Body Language and Sexual Attraction

Does Your Online Photo (Profile Photo) Captivate Those Who are Looking?

Body Language isn’t the only factor in sexual Attraction.

It is the most important.

Ah…and it may be time to update your profile picture…

When it comes to what people find sexually attractive, men probably really are from Mars and women from Venus.

For 40 years political agendas have attempted to make men and women one in the same. Nothing is further from the truth as is once again demonstrated through a simple but important study. There are so many “beliefs” that people hold that simply are wrong. Example: I bet you’ve heard that confidence is the number one thing people find attractive- recent research suggests those that believed that were wrong.

In research just released, Jessica Tracy and Alec Beall report on what displayed emotions attract the most members of the opposite sex. They found that men are attracted to women that smile and appear happy. You probably already know this by experience, as a smile from a woman usually acts as an invitation to conversation, as well as showing their nurturing, non-dominant selves. Women who displayed pride or shame, however, were rated lower in attractiveness. When women were standing up straight, chest puffed out, chin up-all sure signs of confidence-men were not impressed.

And now, the obvious: The bad boys. Women do love confident men but it doesn’t end there. Women were found to be significantly more sexually attracted to pride and shame than they were of happiness. It has been speculated that smiling in men is a sign of femininity.

So does this mean..

If you’re a man you should stop smiling at women and immediately begin exerting signs of pride and dominance everywhere you go?
If you’re a woman you should simmer down the confidence and start smiling more?

Not necessarily.

When couples are engaged in a conversation or activity together, you see them actively smiling at each other, equally having a good time. This study is pointing out the sexual attraction we have to strangers initially, with only potential generalization to our romantic partners.

Men: You don’t want to come off as shallow or pompous, but maintaining a mysterious persona at first may work to your advantage when attracting strangers. Then knock them dead with your killer sense of humor-women are three times as likely to give out their numbers to men the find humorous.

Women: While smiling at random has been shown to elevate moods, you don’t want to give off the impression of being fake, deceitful, or unreal. It is fairly easy to detect the difference between a genuine smile and a forced smile. A genuine smile is called the Duchenne smile-when the muscles in your face pull the cheeks up and wrinkle around the eyes. Smiling is not only an expression of happiness, it could also be a sign of embarrasment or deceit. Smile when you mean it- everyone appreciates a real smile. In social interactions, a smile is rewarding.