by: matthew timmins
Background: Research suggests that sexual attraction “at first sight” may be a real phenomenon (“Science of Sex Appeal,” 2012). In a variety of studies reviewed in the Discovery Channel’s© series “Science of Sex Appeal,” one study altered pictures of men and women so that their faces were more or less symmetrical. Participants were told the pictures were of twins and were asked to determine which twin was more attractive. Approximately 80% of participants found the more symmetrical face as more attractive. The researchers suggest that this may be due to a relationship between genetic defects and less symmetry, resulting in humans developing a strong preference for symmetry. Further, visual attraction is not limited to symmetry. In a series of studies on men’s attraction to women in red (Elliot & Niesta, 2008), men rated women in pictures with a red background as more attractive than in pictures with white or grey backgrounds. Similar results occurred when the women were wearing a red shirt. However, the color red did not affect men’s perception of the women on a number of other variables such as likability; it did not affect women’s ratings of the women in the pictures; nor were men aware of the impact of red. Nearly the exact same results were found in a series of similar studies with women rating men, but in this case, women associated red with higher status for men (Elliot et al., 2010).
Similar to visual attractiveness, there is evidence that sexual attraction may also be “at first smell”. In two series of experiments described in the “Science of Sex Appeal,” both men and women were affected by the scents of the opposite sex. Men who were exposed to copulance, a female pheromone, experienced a rise in testosterone and were unable to differentiate attractive from unattractive pictures of women. In comparison, women were asked to rate the attractiveness of the smell of t-shirts men had been wearing for multiple days. Rather than generalizing to a heightened attraction, women had a significant aversion to the smell of close relatives (i.e., their father or biological brother). These results suggest that smell may play just as large of a role in attraction as symmetry, but the roles differ between the sexes—natural body odors may increase men’s attraction to women and decrease women’s attraction to men.
Like specific senses such as sight and smell, general physical arousal—like the excitement from riding a rollercoaster— may also influence initial sexual attraction. One study examined participants’ subjective heart rate and the attractiveness of a picture of a stranger before or after going on a rollercoaster (Meston & Frohlich, 2003). The researchers found that those in line for the ride reported slower heart rates and found the pictures as less attractive than those exiting the ride. Those who were exiting the ride rated the pictures as more attractive, especially those who reported higher heart rate. In addition, researchers asked those who were exiting the ride to rate the attractiveness of the opposite-sex individual sitting next to them on the ride. Interestingly, participants reported increased attraction to strangers sitting next to them after the ride but did not report any change if they were in a romantic relationship with the person sitting next to them. Overall, these ratings suggest that feeling more aroused in general may increase our sexual attraction towards strangers but not towards people we are familiar with.
Keywords: sexual attraction, physical arousal, human sexual partner selection
References
- Elliot, A. J., Kayser, D. N., Greitemeyer, T., Lichtenfeld, S., Gramzow, R. H., Maier, M. A., & Liu, H. (2010). Red, rank, and romance in women viewing men. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, 139(3), 399–417. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019689
- Elliot, A. J., & Niesta, D. (2008). Romantic red: red enhances men’s attraction to women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1150–1164. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1150
- Meston, C. M., & Frohlich, P. F. (2003). Love at first fright: partner salience moderates roller-coaster-induced excitation transfer. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32(6), 537–544.
- Science of Sex Appeal. (2012, May 24). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/other-shows-science-of-sex-appeal-videos/