Love at first sight - or half second

[Exeter]

Love at first sight - or half second

September 19, 2007 - 1:54PM

Disbelievers in love at first sight may have to think again because new research shows it only takes half a second to decide if someone is attractive and a potential mate. "The study gets at the basic perceptual aspects in mating," said psychologist Jon Maner, of Florida State University, who headed the team.
"It shows how quickly, strongly and automatically people are attuned to physical attractiveness whether looking for mates or guarding their mates from potential rivals," he added in an interview.
Maner and his team, who published their findings in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, discovered that people tend to fixate on attractive faces within the first half-second of seeing them before sizing them up as a possible mate or rival.
In the study university students were shown pictures of very attractive or average-looking people for one second before being asked to look at something else. By measuring people's reaction time, Maner and his team were able to determine that half a second is all it takes to decide if someone is attractive.



Half a second to terminal velocity ... people fall hard and fast for beauty.

The researchers also noticed that people fixated on attractive faces for half a second longer after the one second time limit.
Single people in the study were interested in members of the opposite sex.
"These are the kind of people we might prefer as romantic partners, but it doesn't mean we'd be able to have a relationship with them because highly-attractive people are very sought after," said Maner.
But people in committed relationships who viewed the pictures were interested in attractive members of the same sex.
"These are the type of people we are jealous of and vigilant towards, worrying about infidelity as we try to guard our mates," Maner explained.
The study also showed the pitfalls of visual fixation, including negative effects on self-esteem when looking at an attractive person of the same sex. Maner said the negativity could potentially be linked to illnesses such as bulimia.
Another pitfall is that people may become less satisfied in their current relationships.
"The evidence shows when we see attractive alternatives to our partners it can make us feel less satisfied and less committed with our current partner, which clearly has implications for relationship success," said Maner.

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[Arthur Gordon Pym]

I don't think that anyone serious can disprove the very fact of existence of the love at first sight. Another matter is whether it can be a solid basis for future, more durable arrangements...

[Iamthatguy]

I totally believe in it :-)

I think that we also tend to unconsciously seek partners who would match well with us genetically. I read something along those lines in a scientific journal a while ago.

I always joke that I can't end up with a big nosed guy cause I've always hated my nose LOL my mom thinks that's eugenics BS

[Exeter]

I read men seek partners similar to their mothers and women try to find men to their fathers. I should try to find those articles if it is also about the behaviour being similar.

Read So it’s true after all – women really do marry men who look like their fathers - Times Online

It doesn't work with Halle Berry. Her boyfriend is Gabriel Aubry. I doubt her father was physically similar to him. It does say in the article that
"The link applied only when father and daughter were particularly close. Women who reported negative, neutral or even slightly positive bonds were no more likely to favour men resembling their fathers than anyone else."

Halle Berry's father left the family when she was a small child. That could explain her case. She has also been raised by her white mother which is of sociological significance.

Originally Posted by Iamthatguy

I think that we also tend to unconsciously seek partners who would match well with us genetically. I read something along those lines in a scientific journal a while ago.

[Carnyx]

Similar to my mother? It's sick.

[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Originally Posted by Exeter

I read men seek partners similar to their mothers and women try to find men to their fathers. I should try to find those articles if it is also about the behaviour being similar.

Doesn't work for me...although, somehow, I tend to think that women that are psychologically similar to my mother attract me more than those who are not.