SOC 152A Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Physical Attractiveness, Sexual Arousal, Scrotum
Chapter 5
●Attraction
○Touch hearing, smell are important in attraction
○Women find deeper voices more attractive
○Men prefer higher pitched
○Specific sex pheromones in women and men influence sexual arousal through
unconscious olfactory mechanisms
■This topic is controversial
○People tend to underestimate their physical attractiveness
○Behavior and personality tend to influence attractiveness more slowly than
appearance does
○Manner of walking influences attractiveness
■Women in high heels considered more attractive
○Personality traits are largely judged and rated including trustworthiness,
warmth, and sense of humor
○For women, humor = attractive
○For men = humor doesn't matter
■A study found that male subject find their partners sexually attractive
when they respond with laughter to the subjects jokes, not when they
make their own.
○People might not have a clear idea of what they are looking for in a sex partner
until they actually meet someone who appeals to them — what people think
they want does not necessarily predict what they actually choose.
○Men more interested in physical attractiveness while women more interested in
wealth, social status, or intelligence
○Physical attractiveness does NOT predict marital satisfaction over the long
term, but its only the women’s attractiveness that matters
○The more exposure we have the more we like
○The mere fact of having seen a face before makes us judge it as more attractive
than if we are seeing it for the first time.
○Familiarity contribute to attractiveness.
○We like AVERAGE looking people
○In general, the more a couple interacts with each other the more attractive they
find each other
○In some cases familiarly can reduce attractiveness
■With siblings
■Opposite-sex siblings develop an aversion to the scent of each other’s
bodies
○In a study it was found that women found faces more attractive the second time
while men found it more attractive the first time.
■Men prefer sexual novelty
○We like novelty
Document Summary
Touch heari(cid:290)g, s(cid:289)ell are i(cid:289)porta(cid:290)t i(cid:290) attractio(cid:290) Specific se(cid:368) phero(cid:289)o(cid:290)es i(cid:290) (cid:363)o(cid:289)e(cid:290) a(cid:290)d (cid:289)e(cid:290) i(cid:290)flue(cid:290)ce se(cid:368)ual arousal through u(cid:290)co(cid:290)scious olfactor(cid:369) (cid:289)echa(cid:290)is(cid:289)s. People te(cid:290)d to u(cid:290)deresti(cid:289)ate their ph(cid:369)sical attracti(cid:362)e(cid:290)ess. Beha(cid:362)ior a(cid:290)d perso(cid:290)alit(cid:369) te(cid:290)d to i(cid:290)flue(cid:290)ce attracti(cid:362)e(cid:290)ess (cid:289)ore slo(cid:363)l(cid:369) tha(cid:290) appeara(cid:290)ce does. Wo(cid:289)e(cid:290) i(cid:290) high heels co(cid:290)sidered (cid:289)ore attracti(cid:362)e. Perso(cid:290)alit(cid:369) traits are largel(cid:369) judged a(cid:290)d rated i(cid:290)cludi(cid:290)g trust(cid:363)orthi(cid:290)ess, (cid:363)ar(cid:289)th, a(cid:290)d se(cid:290)se of hu(cid:289)or. A stud(cid:369) fou(cid:290)d that (cid:289)ale subject fi(cid:290)d their part(cid:290)ers se(cid:368)uall(cid:369) attracti(cid:362)e (cid:363)he(cid:290) the(cid:369) respo(cid:290)d (cid:363)ith laughter to the subjects jokes, (cid:290)ot (cid:363)he(cid:290) the(cid:369) (cid:289)ake their o(cid:363)(cid:290). Me(cid:290) (cid:289)ore i(cid:290)terested i(cid:290) ph(cid:369)sical attracti(cid:362)e(cid:290)ess (cid:363)hile (cid:363)o(cid:289)e(cid:290) (cid:289)ore i(cid:290)terested i(cid:290) (cid:363)ealth, social status, or i(cid:290)tellige(cid:290)ce. Ph(cid:369)sical attracti(cid:362)e(cid:290)ess does not predict (cid:289)arital satisfactio(cid:290) o(cid:362)er the lo(cid:290)g ter(cid:289), but its o(cid:290)l(cid:369) the (cid:363)o(cid:289)e(cid:290)"s attracti(cid:362)e(cid:290)ess that (cid:289)atters. The (cid:289)ore e(cid:368)posure (cid:363)e ha(cid:362)e the (cid:289)ore (cid:363)e like. The (cid:289)ere fact of ha(cid:362)i(cid:290)g see(cid:290) a face before (cid:289)akes us judge it as (cid:289)ore attracti(cid:362)e tha(cid:290) if (cid:363)e are seei(cid:290)g it for the first ti(cid:289)e.
