Secondly, an amorous suitor makes us feel good about ourselves. And of equal importance is the comfort that emotional support, financial input and steady company provides. Working in a team seems easier, more productive, and less lonely than going through life alone. We are, after all, social beings. But the primitive mind, fueled by the instinct to procreate, still insists on having a say in who we find attractive.
Many forces unconsciously sway our mate-radar.
One phenomenon that has recently been the subject of scientific study and cause for general excitement is that of human pheromones. Other people unconsciously detect and 'read' the messages carried in pheromones by a couple of little receptors located in the nose. They can have an effect on how attractive we find certain people. Pheromones can be responsible for that groin-tingling immediate attraction that occurs with some people and not with others. Some people think that our preoccupation with cleanliness is washing away these biochemicals that regulate some of the ways in which we communicate.