What Do you Look at First when Considering a Match?
Here is a convertaion I had recently on a similar question.One of the respondents said:
"~is a complex process you're not really aware of.
Body ratios, scent, body language/indirect communication.
~After your brain does a bunch of work it pokes you with emotions and feelings, and then your conscious decision making self fixates on something your experience has associated most closely with those emotions and feelings filtered through the bias of your mood and life situation.
~Some people choose legs and feet, shoes, to look down, for things like to submit and look for someone to be dominant.
~Some people choose butt, wallet, waist, and hips, for things like seeing someone as breeding stock on some level.
~Some people choose belly, chest, or breasts, for things like succor or to objectify and dominate.
~Some people choose neck, face, or eyes, due to insecurity and vanity, for things like needing immediate mutual feedback for their feelings, to gain external validation that what they're feeling or thinking is okay.
~Focusing on any single body part isn't really a healthy thing."
My comment was:
All very good points to ponder. Symmetry is another but I am not sure why? I saw a study online where people's faces were mirrored for symmetry. The study depicted ratings of the natural face compared to the mirrored face and revealed that most of the ratings favored a natural non-symmetry face. Imperfections, it seems, have a distinct appeal.
For this discussion, I am figuring *** refers to first line of attraction when viewing potential matches here. Since most profile pictures are of people's faces and full body or action pictures are few and far between, the question deals with mostly facial features.
At a point in my career I worked as a service advisor at a car dealership. My job was to deal with customers in the service department having or needing their cars repaired. I studied CSA (Customer Service Advisor) techniques published nationally. One of the things they suggested was to install a mirror behind the service desk. It seems most people do not like to see themselves angry. We did that and the number of angry customers diminished significantly.
If you see a picture that you perceive as an angry expression it is more likely to turn you 'off'.
Over-all expressions that pictures broadcast to you are perceived at first sight.
I believe that most people are inherently 'good'. They assess a profile pic to determine that person's affinity.
Personally, if I see someone that is sad I try to cheer them up.
If I see someone angry I tend to shy away. Those emotional vibes range up and down the scale and have differing magnitude depending on how I feel myself, while looking at them. To me, those impressions determine my first reaction to the person I am looking at. The ones that inspire me, cause me to look closer.
In person, the first impressions are very different. My eyes go directly to her gaze. Not her eyes, her whole expression while looking at me. She could have mesmerizing eyes but if her body language and facial expression are hostile I will not approach her.
Stand-off body language does not necessarily put me off if her expression is warm and welcoming.
Physically,
I prefer a proportional body type. If her head is normal but she is excessively skinny; her head normal but her body is excessively large or anything just not normal to the human physique it is a flag. I don't mind skinny if the body looks like is supposed to be skinny. I don't mind large if the body looks like it is supposed to be large. At my age I fully understand that time takes its toll on our bodies.