How To Tell If Someone’s Attracted To You, According To Science

No, you don’t have to pick flower petals off just to tell if a person loves you – or loves you not. Thanks to a recent study, we now know there’s actually a more scientific approach that allows you to determine if an individual is attracted to you.

Officially published in the Psychological Bulletin journal, a new research is now being considered as “most comprehensive analysis ever” on the subject of confirming attraction.

Yes, there are several indicators of attraction, according to science.

In an IFLScience feature, we learn that researchers took the time to study “over 50 different empirical studies that focused on attraction and non-verbal behaviors” while also considering “variations between different cultures around the world.”.

Lead researcher and University of Dayton associate professor R Matthew Montoya explained:

“There is a specific suite of behaviors associated with liking, and this same set of behaviors can be found in cultures from around the world.”

The study further tells us that “making eye contact, smiling, initiating conversation, laughing and maintaining physical proximity were related to liking across cultures.”

Meanwhile, “mimicking behaviors and head nodding” were the common indicators when it comes to Western cultures.

The study’s results actually go far beyond dating.

Montoya said:

“Whether we engage in these behaviors has little or nothing to do with romantic desires. These behaviors apply when doctors interact with their patients, parents interact with their kids, or when salespeople talk to their customers.”

The behaviors aren’t only for attraction but also for developing trust with others.

Montoya added:

“When we like someone, we act in ways to get them to trust us. From this perspective, we engage in these behaviors to increase the degree of overlap, interdependence, and commitment to an agreement.”

Along with Montoya, the study was authored by Christine Kershaw, doctoral candidate at the University of Alberta, and Julie L. Prosser, doctoral candidate at Colorado State University.