International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
Psychology Extended Essay
The role of biological factors in mediating interpersonal attraction
Research Question:
To what extent do biological factors play a role in influencing attraction?
Word count: 3999
Candidate code: jrv461
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Table of Contents
Introduc)on ............................................................................................................................ 3
Dopamine and a3rac)on ........................................................................................................ 5
Testosterone and a3rac)on .................................................................................................... 8
Oxytocin and a3rac)on ........................................................................................................ 11
Cogni)on, culture, and a3rac)on ......................................................................................... 14
Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 18
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 20
Works Cited .......................................................................................................................... 22
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Introduc)on
Human attraction is a complex and multidimensional social behavior that continues to be
a part of ongoing research and investigation. This paper defines attraction via the definition
stated in the American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology, which defines
attraction as “the interest in and liking of one individual by another, or the mutual interest and
liking between two or more individuals. Interpersonal attraction may be based on shared
experiences or characteristics, physical appearance, internal motivation (e.g., for affiliation), or
some combination of these. Also called interpersonal attraction.” (American Psychological
Association).
Currently, some biological factors of attraction are well-researched with a multitude of
supporting studies such as Wedekind et al (Wedekind et al.) and Walum et al (Walum et al.).
Some of those factors and additional theories that could be applied in an attempt to explain
attraction are included in the three fields of psychology – the biological, cognitive, and
sociocultural fields.
The biological approach to psychology, also alternatively referred to as biopsychology is
the psychological perspective that places heavy emphasis on comprehending human behavior
and cognitive processes through the explanations of the influence of various biological factors
that stem from the physiological mechanisms of our bodies, such as neurotransmitters or
hormones.
Neurotransmitters are chemical substances synthesized within the neuronal cell body and
bind to the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron to catalyze reactions. Following these functions,
neurotransmitters are used as mediators to transmit signals from one neuron to another or to a
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target cell within our brains. Additionally, Neurotransmitters help control our functions such as
thoughts and feelings that are relevant to attraction (Cleveland Clinic).
Hormones on the other hand are also chemical messengers. Except they travel within the
body’s bloodstream to organs instead of between synapses like neurotransmitters. They act
slower over time with a longer duration and affect our bodily functions such as our moods and
sexual function.
The advancement of medical technology over the past decade has greatly increased its
accessibility and subsequently paved the way for more research in the biological field to
investigate interpersonal attraction. Thus, this essay will focus on examining modern studies in
an attempt to reevaluate how neurotransmitters and hormones affect the formation of attraction.
Hence, the research question of this essay is: To what extent do biological factors play a role in
influencing attraction?
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Dopamine and a1rac)on
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that affects our brains and provides us with a sense of
pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation when released. This neurotransmitter is produced in the
substantia nigra, hypothalamus, and the ventral tegmental area within our brains (Juárez Olguín
et al.). The ventral tegmental area is also known for regulating reward consumption, learning,
memory, and similar aspects by facilitating the release of dopamine toward downstream regions
(Cai and Tong).
Fisher et al (Fisher et al.) conducted a study on neurotransmitters, specifically
investigating the relationship between the release of dopamine and the mediation of attraction by
using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Fisher et al was a quasi-experiment using
a sample of 10 women and 7 men with a mean age of 21 who were intensely in love within the
range of 1 to 17 months. Each participant was semi-structurally interviewed to determine the
intensity and duration of love. They were also required to complete a self-reported Likert scale
questionnaire called the “Passionate Love Scale” (PLS) to measure the characteristics that are
commonly attributed to being in romantic love, which is developed through the preceding
formation of attraction (Lovering). For example, some of the questions included in the PLS are
“I would feel deep despair if ___ left me”, and “I would rather be with ___ than anyone else”.
The Likert Scale ranges from numbers 1-9, with 1 denoting “not true”, and 9 denoting “definitely
true” (Hatfield and Sprecher).
The procedure consisted of repeating a standardized and timed process of participants
viewing images of their neutral acquaintances and beloved partners, which were identified and
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selected for the experiment based on a preliminary inquiry. For further context, photographs
were chosen as the independent variable stimuli based on a previous study by Mashek et al,
which identified visual photographic stimuli to be the most effective in evoking intense feelings
of romantic love compared to other stimuli such as touch, or voice (Mashek et al 2000). The
photographs were cropped to show the head only, and the image quality of all the photographs
was controlled.
Additionally, a numerical countback distraction task was implemented to mitigate the carryover
effects from viewing their partner and then the acquaintances. The number is selected randomly,
and the participants are required to count back in increments of 7.
Fisher et al’s procedure repeated a 120-second 4-step process for a total of 6 times,
lasting 12 minutes for each participant. The first 30 seconds involved the participant viewing an
image of their beloved partner. Then, the next 40 seconds required the completion of the
numerical countback distraction task and in the following 30 seconds, the participant viewed a
photo of the neutral acquaintance, with the last 20 seconds consisting of the countback
distraction task again. The first image viewed by each participant was either their partner or
neutral acquaintance, thus, the experimental process was also counterbalanced across participants
accordingly. During the procedure, the participant is scanned using the fMRI to examine the
activation of brain regions.
The findings according to the fMRI showed that the right ventral tegmental area of the
brain had significant activation and increased responses while viewing the photograph of the
participant’s beloved partner compared to the distraction task and neutral acquaintance.
Furthermore, participant scores from the PLS were used to triangulate the activation of areas
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surrounding the ventral tegmental area. Higher PLS scores were correlated with greater
activation within regions surrounding the ventral tegmental area and the caudate nucleus, which
is another structure responsible for emotion and romantic interactions (Driscoll et al.). Hence, the
findings suggest that dopamine may play a role in mediating attraction to a loved one because
there is a correlational relationship supported by scientific evidence between the activation of
dopamine-producing areas and seeing the romantic partner.
Although the fMRI utilized in Fisher et al’s study only measures regional activation and
does not directly measure levels of dopamine, it does provide a more scientific perspective
compared to the other studies. Additionally, the findings by Fisher et al are supported by prior
findings by Bartels and Zeki (Bartels and Zeki) that utilized a similar procedure but used samples
that were already engaged in long-term relationships, and their study also found cortical
activation near regions like the caudate nucleus, which are almost identical to Fisher et al.
Likewise, Zald et al (Zald) concluded that presentations of monetary rewards also induced the
release of dopamine within the caudate nucleus, where Fisher et al’s study found activation. The
combination of these two supporting studies strengthens the presence and role of dopamine in
mediating attraction.
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Testosterone and a1rac)on
Testosterone is the major sex hormone within males and a crucial component in the
development and growth of masculine features. This hormone is produced within the gonads of
men and the ovaries of women, and functions in regulating the libido of both sexes (LeWine).
Ronay and Von Hippel (Ronay and Hippel) conducted a study to determine whether or
not young men would take greater risks in the presence of an attractive female compared to the
presence of a male researcher, and whether or not the testosterone hormone would play a role in
such behavior. The experiment recruited a total of 96 young Australian skateboarders at a skating
park with a mean age of 21.58 years for a naturalistic and highly ecologically valid setting. 43
skaters were allocated to the male-researcher condition and the remaining 53 were assigned to
the female-researcher condition.
The experimental procedure first required all the skaters to identify an easy skateboarding
trick that they could mostly successfully complete, and a difficult skateboarding trick that they
could only successfully complete about 50% of the time. Next, the participants needed to attempt
both the easy and difficult tricks 10 times each for a total of 20 attempts while being video
recorded by a male researcher. After a short break, depending on which condition the skaters
were allocated to, they had to attempt both levels of tricks 10 times each again in front of either
the same male researcher or an attractive 18-year-old female researcher who was blind to the
study. The attractiveness of the female researcher was determined beforehand via Likert Scale
ratings. 20 men who were similar in age to the skaters viewed individual photographs of female
researchers and rated their appearance on a scale of 1 (very unattractive) to 7 (very attractive),
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and the highest-rated female researcher was selected for this experiment. During the second
round of attempting skateboard tricks, the skateboarding trick attempts were coded for and split
into 3 categories – success, crash landing, and aborted attempt by two raters. Consequently,
higher levels of aborted attempts are indicative of low risk-taking, and lower levels would
indicate the opposite. Finally, after each round of skateboarding attempts, researchers took saliva
samples from the participants to measure the levels of testosterone. Similarly, the heart rate of
the participants was monitored by wearing a smartwatch, and measurements were taken before
and after both rounds of skateboarding. Additionally, all tests were conducted under strict time
periods ranging from 2-6 pm to control for diurnal variations that may cause fluctuations of
testosterone concentration within the sample.
The findings concluded that participants under the attractive female researcher condition
took significantly more risks than the participants under the male researcher. During the second
round of skateboarding, when the conditions were differentiated, the participants who performed
under the female researcher took more risks, denoted by the drastically decreased number of
aborted attempts compared to the same statistic in the first round, and also the second round of
aborted attempts for those under the male researcher group. Likewise, testosterone levels
measured in the saliva samples of participants were also significantly higher in the female
researcher condition with an average of 295.95pmol/L compared to the male researcher
condition, which only contained an average of 212.88pmol/L of testosterone. However, heart
rates did not differ noticeably between the two groups.
Hence, the findings of Ronay and Von Hippel’s study support the argument that hormones
(in this case testosterone) may also play a role in mediating interpersonal attraction, due to the
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correlation between performing under an attractive female researcher, and increased levels of
testosterone. Additionally, skateboarders may have taken higher risks to display higher qualities
of sexual selection to advertise themselves as a better partner (Wilke et al.).
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Oxytocin and a1rac)on
Oxytocin is a hormone with similar functions to dopamine. Oxytocin is produced in the
hypothalamus and released into our bloodstream by the pituitary gland. Oxytocin is also regarded
as a love hormone because it fosters positive and pleasurable feelings and is produced when we
are sexually aroused or have fallen in love. Additionally, oxytocin also promotes positive
behaviors such as relaxation, trust (Watson), bonding, and attachments during social interactions
(Bosch and Young).
Based on the effects of oxytocin, Theodoridou et al (Theodoridou et al.) conducted a
double-blind placebo-controlled study to determine whether or not oxytocin will increase the
perceived facial trustworthiness and attractiveness of unseen individuals. The sample consisted
of 96 British students with a mean age of 21 and an equal number of males and females. The
participants were randomly allocated to either the experimental condition, where oxytocin was
administered intranasally, or the placebo condition which used a placebo nasal spray without
oxytocin.
The procedure consisted of rating faces electronically included in either the
trustworthiness stimuli (30 images of faces with neutral expressions) or the attractiveness stimuli
(48 neutral faces). Each of the two sets of stimuli contained an equal number of male and female
images, and facial attractiveness was always rated before facial trustworthiness. Additionally, the
participants were also required to rate the faces for their mood to account for the influence on
perception either immediately before or after the procedure based on three criteria – Positive
affect, wakefulness, and calmness. The mood ratings ranged from 1-6, with 1 denoting
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“definitely not”, and 6 denoting “extremely”. Higher scores in mood ratings mean the images
signify higher levels of the 3 criteria mentioned before.
Firstly, each participant manually administered an intranasal dose of either oxytocin or the
placebo depending on their condition, then they were required to wait for 25 minutes for their
bodies to absorb the oxytocin before beginning the experiment. 47 participants completed the
trustworthiness and attractiveness ratings first after 25 minutes of intranasal administration, and
49 participants completed the mood ratings first, then the trustworthiness and attractiveness
ratings second after 45 minutes of administration. During the rating process, participants were
presented with the question “How attractive is this face (1-7)” under the face on the image. The
ratings ranged from the numbers 1-7, 1 denoting unattractive, and 7 denoting attractive, and the
same method was also applied to ratings for trustworthiness. The ratings were inserted
electronically using a keyboard, and the duration of the experiment was dependent on the
participant’s own pace without time constraints.
The findings concluded that participants within the intranasal oxytocin group consistently
rated the same set of faces as being more trustworthy and attractive compared to the placebo
group. Additionally, statistical measurements displayed no significant differences in terms of
ratings when factoring in the participant’s sex, and order effects were also not present despite one
group rating for trustworthiness and attractiveness after 45 minutes of administration. Also,
mood ratings differ between groups and did not affect the ratings for trustworthiness and
attractiveness. Thus, based on the findings of Theodoridou et al, the presence of the oxytocin
hormone was correlated with the elevated perception of trustworthiness and attractiveness in
both sexes.
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Furthermore, when this study is examined in combination with (Riem et al.), which
concluded that oxytocin administration increases the presence of prosocial behaviors,
Theodoridou et al’s study suggests oxytocin as a facilitating factor for attraction, especially when
physical attractiveness is the strongest predictor for attraction in both sexes according to (Luo
and Zhang). Moreover, the trusting behaviors exhibited by participants after the administration of
intranasal oxytocin are supported by the findings of Kosfeld et al (Kosfeld et al.) and
Baumgartner et al (Baumgartner et al.), where the use of oxytocin also increased trust among
participants in a game involving real monetary stakes. Although attraction is not directly
measured in Theodoridou et al, findings by Singh et al (Singh et al.) were able to identify trust as
a highly prioritized component within attraction and the development of relationships, which
helps to partially triangulate the findings by Theodoridou et al.
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Cogni)on, culture, and a1rac)on
A different approach to attraction will discuss studies and theories related to the
sociocultural and cognitive fields of psychology.
Cognitive psychology is a field that studies human mental processes and aims to explain
human behavior through human cognition such as decision-making, systems of thinking, logic,
and perception (Wagemans). On the other hand, sociocultural psychology is another branch of
psychology that emphasizes the influence of human social and cultural factors such as cultural
and societal norms, human interactions, and surrounding environmental elements on our
behavior, and the formation of personal or group behavior and cognition (Waude). Hence,
cognitive, and sociocultural studies aim to provide additional insight into the influence of
interpersonal attraction rather than directly opposing the biological approach.
A cognitive psychology model for attraction will be used to provide an additional aspect
to the formation of attraction. The similarity-attraction model (encyclopedia) is a cognitive
model stating that people tend to be attracted to others who are similar to themselves. Some of
the important similarities listed in the similarity attraction model include but are not limited to
our values, attitudes, preferences, and other personal traits. Furthermore, similarities attract
because lesser differences result in fewer disagreements and strengthen social reinforcement.
These social mechanisms draw parallels to social identity theory as well, which contains
processes such as social categorization where individuals mentally identify and categorize
themselves into social groups based on similar traits (Mcleod). Additionally, similarities between
people bring about familiarity and comfort, which can help enhance positive feelings and
facilitate social bonding (Nicholson).
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Markey and Markey (Markey and Markey) conducted a study in relation to the similarityattraction model aiming to measure the extent to which interpersonal similarities influence
partner selection. A sample of 169 romantic-partner-seeking American undergraduate students
with a mean age of 19 was selected for this experiment.
The procedure consisted of splitting the participants into different groups consisting of 26 individuals each, and they were instructed to complete one questionnaire at a time following its
listed order. The first was the Interpersonal Adjective Scale (IAS), which is a 64-item adjective
questionnaire used for each participant to rate their own personality, such as being “arrogantcalculating” or “warm-agreeable” (Wiggins). The second step involves the participants
completing unrelated questionnaires as a distraction task to better conceal the aim of the study.
The last step involved the sample completing an altered version of the first IAS. This time, each
participant was told to answer the 64-item adjectives in a manner that best described their ideal
romantic partner, and it did not matter whether or not their ideal romantic partner was a real or
fictional person.
The findings concluded that based on the same IAS, the adjectives used to describe each
participant’s ideal romantic partner were significantly correlated (p<0.01) with what they used to
describe themselves. The results of Markey & Markey’s study are coherent with and support the
similarity attraction model. Just like how the model states that we are more likely to be attracted
to those who are similar to us, Markey & and Markey’s participants also used similar adjectives
to describe their own personality and the personality of their ideal romantic partners.
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On the other hand, Thomas et al (Thomas et al.) carried out a sociocultural-based
experiment by studying the cross-cultural mate preferences between men and women in the East
and West. A total of 2587 participants were sampled and recorded from seven academic
institutions spanning 5 different countries - Australia, Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, and the
United Kingdom.
The procedure consisted of splitting the top 10 countries represented by participants
within the sample into two different groups for cross-cultural comparison. The first group was
labeled the “Western” group and contained European or European-influenced countries like
Australia, Norway, the United States of America, and New Zealand. The “Eastern” group on the
other hand was composed of Eastern countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and China. Next, each
participant was given “mate dollars” to allocate to 8 traits - kindness, good financial prospects,
humor, creativity, chastity, physical attractiveness, and religiosity to create three long-term
hypothetical partners. This allocation process was repeated 3 times each using low ($16),
medium ($32), and high ($48) mate dollar conditions.
The results concluded that the two culture groups differed in almost every single trait
while allocating using the low-budget condition. For example, men and women in the Eastern
and Western groups both prioritized kindness and physical attractiveness. However, both sexes in
the Eastern group prioritized good financial prospects and religiosity compared to both sexes
prioritizing humor in the Western group. These findings are strongly indicative of cultural
differences in mate preference between Western and Eastern countries. In combination with the
cognitive psychology similarity-attraction model, these results provide additional external factors
to attraction that are not purely biological.
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The findings by Fiore and Donath (Fiore and Donath) support both Markey and Markey
and Thomas et al’s study. Fiore and Donath’s study on dating sites concluded that users showed a
preference for people who were highly similar in multiple categories, which supports the
cognitive similarity-attraction model. Furthermore, Fiore and Donath also found that some
individuals prioritized certain categories over others, which draws parallel to the findings of
Thomas et al. Additionally, Thomas et al’s study is further supported by Li et al (Li et al.), who
found that mate preferences can predict actual mate choices and also the formation of
interpersonal attraction.
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Discussion
An issue with the biological approach is its reductionist and atomistic nature because it
only examines specific psychological aspects through the sole lens of physiological influences,
some of which are out of our control, and research in this field often ignores external influences
that are not biological, such as human cognition and environmental factors that may also affect
our behavior. The same could be said about all the respective studies used in this essay to
examine the roles of neurotransmitters and hormones in influencing interpersonal attraction.
Another problem that persists throughout these studies is the use of questionnaires to
provide an operational definition of love because it cannot be measured directly. Questionnaires
are dependent on self-reported data, which are vulnerable to interpretation bias and demand
characteristics such as the social desirability effect.
Additionally, a few weaknesses that permeate many studies within the biological field are
its correlational nature, high artificiality, and low ecological validity. For example, the effects of
dopamine in Fisher et al, and testosterone in Ronay and Von Hippel are not independent
variables that are manipulated. These two studies manipulate external variables such as humans
to test the presence of a cerebral activation or hormone to draw deterministic conclusions based
on correlational relationships that are not causal. Furthermore, the laboratory conditions and
environment within Fisher et al and Theodoridou et al are well-controlled with high internal
validity, but low ecological validity and mundane realism. It is very difficult to transfer the image
rating-based process in Fisher et al and Theodoridou et al into real-life contexts to measure levels
of attraction because physical interactions such as touch and communication with the partner are
entirely omitted within both studies while such factors already play a role in basic
communication (Wrench et al.).
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Conversely, Ronay and Von Hippel’s naturalistic study helps reinforce the biological
argument of attraction due to high ecological validity, where the settings of the experimental
context and behaviors are applicable to real life due to lesser laboratory constraints compared to
Fisher et al and Theodoridou et al while still controlling for important factors such as
experimenter attractiveness and time of experimentation. Naturalistic conditions and high
ecological validity are important aspects that should be implemented in all three psychological
fields to attraction because it is incredibly difficult to single out a specific independent variable
such as neurotransmitters or cognitive patterns even under situations with extremely high internal
validity. Hence, the naturalistic conditions of a study aid in partially mimicking contextual
factors within the real world, making the findings of a study less artificial and more transferable
and applicable to daily life. For example, Thomas et al’s study has high ecological validity
because the constrained budget method is reflective of real-life mate choice where tradeoffs for
certain characteristics are considered during an overall evaluation of a person and mate selection.
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Conclusion
Based on the 5 studies described and evaluated above, the extent to which biological
factors play a role in interpersonal attraction still requires additional research due to the lack of
definitive evidence from neurotransmitters, hormones, and even the broader research of genetics.
Although biopsychology studies were better controlled and used relatively more scientific
methods compared to cognitive and sociocultural studies, biological factors alone cannot provide
a determinative explanation for human attraction due to their complex and multidimensional
nature. Furthermore, biopsychology’s use of scientific methodology is not enough to justify a
greater relevance than sociocultural or cognitive psychology because neither of the three fields
has disproved the other using empirical research.
In conclusion, the effects of dopamine, testosterone, and oxytocin investigated by Fisher
et al, Ronay and Von Hippel, and Theodoridou et al, and the similarity-attraction model and the
culture-dependent preference for partner characteristics explored by Markey and Markey and
Thomas et al seem to work in unison to facilitate interpersonal attraction. Future investigation
into this field could aim to establish a causal effect between the behavior of attraction and an
independent variable to reduce the presence of bidirectional ambiguity and correlational
explanations and utilize more natural settings/conditions to increase ecological validity and the
applicability of findings to real-life situations, because from this essay, it seems that the
formation of attraction is a combination of all three cognitive, sociocultural, and biological
fields.
But as of now, the presence of cognitive and sociocultural factors in psychology implies
that we still have partial free will over whom we love and associate with, and human
relationships are not determined by a system of polypeptides and amino acids.
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