Why we like to be around Beautiful people?

Question

(pleasant looking people)

whats your explanation for this?

I asked this in the sociology section, and i got pretty retarded answers like "because theyre easy on the eyes"

bigger picture, know what i mean?

thanks

Answer 1

It could simply be utilitarian (I'm equating "they're easy on the eyes" with wanting to raise pleasure and decrease pain), and while I think that is valid, and shouldn't be dismissed, it is probably only one factor in the explanation.  

It could be a nature versus nurture question (but to simply devalue one over the other is probably missing the point).  Is it within our nature, does it come down to instinct, that we seek out pleasant-looking people?  Are we nurtured into feeling that it is safer to be around the beautiful people?

We travel in packs/cliques.  This is most clearly seen in high school, but as we mature and socialize we tend to have more variety in our groupings, but we are still drawn to those that we want to be around.  Attractiveness is a positive trait.  

While it is important to see beyond the superficial, the superficial is what initially attracts us to one another.

It is also bred into us through the information that we passively absorb everyday.  Not only in movies and television, but seeing groups in posters, advertisements in newspapers and magazines that we barely glance at, but absorb the information all the same.  They all preach the beautiful.  The same reasons that we have body issues, and self-esteem problems also bleeds into the people that we want to be around.  

It may come down to a feeling of comfort.  We feel less threatened and more at ease around those that we find attractive.  Look at the fairy tales - the good people are always beautiful (or at least secretly beautiful), while those that are evil are the ugly ones.  Those fairy tales go back centuries, so it is not merely a modern desire, and can't entirely be coming from advertisements and the constant bombardment of information.  These stories are told to us at a young age (or shown to us in Disney movies repeatedly through adolescence), so the nurture aspect again helps to lay a foundation that makes us more distrusting of unattractive people.  

I'm sort of rambling.  I have no background in philosophy, so I'm sure none of this is new thinking or even digested that well, but you raise a very good question about society.

Answer 2

I think that it is human instinct. We want to associate with people that are going to help us survive. Attractive people are generally fit and have good genetics. Most people would like to be around them because they have a better chance of surviving that someone who is overweight or ugly. It is also about mating. We want to mate with the people we think we can create the best offspring with. So generally we want to be around people who are best fit to survive in our world and create a next generation. Now a days that has evolved into something bigger, now it is about popularity as much as survival. People like to be liked and pretty people are liked, so if we are by them maybe other people will like us too.

Answer 3

I think we like to believe that we are reflected in one another.

Beauty is not just a standard thing culturally or personally, however.  

Answer 4

I disagree.

we don't like to be around beautiful people, neither do we like to be around "ugly" people.  Both extremes make us uncomfortable- we are either envious of the beautiful ones, or judgmental of the ugly ones.

we seek  safe mediocre-looking people as company.

Answer 5

I do not know if i agree with your question. I have met and know many people who hate being around attractive people. It almost makes them feel inferior, and less attractive.

But for the people that do enjoy being around "pleasant" looking people,...

...A natural beautiful person can be more confidant and sure of them self. The attribute could then make a person more relaxed and easy going. So it may not be the looks of beautiful people, buy more the personality thy have.

A theory

Answer 6

People always wanted to be recognized, praised, admired and be remembered. This is the reason why they like to be with beautiful people.

Answer 7

I think you need to firstly understand what beauty is before you can understand why you like to be around people who are beautiful.

The appreciation of physical beauty of another human outside of self comes from

A. Instinctual responses - built in mediums that allow for conception of beauty.

B. The objectification of other human beings through out an enlarged media based culture.

C. Conscious subjective judgment.

I put Instincts at the top of the list because I find instinct to be the most significant mediator for our perceptions of all things. Through out evolution, we were selected to pick out other humans who were fit for producing the best offspring.

Every Individual creature most readily attracts or gets excited by mates of physical type that allow for the most advantaged offspring. Basically what this means, is that each part of the human body initiates a sexual stimulate that  corresponds to natures tuning of a viewing mind.

This brings about one abstract, which is the idea of beauty.

Proof of this is that most will not find people over 75 attractive, but instead beauty is rather a youthful quality, as to is the capability to bare or provide genetic replication.

So where does the idea of ugly appearence come from?

It's just the opposite of the idea of beauty. If we found all humans beautiful by instinct, gene formation in the womb would have to have lot more information than they do now. (I tried to go into this but got perplexed, so I will stay on track)

Ugly can be defined as overwieght, underweight - Due to the acts of feeding partners, and disese, and other issues.

Ugly can be defined as having no nose - Because the nose is just there to keep the rain out, or keep one breathing better in rainy conditions.

There are underlinging reasons why each physical property is attributed to one side of the plate or another.

We perfer beauty over ugly, because that is what our means of better survial (taught by nature) finds pleasure in.

Hanging around ugly fat people, (no offense. This is evolution speaking, not my beliefs), bud, will not increase your chances of getting with a fine girl.

People in this way are like clothes.

The more fashionable your friends, the better your chances of having children is what your subconcious mind thinks.

Now if you have conscious awareness of this loop thought, you can break the pattern, and be fine with any one's appeareance. (as I am, my sexual selection and ideal attitudes of friends are another story but I choose not to ignore those who treat me with compassion, not matter if there a dwarf, or a crippled, or an older person)

Answer 8

not to b mean but i dnt like being around "ugly" or "non" attractive people (of course in my eyes everyone has there own opinion) because there embarrising. I dnt know why but i feel embarresd. is that weird?  

Answer 9

Because they are beautiful :)

God has created us naturally to love good stuff/people and hate bad stuff/people.

BUT, there is an exception, when someone prefers to be with bad people, then he decided to intentionally love bad stuff/people.

I hate wine/drugs and rape, But i like milk and drawing.

Easy !

Answer 10

You know, at first we assume beautiful people must also be great in some way, but I often found out that once the stupid ones open their mouth, my whole perception of their beauty disappears, and there is NOTHING that can get it back. So beauty is not skin deep. Also, sometimes it's nicer to be around uglier people, they make you look good. (JOKING)  

Answer 11

It's psychology. It's proven that we tend to associate better with people who we find more attractive because we seem them as more believable and socially desirable. We also see more attractive people as more popular so we like to associate ourselves with them.

It's shallow, but it's instinctive for people to choose a more attractive person as a friend.