How Cupid’s Arrow Works

Posted by Brian Tyler on February 15, 2008 
Filed Under In the news

In the wake of Valentine’s Day and our discussions about sexual attraction this week, you might want to take notice of several recent research reports.

On Tuesday, the results of two new studies were announced, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The first, soon to be published in the journal Psychological Science, suggests that attractive people are indeed attracted to other attractive people. Surprise, surprise… From the UPI story:

The study, scheduled to be published in the journal Psychological Science, found people with similar levels of physical attractiveness tend to date each other, with more attractive people being more particular about the physical attractiveness of their potential dates.

In addition, the study found people prefer to date others who are moderately more attractive than they are. The researchers also found that most people agree on what is attractive, characteristics like symmetrical faces.

However, results from a different study, soon to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, suggest that when people fall in love, they find other people to be comparably less attractive. From a Reuters story:

Feeling love for your romantic partner appears to make everybody else less attractive, and the emotion appears to work in very specific ways in enabling you to push thoughts of that tempting other out of your mind,” said Gian Gonzaga of eHarmony, whose study is published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

“It’s almost like love puts blinders on people,” added Martie Haselton, an associate professor of psychology and communication studies at UCLA.

These two announcements follow on the heels of similar recent research on human sexual attraction:

All of this research might lead one to think that we really have no control over who we fall for in matters of love. In my discussion sections, many students felt that physical qualities were far less important than personality characteristics. Do you agree? If so, is personality something that can be evaluated with first impressions? Do you believe in “love at first sight”? What about “first sound” or “first smell”?

Comments

2 Responses to “How Cupid’s Arrow Works”

  1. quickf3d on February 15th, 2008 10:16 pm

    I do not agree. Maybe if one were 12 or 14 years of age (maybe even until the age of 18) then, yes, one would only base “falling in love” just on the way someone looks or smells. It just seems childish to me. When a person reaches a point of maturity, it is reflected on the way they choose their partner. Many people, male and female alike, may end up dating a not-so-attractive person by societies standards based on other factors. That person may be, indeed, very attractive to her partner due to her persona or her ideals.
    In other words, although I have to admit that looks may play a roll in feeling attractive towards a person, it is not completely what drives us to pull such person into our lives as a steady partner. When this is the definite factor in a relationship, it often falls apart very quick because such couple may not be a good match intellectually or may not be able to live together in harmony due to different life-styles or such. A relationship based on looks, smells, or even deep voices, are not real relationships, they are just lust. Such relationships are completely dysfunctional.

  2. Brian Tyler on February 16th, 2008 4:05 pm

    I agree that relationships that are based on superficial qualities alone are perhaps not destined to last. However, to me, what is interesting about all of this research is the possibility that some aspects of sexual attraction are based in part on processes that are beyond our control and beyond our awareness. I personally would not suggest that these processes are the driving force behind the actions we take in our romantic lives. However, thinking back on my own life experiences, I do wonder if some of these processes might have “helped” me make up my mind once in awhile!

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