is it true we're attracted to people with similar faces to our own?

Answer 1

Hmmm, don't think so. Me and my boyfriend are like exact opposite, but my dad and my mum are kinda alike.

Answer 2

Yes I think so. It surprises me how similar couples look, especially ones that have been together for a while - it may not be obvious, but people do seem to choose people with similar features, colouring etc. Got to do with breeding I suppose.

Answer 3

technically i think a person can be...i used to be attracted to this one guy and i truly think he was a male version of me. but it goes beyond appearance, its really what they are like w/personality etc. the appearance is not too similar as the person is the opposite gender but its kinda like if i was a guy that is what i would like (only w/different color hair) and maybe if i was from a diff. country.
so the face is often similar in a way...perhaps the same smile or similar eyes
of course i think he was a hotter version of me too.

Answer 4

Studies showed that women didn't show a significant percentage of difference in reaction based on appearance (assuming norms), while men had significant difference in reaction to children specifically, and people in general that have facial features similar to their own.

This seems to be a genetic survival trait that keeps a man's genes alive.

Answer 5

In my case no, however I can see your point. When asked to draw a face with no one to look at we tend to draw a picture very similar to our own. Therefore, it would make sense to choose a partner that reflects our image. We are comfortable with our image and may seek that comfort in the face of a stranger.

Answer 6

Yes, like attracts like. We often look at similiarities because familiarity is comfortable.
My psych professor said that the next time we think that we are with a real dog, just take a look in the mirror.

Answer 7

Hi , I look like my partners sister and thats with a large age gap! I wondered the same thing and eventually somebody told me that in Indian buddhism traditions it has a meaning! That if you have been through many hundreds of life times together as husband and wife you start looking like more like each other .I liked this one as we are very bonded.

Answer 8

Yes it is true indeed.
I watched a show on this topic.
They all chose the person that looked most like them.

Answer 9

We are either drawn to one of two things.

1. what we are familiar with.. often times people similar to our parents and siblings.

2. the exact opposite of our parents and siblings (increase of genetic diversity.)

Answer 10

That explains why I am still single - I don't find myself attractive enough to want to go out with someone that looks like me!!!

Answer 11

Far from opposites attracting, people tend to choose friends who look like them, research suggests.
However, psychologist Dr Lisa DeBruine found a facial resemblance is not a turn-on when we are looking for a partner.

She believes we may have evolved to prefer the company of people who remind us of family - but have a biological block to prevent incest.

The study is published in the Journal of the Royal Society.

The researchers showed volunteers male and female faces that had been computer-manipulated to produce a 'family resemblance'.

Men liked other men's faces that resembled their own and women liked other women's faces that resembled their own.

However, a facial resemblance did not influence attraction to opposite-sex faces.

Trust

Dr DeBruine, of McMaster University, Canada, said previous research had shown that people were more likely to trust others who looked like them.

In one of her previous studies she found people playing a two-person monetary investment game over the internet while viewing a picture of the "second player" were more likely to trust this player if the picture was digitally morphed to resemble them.

She believes it may be possible that we are evolved to place greater trust, and to have greater affection for, people who look as though they may be related to us because the chances are higher that they share the same genes as us.

By forging a bond in this way, it could help these people to thrive, and thus, in evolutionary terms, to pass their genes down to the next generation.

Professor David Perrett, of the Perception Lab at St Andrew's University, told BBC News Online: "It is likely that people who look similar to ourselves share our genes, and it makes sense to help the cause of these individuals because, in effect, we are helping our own genes."

However, he said it was important that individuals are not instinctively attracted sexually to people who look like them as inbreeding can increase the risk of disease and genetic disorder significantly.

"We should trust people who share our genes, build friendships with them, but not go to bed with them," he said.