The One Personality Trait In Both Men And Women That Makes People Incredibly Attracted To Them
It's the one trait both men and women find irresistibly attractive.
Getty Well, this is good to know … A study from the University of Queensland in Australia has found a trait that both men and women find attractive in people they fall in love with.
We tend to speculate about the things that attract men and women and make them fall in love, so anything that can add substance to the conversation is welcome news.
There is one personality trait in men and women that makes people incredibly attracted to them, and it's a rare one.
The trait is non-conformity, and it turns out that both men and women find this incredibly alluring.
The research: How they determined the trait that is most attractive to people
Researchers asked 115 undergraduate students to rate the attractiveness of 20 individuals based on their profiles. Participants then had to say whether or not they would be interested in going on a date with the person behind the profile.
Each profile was ‘manipulated’ to emphasize conformity (with statements such as, ‘She is quite happy to go along with what others are doing,’) or non-conformity (‘She often does her own thing rather than fit in with the group.)
The participants were asked which people of the opposite gender they found most attractive. They were also asked to name which members of their own gender they thought would be most attractive to others.
The results of the research into the personality trait that is most attractive to people
So what do men and women find attractive? Both the men and women were more attracted to the profiles of people who seemed to know their own mind.
Interestingly though, the men were more accurate in predicting which profiles would be the most attractive to the opposite sex. Women tended to overestimate the extent to which men would prefer women who followed the crowd, but it turns out that’s not the case. Men prefer women who know their own mind.
To test out whether the findings were unique to the Australian culture, the study was also conducted in Britain, America, and India. The results were similar to those found in Australia. Both men and women prefer partners who can think for themselves.
In a world that sometimes feels like it presses too hard for conformity, it feels more than a little bit excellent to know that an independent mind is where it’s at to send sparks flying.
The research dispels a common belief (or maybe a stereotypical belief) that men prefer women who are submissive and agreeable. Of course, some men prefer this (just as some women prefer men who are more conforming) but for the vast majority, this just isn’t the case.
For them, women with their own minds are the ones who get their attention — and the first date.
Karen Young has worked as a psychologist in private practice and in educational and organizational settings. She founded the website, Hey Sigmund, after realizing the power of solid information.