Physical Attraction Psychology

• What attracts people to each other?
• Are there universal standards for physical attraction?

What are the factors we look for when judging the attractiveness of a person?

Before I go on with this article, I must first remind you that even though certain features are considered universally attractive by most people, every person processes beauty according to his own internal system.

This means that if I told you that large eyes are among the facial features that are considered attractive by most men, then this doesn’t mean that men will find you unattractive just because you don’t have large eyes.

In this article, I will tell you about physical attraction psychology.

Physical attractiveness psychology explained

What features do most people consider attractive?

1) Symmetry: it was found that symmetrical faces are considered more attractive than nonsymmetrical faces across all cultures. Your face doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical for it to be attractive, but the more symmetrical it is, the more attractive it will be considered by others

2) Waist to hip ratio: Men become more attracted to women with a low waist to hip ratio or women with an hourglass body shape. In some cultures where food scares, a low waist to hip ratio might not be considered an attractive feature

3) Health: In all cultures, healthier people are considered much more attractive than less healthy ones. Researches have shown that the more healthy the person is, the better his looks will be and the more attractive he will appear to be

4) Height: Many studies revealed that most women prefer to date men who are taller than them, but according to psychology, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s why you might find many women dating shorter men. In other words, these points might be universal beauty standards, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t have a chance if you didn’t match them

5) Feminine facial features: Men prefer women who have feminine facial features over other women. women, on the other hand, prefer men with feminine facial features when they are not fertile and prefer men who have more masculine features when they are fertile. So the same woman can find a certain man attractive on certain days and less attractive on other days

6) well built: Women prefer well-built men (not necessarily bodybuilders). Women prefer men who have wider shoulders and narrow waists with minimal belly fat. the good thing is that you can become well built if you decided to by going to the gym

7) jaws and cheekbones: Women prefer men who have relatively bigger jaws and more prominent cheekbones since they give a more masculine look to the man. Again this changes according to how fertile the woman is during her monthly period

Physical attraction rules aren’t universal.

Even though the previous points are well known in attraction psychology, you will still find many people dating others who don’t have many of these features.

This doesn’t mean that the previous points are wrong, but it only means that many factors affect the overall attractiveness of a person other than the ones mentioned.

The below links will give you more information about the psychology of physical attractiveness and help you understand why the perception of beauty might change from one person to another.