. E., & Lamberth, J. (1970). Continuity between the experimental study of attraction and real-life computer dating.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 157-165.
Cunningham, M. R., Barbee, A. P., & Philhower, C. L. (2002). Dimensions of facial physical attractiveness: The intersection of biology
and culture. In G. Rhodes & L. A. Zebrowitz (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive and social perspectives (pp. 193238). Westport, CT: Ablex.
Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Back, K. W. (1950). Social pressures in informal groups: A study of human factors in housing. New
York: Harper & Brothers.
Jones, D. (1995). Sexual selection, physical attractiveness, and facial neotony: Cross-cultural evidence and implications. Current
Anthropology, 36, 723-748.
Little, A. C., Penton-Voak, I. S., Burt, M., & Perrett, D. I. (2002). Evolution and individual differences in the perception of
attractiveness: How cyclic hormonal changes and self-perceived attractiveness influence female preferences for male faces. In G.
Rhodes & L. A. Zebrowitz (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive and social perspectives (pp. 59-90). Westport, CT:
Ablex.
Marcus, D. K., & Miller, R. S. (2003). Sex differences in judgements of physical attractiveness: A social relations analysis. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29. 325-335.
Markey, P. M., Funder, D. C., & Ozer, D. J. (2003). Complementarity of interpersonal behaviours in dyadic interactions. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1082-1090.
Moreland, R. L., & Beach, S. R. (1992). Exposure effects in the classroom: The development of affinity among students. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 28, 255-276.
Nelson, L.D., & Morrison, E. L. (2005). The symptoms of resource scarcity: Judgements of food and finances influence preferences for
potential partners. Psychological Science, 16, 167-173.
Rhodes, G., Sumich, A., & Byatt, G. (1999). Are average facial configurations attractive only because of their symmetry?
Psychological Science, 10 (1).
Tran, S., Simpson, J. A., & Fletcher, G. J. O. (2008). The role of ideal standards in relationship initiation processes. In S. Sprecher, A.
Wenzel, & J. Harvey (Eds.), Handbook of relationship initiation (pp. 487-498). New York: Psychological Press.