Why We Have a "Type": The Biology Behind Attraction

Why are we attracted to certain people but not others? In this episode we explore what science reveals about romantic and sexual preferences, focusing on how the brain's reward system, hormones, and evolutionary pressures shape attraction. We discuss dopamine and oxytocin's roles, hormonal influences across the menstrual cycle, immune-genetic cues, and how personal experiences and cultural context create individual "types."

The episode also highlights limitations in current research, especially the lack of diverse and LGBTQ+ focused studies, and explains that attraction results from the interplay of brain activity, hormones acting like volume controls, evolutionary signals, and learned personal associations.

References / further reading:

Gonzalo R. Quintana, Conall E. Mac Cionnaith, J. Pfaus (2022). Behavioral, Neural, and Molecular Mechanisms of Conditioned Mate Preference: The Role of Opioids and First Experiences of Sexual Reward. International Journal of Molecular Sciences

D. Scheele, Andrea Wille, K. Kendrick, B. Stoffel‐Wagner, B. Becker, and 3 more (2013). Oxytocin enhances brain reward system responses in men viewing the face of their female partner. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Helen E. Fisher, A. Aron, L. Brown (2005). Romantic love: An fMRI study of a neural mechanism for mate choice. The Journal of comparative neurology

Ernest Edmonds (2011). Transactions. Irish Journal of Medical Science (1922-1925)

Heather A. Rupp, T. James, E. Ketterson, D. Sengelaub, E. Janssen, and 1 more (2009). Neural Activation in Women in Response to Masculinized Male Faces: Mediation by Hormones and Psychosexual Factors. Evolution and human behavior

Kelly A. Gildersleeve, M. Haselton, Melissa R. Fales (2014). Do women's mate preferences change across the ovulatory cycle? A meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin

Amanda C. Hahn, D. Perrett (2014). Neural and behavioral responses to attractiveness in adult and infant faces. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

C. Wedekind, T. Seebeck, F. Bettens, Alexander J. Paepke (1995). MHC-dependent mate preferences in humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences

B. Jones, C. Fincher, Lisa L. M. Welling, A. Little, D. Feinberg, and 3 more (2013). Salivary cortisol and pathogen disgust predict men's preferences for feminine shape cues in women's faces. Biological Psychology