Why are we attracted to one person over another? Science is working to answer this question with some intriguing new research. It may be that unexpected (and some unseen) factors like biochemical odors and the women’s voices may add to the visual appeal of the face that makes your heart pound and your palms sweat.
Scent may have a huge influence on sexual attraction. Researchers Karl Grammer and Elizabeth Oberzaucher who are leading the way in this area have found that when women ovulate they send out a scent that attracts men.
When a man gets a whiff, his testosterone levels go up. This causes the male body to secrete androstenone, an odor that will repel a woman who isn’t ovulating. It’s a survival mechanism that helps to identify fertile women to a male, and serves to keep his attention and interest.
“We are innately all puppies in heat,” says sex therapist Dr. Laura Berman. “We are capable of discerning 10,000 different scents consciously. But then there’s a whole realm of unconscious scents that we’re not even aware that we’re smelling.”
Voice pitch has also been found to have a direct impact on attraction. Women with higher estrogen levels tend to have higher pitched voices, and this is more desirable to men.
During the middle of a woman’s cycle, when she’s most fertile and able to conceive a child, her voice is rated much more attractive. This according Gordon Gallup, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany.
But don’t discount the power of physical appearance just yet.
A Scottish researcher, psychologist Lisa DeBruine of the University of Aberdeen, has found that a woman’s face gets more attractive to men when she’s ovulating.
Maybe she looks healthier, or maybe there’s something else that makes females at this point look attractive to men.
Biostatistics expert Kendra Schmid has done more work in this area and looks at face symmetry using a formula that employs 29 different measurements to determine appeal on a scale of 1 to 10.
Using her formula, Brad Pitt rates a 9.3 of 10.0, the highest ever… while the rest of us rate from 4 to 6.
And then there’s this to appease all the skeptics out there…
Experts have also found that if a woman looks at a man’s face she’ll rate that face differently when supplied with a corresponding income. Not surprisingly, it seems woman rates a man higher on an attractiveness scale if he makes more money.
“It goes back again to evolution. When we were having babies who were very dependent on us, we couldn’t hunt and take care of ourselves, so we were looking for the man who had the most social status, who was the best hunter, who was going to bring home the biggest chunk of meat for our babies,” says Berman. “It’s the same thing today.”
Continues below…
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The Solid Science Behind Sex Appeal continued…
And, according to sex therapist Berman, you can do something to assess the future of a relationship – go for the kiss. “You really learn a lot from a kiss. … Sixty-six percent of women say they would dump a guy after a bad first kiss.
It’s not only because you’re getting that good whiff of him so you’re seeing if you like the way he smells. All your senses are engaged, and you get a sense of his sensuality, his connection, whether he’s a take-charge kind of guy or more of a stepping back kind.”
Kissing frequency in a relationship is also a key indicator of happiness. A kiss of ten seconds or more every day is a great way to stay connected and keep love alive.
To your good health,
Kirsten Whittaker
Daily Health Bulletin Editor
