English Rewind - Entertainment: The science of attraction 💖

Hello. Andrew here from BBC Learning English.  Just so you know, this programme is from the BBC  

Learning English archive and was first broadcast  in November 2006 on our website. And now, on with the show!

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Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and this is Entertainment. Today, we're talking about love.

Love is one of the strongest emotions there is and that's how usually we think of it, as an emotion.

Love is the topic of many songs, poems, plays, films, paintings, greetings cards, and t-shirts.

And, as a famous song says, love is all around us.

But is there more to love than emotion?

Have you ever wondered why we are attracted to some people, and not to others?

Here's psychologist Dr. Glenn Wilson. What does he think? Is there a science to love?

There certainly is! There are some rules in the sense  of scientific rules, and one is the Similarity Principle

that other things being equal, we  like people who rather similar to ourselves.

Yes, he does think there are some scientific rules  to love and attraction.

What is one of the rules he mentions? Listen again.

There are some rules in the sense of scientific rules, and one

is the Similarity Principle that other things being  equal, we like people who are rather similar to ourselves.

Dr. Wilson talks of the Similarity Principle. The idea that we like people who are similar to ourselves.

He goes on to explain more.  What particular feature does he say we look for similarity in?

Generally speaking, we choose the  eye colour that is similar to ourselves. But we would  

also we would go for an eye colour that matches  our opposite sex parent more than our same  

sex parent. As though we are using the opposite sex parent as a kind of a blueprint for what it is that will attract us.

So, apparently eye colour is important  too. We choose people with similar eye colours or  

even people whose eyes are similar to those of  our opposite sex parents. So, in other words, for a  

woman that's eyes which are similar to her father's, and for  a man similar to his mother's. That's  

one of those subconscious rules of attraction.

subconscious' - 'it's not something we think  about when we see someone'.

We don't think: "Aha,  she's got eyes like mine! I think I love her."

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So what are some of  the other 'subconscious' rules of attraction? 

Here's Dr. Glenn Wilson again with Chris Evans from BBC  radio. What is the principle that he mentions?  

So there are some principles. Symmetry, for example, that is having one of everything down the middle, and two  

of everything down the side, is very important.  Hopefully! And if the two sides match each other 

perfectly, if the mirror images would fold over on top perfectly, then that person is more likely to  

be attractive because it implies a healthy development.

In that part of the interview he mentioned the principle of 'symmetry'. If the left-hand and the right-hand side of the face

are 'symmetrical', if they are like a mirror image,  then that makes that person more attractive.

But why is that? Listen again.

That person is more likely to be attractive because it implies a healthy development.

Having 'symmetrical' features  implies a healthy development, and this is one of  

those 'subconscious' things which makes us find  people attractive. And finding someone who looks  

healthy is important because subconsciously we  are looking for a partner who can produce strong  

and healthy offspring. 'offspring' is another word  for 'children' and as with animals in the wild

our instincts are to mate. 'to mate', 'to produce'  'offspring'. Something that is often said is that  

opposites attract. It's certainly true for  magnets, but what about people? In the next  

section from the interview with Dr. Wilson, he  talks about pheromones and the immune system.

'pheromones' are 'chemicals which humans and  animals produce'. These chemicals can't be smelt,  

but they are detected by others and can affect  the way they behave. And 'the immune system' is  

'part of the body's natural defences. It's the  system that fights off diseases in the body'. 

So, Dr. Wilson is there any truth to the belief that  opposites attract?

There's not much truth in it, other, beyond the idea of the gender opposite. But there's one other interesting finding 

which is that we seem to be able to detect by  smell or pheromones a person who has

a different immune system from ourselves. Such  that when we mate with them our offspring will be  

given, stronger, a broadened immune spectrum.   

Well Dr. Wilson says there's not much truth in the saying that opposites attract, except in the basic idea of being attracted 

to someone from the opposite sex. Although, that's not  true for everybody. However, he does say that  

through the actions of 'pheromones', or smells, we  are able to detect people who have a different  

'immune system'. This will be good for any  'offspring' because it means they will have  

the benefit of two different 'immune systems', and  should grow up stronger and more able to fight disease.

So, there we have it! Love is a powerful  emotion. But there is a lot of science behind it,  

and a lot of the attraction we might feel  for someone is based on things happening  

in our subconscious. Now, that's what I call romance!

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