In the article ‘How to pick a perfect mate’ in the 29 April 2006 issue of New Scientist Martie G. Haselton pointed out that the desire for ‘beauty, brains and resources are universal’ and yet the nature of how we choose a partner is often ‘inherently unpredictable’ and ‘outside our awareness’.
Martie has proven that choosing a mate boils down to finding someone with a particular set of genes know as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which play a role in our ability to fight pathogens. How exciting.
Research showed that couples with dissimilar MHC patterns have babies with stronger immune systems. That’s why we are attracted to people who are nothing like us in terms of MHC. Follow me?
But how do we find our perfect mate with a different MHC pattern? According to Martie, we literally sniff him out!
However, if you are taking hormonal contraceptives the reverse is true; you’ll prefer someone who is genetically similar to you. Attraction can also fluctuate over the menstrual cycle and having sex can complicate things because of the release of oxytocin which results in the warm fuzzy feeling.
Good luck!
Image courtesy of bioethics.