Almost every college student at the U is trying to hook it up with a fellow student.
Whether you’re a guy or girl, straight or gay, you’re looking to be hooked up with the best of the best. No one wants to date an average person. Why is that? And what can I do to get that guy or girl that I’ve always wanted? If we look at the philosophy behind marketing and why people want what they want, we find some answers to why people want the best. It’s pretty simple.
The philosopher Thorstein Veblen called it “conspicuous consumption.”
We want others to see what we have in order to build our self-esteem, to have a greater sense of power. Veblen also said “The motive that lies at the root of ownership is emulation.” We don’t want to be the odd one out the one without the pretty girl or the hot guy. James Owen, a student in his second year, said, “I would never want to be seen with an ugly girl, it would make me look bad.”
So how do we stay ahead of the competition? Students like Orion Rogers, a geological engineering major, doesn’t feel confident in marketing himself because he doesn’t know what to do.
He said, “I really don’t do anything. I just kind of walk around hoping something will happen.”
So how do we end up with the trophy girl or trophy guy? Simple, just follow the principles of natural selection.
When Charles Darwin was studying the evolution of species, he noted, “slight modifications, which in any way favored the individuals of any species, by better adapting them to their altered conditions, would tend to be preserved.” Meaning the line between hot and not is very small. Just “slight modifications” will make you standout. Perhaps it will make it possible to let you get the person of your dreams. The “slight modification” can be where you stand in a room, what color you wear, what kind of body language you use, if you smile or not or what you smell like. All these “slight modifications” can make a huge impact.
Dr. Albert Mehrabian, the author of several books and nationally known expert in the field of spatial psychology said, “where you are in a room and what you are doing has a lot to do with your ability to attract the opposite sex.”
So where should you be for the highest impact and the greatest number of interested cuties? “Smack-dab in the center of the room, standing up and moving around a bit,” Mehrabian said.
Could the color I’m wearing make a difference? Yes. According to Color Consultant Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute and author of Colors For Your Every Mood, women are attracted to men wearing the color blue. Why? According to Eiseman, guys who frequently wear blue are “stable, faithful, constant and always there.” And what about the ladies?
Eiseman says women should wear a pink-peach to make themselves most approachable. The color is “very flattering to most skin tones, it gives you healthy glow,” and according to Eiseman, projects “a little vulnerability, which brings out something protective in men.”
How do you use body language to attract the opposite sex? According to Patti Wood, a nationally recognized body language expert said, “to be very approachable, women should stand with their feet no farther than 6 inches apart with toes pointed slightly inward.”
For men, appearing more dominant effectively draws the attraction of women. “To attract women, stand with your feet 6-10 inches apart, and toes pointing outward,” says Woods.
Psychology and body language experts agree that one of the most important things you can do to make yourself more attractive (and approachable) is to smile. Not a great big plastic game show smile, just your normal “I’m having a great time and I’m happy to be here” face will do the trick. According to Wood, “the smile is the international signal of friendliness.”
What about scent? Studies show that men associate the scents of cinnamon and vanilla with love. To make the scents work for you, try baking some ready-made cinnamon rolls about an hour before your date arrives, or, wear a cinnamon-vanilla scented perfume. The scent of a woman? Women, according to a recent study, are attracted to a black licorice scent. If you are skeptical as to whether these things really make a difference, always remember it was the “slight modifications” that was the reason that a species tended to be preserved.