Love at First Sight?

We all know that the success of a first date could quickly put an end to a relationship, or potentially lead to a second date.  But what makes a first date a hit?  Some people believe in "love at first sight."  Even though I am all about "happily ever after," I am unsure about "love at first sight."  However, sometimes two people do meet for the first time, and they hit it right off.  With the help of teenadvice.about.com, and two scholar journals, I will explain these components that can make first dates a flame.

According to "Close Encounters", "we are drawn to people's look, whether it is someone's body, eyes, hair, attire, or other aspects of a persona's appearance (Page 50.)"  This physical attraction is one of the first things that we notice about a person.  The scholar journal article, "Why Mate Choices are not as Reciprocal as we Assume: The Role of Personality, Flirting and Physical Attractivenes" says that people who are physically attractive are likely to be more popular (Page 122.)  Also, keep the matching hypothesis in mind.  As stated in "Ellen Berscheid, Elaine Hatfield, and the Emergence of Relationship Science," we are attracted to people who are as physically attractive as we are (page 561). Doesn't it always seem like the hottest guy is dating the gorgeous girl with perfect hair? For the most part, people tend to date others who are within one point of their attractiveness score (1-10).

The most important part of what makes physical attractiveness important on a first date, is the halo effect.  "Is Love at First Sight A Real Thing" found on teenadvice.about.com describes a scenario that we have all likely been in at one time or another.  Sometimes, when you first meet a person, even though you know nothing about them, you can feel such a strong connection and attraction.  This article says that instead of "love at first sight", you are experiencing the attractiveness halo effect.  This theory says that we tend to think that people who are physically attractive, also have other positive qualities.  Even though this isn't always true, we believe that good looking people are also charming, successful, intelligent, and have other great characteristics.  This theory has also been said to be cross-cultural in "The Attractiveness Halo: Why Some Candidates are Perceived More Favorably than Others (Page 115.)"  Even though sometimes this "love at first sight", halo effect can make a great first date, it does not mean that the relationship will lead to a healthy relationship or marriage, although it could.  The next time that a good looking man (or woman) catches your eye and the two of you hit it off, is it love at first sight, or are his good looks tricking you into the halo effect?



Works Cited:

Reis H., Aron A., Clark M., Finkel E.(2013) "Ellen Berscheid, Elaine Hatfield, and the
Emergence of Relationship Science", Perspective on Psycological Science, 8: 558 DOI:10.1177/1745691613497966

Back M., Penke L., Schmukle S., Sachse K., Borkenau P., Asendorpf J. (2011) "Why Mate Choices are not as Reciprocal as we Assume: The Role of Personality, Flirting and Physical Attractiveness", European Journal of Personality, DOI: 10.1002/per.806

Verhulst B., Lodge M., Lavine H. (2010) "The Attractiveness Halo: Why Some Candidates are Perceived More Favorably than Others", Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 34:111–117DOI 10.1007/s10919-009-0084-z

Ashworth H., "Is Love at First Sight a Real Thing?", http://teenadvice.about.com/od/datinglove/a/love_at_first_sight.htm

"Close Encounters: Communicating in Relationships" 2011. Guerrero, Andersen, Afifi.