What is it that attracts people to each other? For centuries, it has been food for thought for writers, singers and poets. In more recent years, the answer increasingly has become fodder for another field: science.
The theory of evolution says our bodies have evolved to maximize our ability to survive and procreate. Though our brains afford us much free will concerning the way we behave, evolutionary psychology suggests that certain behavioral tendencies - such as attraction - are hardwired.
"Our mechanisms for attraction were adapted through millions of years of evolutionary history," Psychology Prof. John Haidt said. "Mate selection is one of the most important things we do."
Since human beings are built to reproduce and create descendents, they prefer certain qualities over others, Haidt said.
For example, qualities that indicate fertility in the opposite sex may translate into attractiveness.
"We are not consciously picking fertile people," he said. "We are consciously picking people who we think are attractive. The question then is why do we find them attractive?"
Some scientists use formulas like the waist-to-hip ratio to measure perceptions of fertility. This simple ratio is derived by dividing the waist measurement by the hip measurement.
"The waist-to-hip ratio connotes successful child-bearing," Assoc. Psychology Prof. Stacey Sinclair said. "Narrow hips suggest you can't bear children successfully. Ideal hips are wider than most people assume."
Newsweek magazine reported in 1996 that "healthy, fertile women typically have waist-hip ratios of .6 to .8, meaning their waists are 60 to 80 percent the size of their hips."
The magazine cited a 1993 study that found a slight increase in the ratio may indicate reproductive problems.
While the ratio may be important in formulating notions of attractiveness, social scientists say other factors also play a role. People sometimes can view facial symmetry as an indication of a healthy person.
"Symmetry reflects a part of the developmental process," Haidt said. "The only way to be completely symmetrical is to have nothing go wrong in the process of development in any way."
This mainly applies to subtle differences in facial features - major differences rarely exist, according to some scientists. Natural selection would prevent extreme asymmetry from surviving, Biology Instructor Anna Edlund said.
Sociological and psychological studies have shown that people across cultures, classes and age groups share impressions of attractiveness based on symmetry.
"There is surprising cross-cultural similarity in features that people find physically attractive," Sinclair said.
But, people do not necessarily use this as the only determinant in choosing a mate.
Attraction also "is driven by proximity and similarities," Sinclair said; that is, people who spend a lot of time together and have similar personalities tend to be attracted to each other. "There is room for individual variation."
Do people across the world have the same perceptions of beauty? Some social scientists maintain that a universal sense of attractiveness is not intrinsic.
Rather, they argue mainstream Western culture has been filtered through the media and may shape perceptions of beauty. Thus people from several different cultures may have adopted these Western models of beauty.
Anthropology Prof. Richard Handler argues it is unlikely that people everywhere ascribe to a single set of standards. This conclusion is too vague to be meaningful, he said, and depends on the definition of symmetry.
"What do symmetrical features mean? Is it vertical, horizontal? Does it work irrespective of other factors?" he asked. "You would have to prove that different people in different circumstances are privileging the exact same things over and over again."
Yet certain studies may give insight into whether attraction to facial symmetry is inherent in humans.
Judith Langlios, psychologist at the University of Texas, conducted a study on babies' sense of attraction.
Newsweek reported that "the infants gazed significantly longer at 'attractive' white female faces than at 'unattractive' ones."
Edlund said she agrees that these results were due to facial symmetry.
"The more symmetrical the face, the longer the babies stared at it," she said.
Yet, despite some findings that indicate mate selection is rooted in biology, some may still contend that attractiveness relies on intangible factors.
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