Biological, Cognitive and Sociocultural Explanations to the origins of attraction The Origins of Attraction

Biological Origins Biochemical cocktail Dopamine + Serotonin + Adrenaline = Attraction Love is not merely an emotion, but a craving Hormones and their role in bonding Oxytocin- Released by men and women during sex and touching => closer and intimate=> attachment Vasopressin- Also released during sex, hormone of commitment Why do we find certain people attractive? Jealousy and parasites/pathogens The dirty shirt study (Wedekind 1995)

Fisher et al. (2003) [A]: To investigate blood flow in the brains of participants when asked to look at photos of their beloved vs. a neutral acquaintance [P]: 20 men and women, all were madly in love [M]: used an fMRI IV: The nature of the photos 1. Participants filled out a questionnaire: the Passionate Love Scale; with statements relating to how they felt about their relationship ( in order to compare the brain activity of each participant to what they reported on the questionnaires). 2. Participants first looked at the photo of their beloved for 30 sec while they were scanned. They were then given a distraction/filler task before looking at the neutral photo for 30 seconds while being scanned. This was repeated 6 times. [F]: “A beautiful picture of the brain in love” aka showing activity in the brain’s reward system, which is activated by a pleasant stimulus. Biological factors make a lover’s heart race, but it is not interpreted as such “Brain’s reward system” = particularly active when the lovers looked at pictures of the object of their love More passionate love= more active the brain’s reward circuitry. Confirmed the pre-experimental self-reports=>supporting a correlation between the attitudes towards the lover and brain activity.

Cognitive Origins Perception of a person similar to yourself=> attraction Why? Over the course of history, people tend to live in groups of people they like Byrne (1971)- argues that other people’s support for one’s own views and attitudes is rewarding because it validates one’s opinions and boosts self-esteem. Reciprocity- relationships are dependent on people’s perception of rewards and costs. Occurs: when you like those who show that they like you. Cause: helping a partner makes one feel good about oneself= self-enhancement=> self-verification Schemas the theory of attachment (Bowlby, 1969)

Markey et al. (2007) [A]: investigated the extent to which similarity is a factor in the way people choose partners. [M]: Using questionnaires, the researchers asked a large sample of young people to describe the psychological characteristics, values, and attitudes of their ideal romantic partner, without thinking of anyone in particular. Afterwards, they were asked to describe themselves. [F]: The way the young people described themselves was similar to what their ideal partner looked like. Follow-up of the study: [P]: 106 young couples who had been together for a year. Young Americans (i.e. hard to generalize findings, unless similar studies are done in other cultures) [M]: Each participant filled out a questionnaire about their own as well as their partner’s characteristics. [F]: The result was in line with the first investigation. [C]: The study confirmed that people want partners who are similar to themselves. This could explain why they perceive their partner to be similar; but perception and actual behavior may not always be congruent at the end of the day. [E]: The study was based on questionnaires (i.e. self-reports)=> lack some reliability. However, large sample=> enhances validity Davis and Rusbult (2001)- attraction may foster similarity i.e. similarity may be a consequence of attraction, not a cause. Could explain why opposites attract. Degree to which a partner matches a person’s romantic ideal =>evaluations according to ideal standards => influence how relationships progress

Sociocultural Origins People tend to need a partner which can positively contribute to their own self-esteem People are attracted to those with which they have positive interactions (Finding by Western psychologists) Interactions provide us with a sense of connectedness and attachment Cultural differences greatly influence our formation of interpersonal relationships Different cultures favor different attributes differently=> different forms of attachment due to needs

Buss et al. (1992) [Summary] [A]: (largest undertaken study on) cross-cultural perspectives on relationships [P]: 10,000 respondents from 37 countries [M]: 2 surveys on mate selection [F]: Women in 36/37 countries rated financial prospects to be more important than males Males in 37 countries preferred younger mates Women in 37 countries preferred older mates Men: 23 cultures rated chastity (i.e. state of being a virgin) as more important than women did The degree of sex differences led to the following conclusion: [C]: mate selection preferences are universal arising from different evolutionary pressures [Further findings]: USA: Love (ranked 1st) Iran: Love (ranked 3rd) Education, intelligence, ambition and chastity (ranked higher) Nigeria: Love (ranked 4th) Good health, education, neatness, desire for children and home (ranked higher) China: Love (ranked 6th) Good health, chastity, domestic skills (ranked higher) South Africa (Zulu): Love (ranked 7th) Emotional stability, maturity and dependability (ranked higher)