We’re all attracted to people all the time. What is it that attracts us to others? And
what do others find attractive about you? [music]
These are some of the questions our team is going to try and answer in this series of
videos. With millions of people to choose from, finding that perfect someone shouldn’t
be that difficult. But the media, social pressures and human nature itself have turned it into
a mystery. We’re surrounded by manipulated images, celebrity and glossy perfection. We’re
given rules about dating through books, websites and the press. They all pressure us to conform
to an ideal of what is attractive. But what’s the truth? It’s time for science to tackle
the subject. Through a series of experiments, our team are going to piece together some
of the clues to this enormously complex phenomenon and in these videos they will explore
the science of attraction.
Characteristics such as sincerity, intellect and dependability are key attributes that
we all seek in friendships or romantic partners. We tend to make many assumptions on appearances
but how reliable is our judgement? A person, who we may see initially as friendly
or honest could turn out to be completely the opposite. Are we bad judges of character
or do people try and mislead others? Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.
Today 700 million people are using social networking websites, some specifically for
dating and match making. And on these sites we are presented in a very brief format, in
many cases we are initially judged just by a photograph. This way of presenting ourselves
is becoming more and more prevalent. So how important is the picture we choose to represent
ourselves online? In this video, the team will take the science
of attraction to the Great British public to find out what your profile picture says
about you and what type of photos are best at attracting attention? It may not be the
ones you expect
>>It's a cat in afro, who doesn't like a cat in afro?
People are naturally keen to show off their most attractive qualities, particularly in
their profile photo on social networking and dating sites.
Do flirtatious photos get the best response?
Does the quality and context of the photo matter?
And is flashing flesh the way to go?
We decided to find out.
Profile pictures seem to fall into one of a number of different categories: That's self-taken
camera phone or webcam shots, outdoors or on holiday, in your own personal space, doing
something interesting or an abstract photo, to represent yourself.
In order to test out some of the myths and science about profile pictures we've set up
a profile picture experiment at this shopping centre.
On our stand we have 10 sets of photos, five of guys and five of girls. Each set has five
photos in it, one for each of the most common profile types. Which just to remind you are
as follows:
Number one, outside or on holiday.
Number two, in your own personal space
Number three, an abstract photo, which represents you.
Number four, a self-taken camera phone shot.
And finally, number five, doing something interesting.
We asked members of the public to choose their favourite profile picture for each of the
10 people displayed and then to pick an overall favourite. According to the scientific research
men in general are much more interested in the physical attractiveness of their potential
partners then women are. Women tend to put more of an emphasis on personality traits
and career prospects. Research also suggests that men agree a lot more about who they find
attractive and unattractive while women have a much broader opinion. Over 170 people later,
and it was time to check out the votes and find out what people thought about the photos.
>>I chose Mr C and photo five, he just looked playful and more outgoing than the rest.
>>I liked C and I liked photo one, I liked the fact there was scenery, it was nice, rather
than drunken, at a party like most profile pictures seem to be these days
>>I chose Miss C, number five, it showed her as an interesting character
>>I chose Mr A and the number three one where he's got I think it's the Eiffel Tower behind
him
>>The photo I like the best was letter D, number two I think because I'm a fan of short
hair and she had short hair and a great body as well
>>I like Mr A, two, because you could see his entire face but he also looked like he
was having a good time
>>Miss C and photo number three, I like that photo because well it's a cat in afro, who
doesn't like a cat in an afro?
Our results match the science. With Miss C being most popular, getting almost 50% of
the guys votes the women voted Mr A, C and E most frequently, each of them getting on
average 25% of the votes, this shows that women's choices vary more than men's when
it comes to what they find attractive.
What was clear in this experiment was that people were drawn to photos that were representative
of personality and showed that the subject had the potential to be an interesting person
to talk to.
>>It just sort of drew me because he looked quite active and it was in quite a natural
surrounding environment
>>She looked like cheery and happy basically
>>I like that photo the most because he looks like he's into water sports and I quite like
water sports, I've been scuba-diving and I really enjoyed it.
>>I like that photo because she's just chilling out, pretty much what I do at home.
>>Thought it was a really arty photo, it's nice. Very nice picture.
Looking at the results from every angle, it's clear that the most popular type of photo
was the one which showed our subject doing something interesting, a reflection of who
they are and what they like. Overall this type of photo got a third of all votes as
favourite. The Self shot coy photo and flashing flesh
pictures are the ones which get the most messages and attention according to research but are
those the messages you want? Photos of people doing something interesting generate much
more meaningful messages.
>>Based on that photograph, it would probably be something like, oh so you've been travelling?
And like how was France? Possibly talk about photography skills and stuff like that because
I'm really into that type of thing
>>If I was I to send him a message, I would have to ask him where he was because it looks
really nice there
>>If I was single I would probably say something like, awesome afro and then just see where
it goes from there, something simple.
>>Hi, you look like a nice guy, want to meet up some time? Winky face, tongue [laughter].
>>When it comes to relationships and representation on line your ability to show your best qualities
can be a crucial factor. According to research, if you initially show your personality and
interests, then you'll find more people drawn to you.
In our experiment people were genuinely looking for what interested them about the people
in the photographs rather than just sex appeal. This goes along with much of the previous
research out there, that while you may be able to get a lot of attention by flashing
flesh, ultimately people perceive you as more interesting and worth engaging if you show
you have a diverse and interesting personality.
So there you have it. There are no tricks, no magic methods for fooling people into liking
you. It truly is as simple as being yourself. And representing that, with your picture profile.
>>To find out more and test out our chat up line generator go to scienceofattraction.co.uk