A positive attraction between two people can
be described as a force acting between them
The main
attraction!
Fact Sheet on attraction
What is attraction?
The reason why we can feel drawn to certain
people relates to how much we like, love or dislike
someone. Our perception of another persons
characteristics can have a large influence on whether
we regard someone as attractive or not. So the
good news is, attractiveness is more than just finding
someone physically appealing. After all - beauty is in
the eye of the beholder!
What makes someone attractive?
People like me
Our perception of what is beautiful stems
from those who influenced us as children,
most notably our families, peers, and the
media. Studies have also suggested that facial
symmetry and facial similarity to our own is
thought to be attractive for both sexes as we
tend to seek partners we regard as equally
attractive to avoid rejection.2
Fast fact: Get closer!
?
The amount of time we are able to spe
nd
with another person plays an importa
nt
role. According to relationship
psychologist Roland Miller the more
we
see and interact with a person, the mo
re
likely he or she is to become our friend
or
intimate partner.10
that tends to draw them together and resist
their separation. This feeling of attraction can
often lead to a friendship, romantic relationship
and even life-long love for one another.
As well as knowing what it is that makes
someone attractive, its important to know how
to make a great first impression. With this in
mind, weve explored the world of attraction
and first impressions and put together this
fact sheet so you can think about what makes
you attractive, learn how to perfect your own
first impression, and make the most of your
natural assets, says Dr. Viren Swami, from the
Department of Psychology at the University of
Westminster, London.
Attraction and first impressions
First impressions determine how people initially view
one another. While it is often possible for people to
change their opinions of each other over time, first
impressions are usually long-lasting and are significant
in every level of our lives.
We all form first impressions of people when we
meet them. But why? All it takes is a quick glance for
people to evaluate one another.
Research suggests that in the absence of any verbal
interaction or conversation, we rely on a persons
physical cues, such as their facial expression, body
language, and gaze to establish what type of person
we think they might be. In general, we tend to gaze
longer at people we like, and similarly, intimacy is
communicated through greater gaze.1
Fast fact: Twos company
Research shows that two people who
?
share similar interests values and
likes and dislikes feel drawn to each
other 7
People can also feel attracted to
others who share a similar physical
appearance, background, or
personality8
Research commissioned by
 Men vs. Women

Women Men
Physical attributes such as symmetrical features and a Tall men with strong, masculine
curvaceous figure are instinctively perceived as attractive features and a triangular,
by men, as it is linked to optimal fat distribution for high V-shaped torso are considered
fertility. Research suggests men consider this to be an the most desirable to women.
indicator of a womens ability to produce children.3 Women also look for signs of
Having a youthful appearance, and to be of a healthy symmetry as suggestive of good
weight and build is also thought to be suggestive of good health and genetic fitness to
health and therefore deemed attractive. In contrast, a larger reproduce.5 Interestingly, women
body size is often an indicator of wealth, prosperity, and are rather good at assessing a
femininity in traditional non-Western cultures compared mans biological potential just by
with Western cultures, where a thinner body size is looking at his face.6
considered more ideal.4

Personality Try it for yourself

Physical attraction may play a significant role
when we first meet someone, but there is more
to attraction than meets the eye. Simply being
friendly and nice plays an important part in
attraction. People who arent stereotypically
good-looking appear attractive to those
who know and like them. Researchers asked
subjects to evaluate each other before and
after working together in groups. In general,
likeable people were described as more
beautiful because of their happy persona. 9
Beyond kindness, other traits that make
people attractive are cooperativeness and a
Research suggests that there are 3 important
elements that account differently for our liking
of a person. These are known as the 3 Vs -
verbal, vocal & visual13
93% of expression is non-verbal. Our actual
words make up only 7% of communication, while
38% comes from tone of voice, and 55% comes
from our body language!13
Did you know?

?
sense of humour. Being friendly and out-going
and making an effort to get along with others
People who can communicate in an
expressive and animated way tend to
all go a long way towards making you seem
be more liked compared with those who
more attractive to others whilst also boosting
are difficult-to-read.
the quality of your relationships.9
This is because we are more confident
in our reading of them and they are
therefore less of a threat14

Making first impressions count Key positive behaviour:

When we meet someone for the first time, we can Smiling
quickly determine whether they are someone we are
Open body language
going to want to spend more time with in the future.
Making eye contact
Synchronising your communication has been shown to
help put people at ease and speed up the rapport that Introducing yourself
would otherwise take longer to develop. Showing interest and openness
Making your mind up
A brief encounter with a person is often enough to
stimulate 2 key areas of the brain which make an
instant decision about another person. Brain regions
that are important in forming evaluations are engaged,
resulting in snap decisions to be made about another
person. Research has shown that there are two main
areas of the brain that are stimulated when we make
our first impressions of someone.
During a social encounter, the amygdala and the
posterior cingulate cortex sort information and
summarise it into an ultimate score, also known as a
first impression.11

Posterior Cingulate
Clothes? Cortex (PCC)
Body language? This area of the brain shows
increased activity when
Appearance? assessing people and is linked
Smell? to decision making and
assigning value to rewards.
It helps our brain calculate
whether the person we just met
could make for a rewarding
relationship11

Amygdala
This area of the brain has
been linked to our emotional
learning of other people and
situations
The amygdala helps us to
detect emotions displayed by
others and helps us process
what type of person
we believe they might be12

Reviewed by Dr. Viren Swami, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Westminster, London.

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2. Perrino, M., Naylor, A. and Brickley Z., et al. (2002) The Nature of Human Attraction. [Online].
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socsex.html [Accessed 28 September 2009].
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September 28 2009].
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9. Gross-Lon, C. (2005) The science of attraction. [Online]. Available at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_7_24/ai_n13606368/
[Accessed on 15 September 2009].
10. Miller, R., Perlman, D. and Brehm, S. (2006) Intimate Relationships, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
11. Schiller, D., Freeman J. B., Mitchell J.P. et al. (2009) Nature Neuroscience 12 - A neural mechanism of first impressions.
pp. 508-514. Cited on http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090308142247.htm [Accessed September 28 2009].
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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, pp. 110-129.
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