Human beings find affection as the emotional foundation of like or dislike. This leads to socialization especially in regards to members of the opposite sex. Kauth (54) argues that when the concept of ‘like’ in affection gets a foundational creation through emotions, attraction is definitely developed.
As a result, it further influences human co-existence between males and females. In the absence of like, dislike tends to remain prevalent and a feeling of affection is usually inclined towards the lower end. Therefore, like leads to affection which is a great factor in determination of attraction between male and female.
On the same note, various research studies on both the concepts of like and dislike in relation to affection have been carried out earlier on in an attempt to understand what creates attraction between men and women.
To date, significant findings have found out that there are common factors that create such attractions in men from different cultures while other factors are culture- based. It is therefore necessary to explore attraction from a global perspective since there are myriad of factors that do influence the power of attraction towards each other. One such factor is cultural background of an individual.
To begin with, it is imperative to note that female attraction has been a great determining factor in creation of social circles between males and females. Kauth (26) puts forth that males consider female attraction as a great feature which is necessary in creating new long-lasting social ties between them.
Such circles may lead to formulation of permanent circles created through marital bondages. Although attraction may not be ultimately defined, there seems to be convergence towards various arguments that have been put forward globally. For instance, attraction has been closely discussed alongside with certain aspects such as physical, psychological as well as emotional well being. Hence, personal biases coupled with cultural prejudices create and influence differences in men when making final decisions with respect to what creates attraction towards them.
It is a general and widespread understanding that most men get attracted to females’ physical features which they usually attribute towards beauty. The first sight of a female figure usually creates a feeling of either like or dislike among men. Since men have tendencies towards liking beauty, a beautiful face automatically leads to creation of attraction between a man and a woman.
The more beautiful the face of a woman is, the more she is likely to draw feelings of like and thus attraction from men. Attractive faces are not however uniformly defined in all world cultures but they make a global foundation of a woman’s beauty and thus ability to create attraction. Differences are however exhibited from culture to culture although it is one of the global factors of attraction.
For instance, African Americans find big body size complimentary to face beauty. White Americans consider a beautiful face in addition to a slim body as the most prevalent beautiful feature in a woman. Hispanics and Latin Americans a beauty comprises of family values (Simony 87).
External determinants of attraction vary across groups of people as directed by cultural biases, environmental settings and proximity. The latter is of great importance in determining the duration of attraction together with its strength since spontaneous contacts raise the levels of curiosity and thus attraction.
Physical settings as well make attractions become real since it is readily executable. Resultant responses from real time interactions may either limit or extend the levels of attraction between men and women. It is also vital to mention that due to what may be referred to as real time interaction; some males create a like attitude towards women while others end up disliking them totally.
As studies through a cross section of Americans have revealed, the power of proximity is not to be underestimated in creation of attraction since communication between the major senses of sight and vision works best when proximity between the two parties is shorter. As such, virtual presence of males and females especially with the use of internet technology has rapidly accelerated the rate at which men and women bond (Richardson and Paul 83).
It has also been found out that the tendency of attraction lies within lines of similarities. Simony (21) contends that racial and ethnic similarities take central control in creation of attraction. Studies within African Americans, Hispanics and Latin Americans have revealed biasness in attraction within various racial backgrounds. The preference for these groups when it comes to attractions is largely influenced by the origin of the object.
Other studies have also indicated that men tend to get more attracted to women of their ethnic or racial group faster since they expect greater levels or reciprocal likings from them. On the contrary, studies done on women from these groups indicated that they are more likely to reciprocate to men of external groups than those who are closer to them. Therefore, the desire to be accepted among these men creates liking emotions towards women of their ethnic or racial groups and thus leads to greater attraction towards the same.
Immediate social interactions circles also influence levels of attraction in different individuals. Marlette (35) argues that perception of family, friends, spouses and lovers arouse a desire to create such groups and thus lead to attraction and preferences. Families with great bonds and networks bring up an individual with great levels of attraction towards a desired spouse to fit into the family network.
For instance, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and African Americans have a higher affinity for women who will keep long lasting relations and readily interact with family members. On the other hand, European Americans have affinity for creation of only single immediate family and thus are attracted to such spouses. These attractions are caused by societal conception of social and family circles since cultural foundations are greatly determinate in creation of attractions.
Social attractions that also lead to man-woman relationships are also closely attached to romantic attraction. Romance is considered as attraction beyond friendship. It is usually defined as the exploration and satisfaction of psychosexual needs of an individual. As a matter of fact, it influences the levels of attraction between men and women with qualities or likelihoods of exploring and fulfilling their psychosexual needs.
A great number of studies as confirmed by Matt (25) have indicated that romance lays a very firm foundation for long lasting relationships between members of the opposite sex. Although physical attractions are considered as the pioneers of attractions, romance becomes the keeper of these attractions.
Social psychologists have found out that without romantic attractions, long lasting attractions are impossible. With differing social and racial ethnicities, psychosexual needs of individuals diverge and sometimes converge despite of the physical differences. African American men together with Hispanics and Native Americans believe that women of the white origin are more romantic than while Americans of the white origin believe African American women are more romantic in relationships (Kauth 64).
The concept of marriage and conformity also influence levels of attraction between men and women. Simony (23) argues that African-Americans, Hispanics and Latin Americans believe that marriage should be long-lasting with extension of family relations to both sides of the parties besides the act of siring of children.
Women with qualities aligned towards favoring these raise attraction from like-minded men. Americans of the European descent believe that the concept of the family is to sire children and create a loving nuclear family and are thus attracted to women with such characteristics.
The autokinetic research conducted by Sherif indicates that emergence of norms arises from character towards conformity. It points out that even situational norms are rooted in the groups people choose to go along with and thus conformity increases love and thus attraction. Even though there is pressure to admit conformity from an individual, absolute conformity leads to affectionate social circles between men and women.
From the discussion, it is evident that attraction that emanates from women to men is clearly influenced by numerous factors such as similarities, proximity between concerned parties, cultural perceptions of attraction, the concept of the family and conformities. Although these factors determine the levels of attraction in women to men, cultural and ethnic differences also play a crucial role in determination of attraction and thus create differences in preferences across groups of people.
Works Cited
Kauth, Michael. True nature: a theory of sexual attraction. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2000.Print.
Marlette, Rachel. Long Lasting Relationships. New York, NY: Mc Millan, 2009.Print.
Matt, Caroline. Why Men Get Attracted To Women. Durban, South Africa: Longhorn, 2008.Print.
Richardson, Simon and Spiegel, Paul. Creating Attraction. Chicago: Mcgraw Hill, 2011.Print.
Simony, Samson. Preferences of Attraction: Marriage. London, UK: Spear Books, 2010.Print.