The Psychology of Attraction: Why We Like Who We Like

"Attraction: 1.n. the power or act of attracting; 2.a desirable or pleasant quality or thing" (Merriam-Webster, 2015).

Taken directly from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, this definition states in clear, scientific terms what attraction is. However, as every human knows, the power of attraction goes far beyond this cut and dried statement, reaching deep into our psyche, as well into our past. In this paper, the processes of attraction, its evolutionary roots and modern day implications are studied, in an attempt to answer the question "what causes us to be attracted to someone"?

Discussion

In the search for an answer, one must begin at the beginning- that is, at the beginning of the human race. At this time, life was merely the pursuit of survival and reproduction. Humans, like all other animals, struggled in competition for mates with the best genetic quality to pass on to their offspring. Females selected males that were healthy and strong, who could defend them and their young and who could provide food and shelter. Males sought out as many young, fertile women with whom to mate and pass on their genes as possible. Prehistoric man had no way of knowing whether or not a potential mate was in good health, so he learned to rely on cues embedded deep in recesses of his brain. Such preferences developed universally because these attributes provided signals as to the quality of genes, health or fertility of a mate. Over time, the people who had such preferences (and acted on them by mating with people possessing these attributes) left more surviving children.

Three theories as to why these characteristics evolved as important signals exist.

The first theory, the Runaway Selection model, credited to British ge...

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