The 6 types of attraction between people

These are the types of attraction between people studied from Social Psychology.

As in the physical world, attraction in the social world is what keeps people together in one way or another, or at least makes them interact.

Interpersonal relationships can be influenced by several different types of attraction and, in fact, these different modalities can contribute to new social relationships.

Below we will explore a little further what are the main types of attraction according to social psychology.

The types of attraction according to Social Psychology

Although the idea of attraction is a physics concept, this word is often used in the field of interpersonal relationships, one of the objects of study of social psychology.

Within this branch of psychology, together with anthropology and sexology, different types of attraction have been proposed to explain the relationship that two or more people may feel, both sexually and romantically, as well as in friendship and intellectually.

We can define interpersonal attraction as a force that awakens other people in us, that is, it is the desire that other people awaken in us.. We say that we are attracted to someone when that person makes us want to interact with them, get to know them, have a conversation, become their friend or even have more intense relationships, such as sexual ones.

According to Claire Hart, professor of psychology at the University of Southampton, there are a number of factors that influence the emergence of attraction between two or more people. These factors are mainly proximity and familiarity, which translate into the fact that, somehow, We tend to experience a certain fascination, interest and greater attraction towards those people we see often or with whom we interact frequently..

It is normal for us to feel attraction towards people we interact with every day, such as a co-worker, a friend or even the sales clerk at the bakery we visit. As it is popularly said, rubbing makes love, and if two people interact frequently over time it is inevitable that some kind of bond will arise, an attraction that does not necessarily have to be of a romantic nature.

This is not to say that we cannot be attracted to a total stranger.. Surely it has happened to us on more than one occasion that, walking down the street, we have crossed paths with a very attractive person or, watching television, we have seen the interview of someone whose way of thinking, speaking and topics that are of interest to us have caught our attention. We can feel attraction towards someone we have only seen once, but usually this attraction does not last and ends up fading with the passage of time.

There are different types of attraction, which vary according to the type of desire that appears and the type of relationship we have with the person who arouses our interest. Each type of attraction has its own particularities, which we will see below.

The 6 types of attraction between people

We can say that, mainly, there are up to 6 different types of attraction, one of them subdivided into two subtypes. Each one has its particularities, some of them being more related to friendship and curiosity and others in which more intense interests and desires are mobilized, such as love and sex.

1. Romantic attraction

Romantic attraction is a type of attraction that, despite what many may think at first, is not so much related to sexuality per se. It is not a sexual attraction to someone, but rather a desire to establish a romantic relationship. the desire to establish a romantic relationship with another person.. Thus, it is a deeper, emotional type of attraction.

This type of attraction can arise when, after having a very good friendship with someone for a long time, we suddenly feel that we want to go deeper, to establish a sentimental relationship with that person. We want to stop being friends and become their partner..

For this reason we can say that love is based on romantic attraction, although other types of attractions also come into play, which we will see in the following points.

2. Friendship attraction

Friendship attraction, or friendship, is one of the most common in our society. It consists of the desire to share moments with a person we consider a friend and it arises when a person offers us his or her trust. arises when a person offers us confidence, gives us emotional well-being and we feel satisfied staying with him/her.. With or without sexual and romantic interest, this attraction has to do with the need and desire to enjoy and spend time with a person.

3. Physical or sexual attraction

Physical or sexual attraction is, as its name suggests, a more carnal type of attraction. It is normal that when we say that we are attracted to someone we think of this type of attraction, which consists of feeling an intense desire towards another person in the most physical and sexual sense.

In this type of attraction, desire, sexuality, the need for closeness and, especially, physical contact, can be mixed.. There are also a series of neurochemical and hormonal ingredients that modulate it, such as oxytocin, adrenaline and dopamine?

This type of attraction can be subdivided into two types: subjective sexual attraction and objective sexual attraction.

3.1. Subjective sexual attraction

Subjective sexual attraction is the situation in which we are attracted to someone physically but because we attribute a certain sexual power or fantasy to them. That is to say, it is the attraction we feel towards someone who does not necessarily have to be beautiful or physically attractive, but who awakens a certain chemistry in us because of the way they are..

We can be sexually attracted to people we know, such as friends or our own partner, and also to strangers, such as any random person we meet in the street. The intensity of this attraction will vary from one case to another and, also, depending on whether we feed this force with sexual fantasies.

3.2. Objective sexual attraction

Objective sexual attraction is that force we feel towards someone who is indisputably physically attractive. In other words, is the type of attraction that manifests itself towards someone who is objectively attractive, regardless of our tastes.Regardless of our tastes and the possible chemistry we may have with her.

4. Sentimental attraction

Sentimental attraction is similar to romantic attraction, since it relates to the more sentimental and emotional aspect of an interpersonal relationship. However, in this case the feelings do not necessarily have to be romantic or amorous, since a sentimental relationship can be maintained with a friend, a sexual partner or a family member..... This type of attraction consists in the fact that someone awakens intense feelings in us, without the need to establish a couple relationship with him/her.

5. Sensual or sensory attraction

Sensual or sensory attraction has to do with physical contact, but it does not necessarily imply a sexual relationship, but rather a relationship of closeness and proximity. a relationship of closeness and proximity.

We say that a relationship is sensual when caresses, hugs, cuddles and closeness take center stage. A person attracts us sensorially when we want to experience the other person with our senses, we want to feel them close, whether it is our partner, a friend, our children.

6. Intellectual attraction

Lastly, we find intellectual attraction, which consists of the desire to know someone in consists in the desire of wanting to know someone in his or her more intellectual facet, as its name suggests.as its name suggests. That is to say, it is the attraction we feel towards someone who interests us, who offers opinions, thoughts, knowledge and other aspects of the area of knowledge that attract our attention, that fascinate us.

This type of attraction is often related to sapiosexuality, that is, the supposed sexual attraction to intelligent people. This idea, more than a sexual orientation, is a taste, as is the fact that we prefer blond women, men with beards or people of a certain race. Intellectual attraction is an aspect that does not imply sexual interests, but cultural ones, while sapiosexuality is merely a term that certain people use to get noticed.

Conclusions

As we can see there are many types of attractions that go beyond the popularized idea that all attraction is necessarily sexual and carnal. We can be attracted to someone because of the way they think, others because of the way they are emotionally, and we are also attracted to people in a way that we want to be friends with them, without the need for sexual or partner interests.

As it happens in the physical with the material world, attraction is what keeps people cohesive and united, makes them feel interest in each other and want to contribute to their welfare or, at least, give pleasure to each other. As the social animals that we are, it is inevitable that throughout our lives we will feel some kind of attraction towards someone and, in fact, it is this force that has made our immediate environment to be constituted in one way or another.