Types of attraction

Types of attraction

Sexual Attraction: Sexual attraction is when you’re attracted to someone based on desire. You want to be intimate with them and have sex with them. This type of attraction has nothing to do with the persons personality or whether you want a relationship with them.  It’s mainly your biology that determines whether you are sexual attracted to a person or not.

Smell and pheromonesalso have a role to play in sexual attraction. Interestingly we tend to find people that have a different immune system to our own more attractive than those that have a similar immune system. This is because if we went on to mate with that person the children we produced would have a stronger immune system due to the mix. We can subconsciously pick up this information through smell.

STUDY – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1741-7007-8-75#citeas

Romantic Attraction: Romantic attraction is when a person desires to have a romantic relationship with a person. Romantic attraction can be hard to define but in general it means a person has a deep emotional attraction to a person. If you’re experiencing a romantic attraction you will have a great connection with that person.

Physical Attraction: Physical attraction comes down to instinct. It’s not something that can be forced and tends to happen subconsciously. Physical attraction normally takes place within the first 90 seconds of first meeting a person. Physical and sexual attraction are very similar. They both focus on the physical rather than a persons personality.

Emotional Attraction: In contrast to sexual and physical attraction, emotional attraction boils down to personality. You are attracted to the person as a being not participatory their physical body, although that can factor in too. You may find yourself developing an emotional attraction to someone that you’ve know for years. This type of attraction can run very deep and you’ll likely want that person to stay in your life forever. Aesthetic Attraction: Aesthetic attraction is when a person likes the way another person looks. They appreciate their beauty and enjoy looking at them. This has nothing to do with sexual or romantic attraction.

Ieva Kubiliute is a psychologist and a sex and relationships advisor and a freelance writer. She's also a consultant to several health and wellness brands. While Ieva specialises in covering wellness topics ranging from fitness and nutrition, to mental wellbeing, sex and relationships and health conditions, she has written across a diverse range of lifestyle topics, including beauty and travel. Career highlights so far include: luxury spa-hopping in Spain and joining an £18k-a-year London gym. Someone’s got to do it! When she’s not typing away at her desk—or interviewing experts and case studies, Ieva winds down with yoga, a good movie and great skincare (affordable of course, there’s little she doesn’t know about budget beauty). Things that bring her endless joy: digital detoxes, oat milk lattes and long country walks (and sometimes jogs).

Latest from Sex