Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Science of Sex Appeal


I found the videos about the Science of Sex Appeal to be very interesting and thought-provoking.   Dr.  Kenrick conducted a study where he dressed the male and female participants in similar clothing and removed their individual’s differences such as hairstyles, accessories, etc.   The participants were given a random number which represented desirability.  The participants could see others’ desirability number; however, they did not know their own number.  The participants were then instructed to “pair up” by putting their hand out to someone with the objective of pairing with someone with as high of a number as possible.    At the end of the experiment, participants paired up with individuals with a similar desirability number as themselves.  This demonstration showed how in reality, when looking for a mate, we aim high and “work down” until we find someone who will accept us.    Another related study done by researchers in Austria found that women change their perception of a man based on the car he drives since car represent dominance and power.  The authors stated that social and financial status is important for women because their objective is to choose a partner, keep the partner, make a nest and have children.   This research seems discouraging to me…when it comes down to finding your soulmate, is it really all about status and money?
If you find this topic intriguing, check out this video:  The Science of Sex Appeal – Unsexy Scents. This short video explains how physiologically we have an aversion to the scent of relatives which keeps us from being attracted to someone with our own genetic make-up.

1 comment:

  1. I also posted about the science of sex appeal and you bring up a really good point. Within your post you said that when it comes down to finding your soulmate is it really all about status and money? This really made me think, and I personally had that thought as well. In this lecture powerpoint it talked about how three main factors are looks, money, and social status. I think this can not be the main factor in making your decision on who to be with. While it does make sense, there can be people who have money and a high social status, but they may just be terribly mean people. While this adds up for the physical aspect of the information, the emotional part still needs to be there

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