Do you remember your first crush?
Maybe you’re finding yourself very attracted to someone at the moment.
Attraction is something most of us experienced throughout our lives
and crushes can be incredibly powerful
Maybe you’re wondering if someone has a crush on you
or how to attract that special someone.
If so, watch on for 8 psychological facts about crushes.
one: prolonged eye contact can increase attraction to your crush.
Kellerman Laird al 1989 decided to
look at the effect eye contact can have on how much we like someone.
They had strangers engage in mutual gaze,
looking at each other in the eye
and then had the participants rate each other.
They found that this prolonged eye contact
increased attraction and attachment to the stranger
So, if you want to appear more attractive to your crush,
be sure to look them in the eye.
two: opposites do attract.
We’ve all heard the saying “opposites attract “
but is there any truth to it?
Hummel, Croy et al, 2016, looked into this saying.
They specifically looked at genetic blueprints known as HLA complexes.
they found that women were naturally more attracted to those with
with different HLA complexes to themselves.
it would seem therefore that opposites do indeed attract
and who you crush on
could come down to different genetic blueprints
With your help, we can reach more people and provide our support.
three: children with older parents
fancy older people when they become adults
do you know someone who always seemed to
have a crush on someone older than themselves?
Someone who always seems to have an age gap in their relationships?
Some research has suggested this could be due to parental age.
One study found an association
between a child’s parents being older
And then finding older faces more attractive when they are adults
if you find you’re always crushing on someone older,
it could be because of your parents.
four: those with symmetrical faces tend to be more attractive.
so what is it that actually make someone attractive
Why is it that some people have loads of admirers?
it seems to be that our brains are wired in a way
that finds certain things more attractive.
one constant across a wide range of people seems to be
that faces which are symmetrical are rated as attractive.
Does your crush have a symmetrical face?
That could be why you find them attractive.
Five: sound and smell play a role in attraction
It seems fairly obvious to say sight plays a role in attraction
we tend to attribute our initial attraction
to someone to how they look.
however it isn’t the only sense that matters
it has also been found that both sound and smell
also have a part to play in a crush developing.
specifically, it seems that a person’s voice
and their scent are important to that initial attraction.
This makes sense, as along with how they look,
these two factors are things you perceive
very quickly when meeting someone. So,
so, although you may not realize,
it could be more than just your crushes looks that you’re attracted to.
Six, we’re attracted to those of similar Heights to us.
It has been found in various studies
that couples Heights are often positively correlated
This means that taller individuals on average end up with taller partners.
But why is this?
Is it environmentally learned or is it genetic?
Tenesa et al, 2016, decided to look into this question.
Using advanced statistical techniques,
they managed to find that choice mate height
meaning that height of our partner
was due at least in part, to genetic factors.
so if your crush is a similar height to you,
this is probably due to genetics.
Seven: the color red makes woman more attractive to men.
Red is often associated with attraction and desire,
but is there any other reasons for this?
One study looked at the effects color had
on heterosexual men’s judgment
on the attractiveness of several women.
It found that red made men think women were more attractive.
They suggested this is due to social conditioning,
because society associates red with passion,
so did these participants.
The study only looked at heterosexual attraction
and so it’s unclear whether the same effect
would be found in the same-sex attraction.
Eight, falling in love causes psychological changes.
Falling in love is a powerful thing
which has a profound effect on us
It’s been found it has a lot of psychological changes on the body.
It releases chemicals which have the effect of making us feel good.
Our cheeks blush pink
our palms sweat
and our heart race
Have you ever noticed these changes when you talk to your crush?