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Questions tagged [physical-attraction]

For questions about characteristics that humans or animals find appealing on a sexual or aesthetic level.

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43 views

How are heterosexual male and female sexual attraction different?

It would appear that heterosexual men are definitely attracted to the physical attractiveness of women as the primary factor yet it is really unclear how women feel. Many women say they care about ...
4 votes
0 answers
859 views

Separation of romantic and sexual attraction

Occasionally I meet people who say that they are sexually attracted to X group of people (e.g. men) and romantically attracted to Y group of people, X and Y not being the same (Sometimes they overlap, ...
11 votes
0 answers
3k views

Does female attractiveness correlate with age progression?

I'm interested in Evolutionary Psychology and the male perception of female beauty. One of the ideas I'm trying to investigate is the correlation between female fertility and her attractiveness. A ...
3 votes
1 answer
492 views

Is there research into why people use piercings or tattoos for personal reasons?

I am interested in reasons why people engage in body modifications, such as piercings or tattoos. I am aware of some religious reasons, and some religions forbidding such activity, but I am ...
1 vote
1 answer
105 views

Response bias in physical and sexual attraction/attractiveness surveys

There are a few potential sources of response bias in surveys intended to measure attractiveness levels of individuals, especially in the context of differences in personal qualities of judges. ...
7 votes
1 answer
6k views

Does homosexuality correlate with narcissism or finding yourself attractive?

I'm a heterosexual male. Male bodies do not appeal to me much. I find my own (average) body mediocre. At the same time I find average female bodies rather interesting and attractive. The same goes for ...
6 votes
1 answer
486 views

Are Satoshi Kanazawa's findings about racial differences in attractiveness valid?

This post discusses a study published in a blog post by an evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa. The study suggested that black women were rated less attractive than women of other races. There ...
29 votes
4 answers
24k views

Is pedophilia a sexual orientation or a mental disorder?

There are some different claims being made that pedophilia is a sexual orientation rather than a mental disorder. At the moment there seems to be a growing group of psychologists advocating that ...
14 votes
5 answers
52k views

At what age are women perceived to be most attractive?

Someone once quoted a research at me: Men were shown photographs of female body parts and asked to judge the attractiveness. The result was that men (of all ages) found 14 year old females the most (...
14 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to predict romantic attraction

Dating websites and psychological researchers attempt to find those factors that predict the fit between potential romantic partners. Examples for factors taken into consideration are the "big five" ...
3 votes
1 answer
129 views

Attractiveness bias, based on political views

I've noticed that if I agree with the political/cultural/religious views of a person, then he looks sort-of beautiful (physical appearance), even if he (or she) happens to be ugly. I've also noticed ...
1 vote
1 answer
983 views

Is there a correlation or cause-effect relationship between attractiveness and feet?

My psychology professor is very hard to understand and can't speak English well. She was saying something about a study was done that found the best indicator of a physical attractiveness is feet, and ...
6 votes
2 answers
9k views

How important is eye contact for attraction between a man and woman?

How important is eye contact for creating/inducing attraction & showing showing "confidence" towards them? What is the optimal eye locking duration between 2 persons for inducing this attraction?
3 votes
0 answers
98 views

Is 'averageness' in the study of facial attraction ethnicity specific?

Is 'averageness' in the study of facial attraction ethnicity specific? I just always wondered whether the 'beauty' ideal of "averageness" is human wide, or is the average across some group or groups. ...
3 votes
1 answer
512 views

How has psychology categorised different types of love?

How has psychological theory categorised the different types of love? What taxonomies of love are most accepted or useful in psychology? EDIT: I went through Triangular theory of love. Are there any ...
5 votes
1 answer
729 views

What does the literature say about why women aren't attracted to nice guys?

Dating coaches make the point that women may "like," or "appreciate" a nice man, but they aren't likely to be attracted to, or fall madly in love with such behavior (until fairly late in the ...
27 votes
2 answers
9k views

How is intelligence correlated to beauty?

Recently, I read several interesting questions on the web about the relationship between IQ and general intelligence and physiological symmetry. But more importantly, what explains the correlation? Or ...
6 votes
0 answers
278 views

Testosterone in women vs. estrogen in men?

It is known that women with higher estrogen are more likely to find men with higher testosterone as more attractive. Positive feedback is also known. But are women with higher testosterone level are ...
4 votes
2 answers
12k views

Why are some people attracted to people of other races?

Is it true that we were evolved to dislike people of other races genetically? If so, why are some people attracted to people of races other than their own?
2 votes
0 answers
56 views

Does the percieved attraction of peers change significantly when living in a foreign culture? [closed]

Observation: After living 10 month in India me and other exchange students (subjectively) rated the attractiveness of Indians far higher than at the beginning of the stay. Hypothesis: It (...
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

What makes someone attractive psychologically?

What makes a person particularly attractive to another person, specifically the opposite sex? Why would the brain evolve this trait to target specific genes (that make someone look pretty), and ...
5 votes
1 answer
161 views

Is there any update on the hypothesis on primary emotions corresponding on "love"?

Fisher (2000) hypothesized that sex drive, attraction and attachment are the three primary emotions correspond to mating, reproduction and parenting behaviors; those are three discrete constellations ...
6 votes
1 answer
6k views

Freud's theory regarding child to parent attraction

This may be a thought from false information but even from some teachers I've heard quotes of how Sigmund Freud had a theory about how children are attracted to ...
12 votes
4 answers
485 views

Can experience alter one's preferences for beauty?

My friend (a woman) is convinced that all men who find those posters of "women scantily clad in their bathing suits or thongs and big breasts (often fake)" attractive are simply brainwashed by society....
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

What are the laws of female physical attractiveness?

Though sometimes beauty is in the eye of the beholder there must be certain physical traits that humans consistently find attractive. What are these physical beauty traits for women in modern ...
1 vote
0 answers
118 views

Literature with regards to facial attractiveness?

I would like to ask for suggestions of literature regarding the study of facial features, preferably in a context of how they may be considered attractive or not. To clarify, the goal is to try and ...
13 votes
3 answers
15k views

What is the psychology behind male pornographic actors having larger than average penises?

There is a question What does scientific research say about the relationship between penis size and attractiveness? This answer and this link give the statistics of penis size. Given these ...
3 votes
2 answers
6k views

What is the difference between having a crush on someone and loving someone?

What is the difference between having a crush on someone and loving someone? What is the psychological basis of this?
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

Body Language: Why do we act differently around someone we're attracted to?

Many professionals have said that when you're attracted to someone, you tend to fidget, run your hands through your hair, sit with your legs facing them, and that our faces light up around them, which ...
4 votes
1 answer
647 views

Do nice guys finish last?

I read a recent article, suggesting that the nicest guys in a society are selected last by females. The article continues to identify the cause as a lack of aggressive nature and competitiveness, ...
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

What personality traits does sexy and revealing clothing correlate with?

Is there some unifying characteristic that distinguishes women who wear form-fitting, lowcut, see-through and other kinds of revealing outfits? Are they more extroverted, do they rate higher in (...
4 votes
2 answers
30k views

How long does physical attraction typically last in a permanent relationship?

How long, on average (and with as much other statistical data, e.g. standard deviation, as possible) does physical attraction between male and female in a permanent relationship last? I believe this ...
0 votes
1 answer
884 views

Are there colors women find attractive on men? [closed]

I have heard that men find women dressed in red more attractive (I can confirm this from personal experience as well). What color or colors do women prefer on men, if any?
6 votes
1 answer
5k views

Is there psychological research on seduction?

I've been reading a lot of books about seduction. Most of them rely on (approximative) psychological basis and presents really interesting insights. Robert Greene - Art of seduction, for example ...
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is it normal for men in long term relationships to want to have sexual relationships with other women?

If a man who is married or in a long term relationship wants to have sexual relationships with other women, is this pathological, deviant, maybe even a disorder? Or is it part of normal and healthy ...
1 vote
1 answer
712 views

Is attraction between two people just physical, not neurological/psychological?

In the Richard Morgan's sci-fi debut Altered Carbon, the technology exists to separate a person's consciousness and put it into another body or "sleeve". The protagonist Takeshi Kovacs, is downloaded ...
4 votes
1 answer
463 views

What makes some criminals glamorous to others?

Some murderers are glamorized by society while others labeled monsters. In both cases, they can commit the same terrible crimes and cause the same amounts of pain - yet one can be romanticized the ...
4 votes
2 answers
571 views

Are perceptions of beauty and the ideal partner mostly determined by mass media?

Mass-media marketing seems to strongly influence people's beliefs. Are perceptions of beauty and the ideal partner mostly determined by what mass media proposes?
5 votes
0 answers
178 views

What biological processes occur when you love someone romantically? [closed]

How can romantic love be described by scientists?
3 votes
1 answer
284 views

What explains the relative importance of physical versus mental features in human mate selection?

I assume that it is the brain that has put human beings at the top of the food chain (Biped and opposable thumbs aside). Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest suggest that the best specimens of ...
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

What does scientific research say about the relationship between penis size and attractiveness?

Pop-culture often equates a larger penis with a more attractive penis. Is there any scientific research examining the relationship between penis size and attractiveness ratings? What are the reasons ...
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are there sex differences in inter-rater consistency of attractiveness ratings of opposite-sex faces?

Is there any research that assesses whether males or females judge faces of the opposite sex with a greater internal consistency? That is, is the standard deviation of attraction ratings for a ...
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

Do high heels increase female attractiveness in men only through indirect means?

It seems widely accepted that, overall, men tend to find women in high heels more attractive. (There will, of course, be many exceptions to this rule.) "High heels may well be the most potent ...