Allow me to commence this post by posing a question: Do you judge attractive people to be nicer or smarter than less attractive people? (Now, I know people have different taste, but let's assume, for the purpose of this hypothetical situation at least, that we generally find the same people to be attractive the world over.) Most of you might say, "Of course not. Physical beauty has little to do with traits like kindness and intelligence. Studies show, however, that thanks to human perception, they're more entwined than we think.  People have a tendency to judge beautiful people as sharing a variety of psychological characteristics based solely on their looks. Beautiful people are perceived not only as nicer, but more successful.  One study in 2014 found that viewers judged an attractive person who smiled as happier than a smiling person with an unattractive face.  It's mind-boggling to think that people would assign so man...

There are those in our lives whom we consider genuinely good people. They're positive, helpful, accommodating. They've been there for us when we've needed them. We deem them a definite enhancement to our lives. It's for this reason we may be astonished to find that they're single, and chances are they've been a bachelor or bachelorette for quite a while. "But they'd make the perfect catch," we tell ourselves or others with bewilderment. We later discover it isn't that they can't land a date, for their good looks and charisma have been known to draw a healthy number of prospects. It's that they're super picky. We might try to fix them up with someone we know, but they always seem to find fault with something, and it is usually in the domain of attractiveness. For example, some women refuse to date men who are not taller than them. Then there are men who will not give the time of day to a woman who goes beyond a certain ...

Book smart. Street smart. Business smart. Handy smart. No matter what type of intelligence we're talking about, it's downright sexy. And the sexiness is amplified tenfold when the person exudes self-confidence doing or discussing what he or she is good at, whether it's fixing cars, negotiating sales deals, or talking politics.  Let's be honest. No one -- at least not anyone I know -- would be attracted to someone as dumb as a rock. Most of us desire a partner who is articulate and able to defend his or her viewpoints -- at least on some matter or subject about which the person is passionate.  It's impossible for us to be experts at everything. A math whiz probably won't be the best writer. A masterful cook might not be able to draw or paint to save his life. A skilled athlete might struggle to hammer a nail into the wall. But no one said sexiness meant being a jack of all trades. Actually, it's far sexier to be adept in one specific area th...

Let's play a little game, shall we? I want all you ladies and gentleman to name the 3 qualities you desire most in a partner. If you're married or in a relationship, they can be the ones you appreciate most in your partner or were looking for while you were still flying solo. Two should be personality-based, and one should be a physical attribute. Then we can compare which ones are repeated most. I'll start. The 3 attributes I desired most in someone when I was still in the dating market (and, thankfully, my wife possesses all of them) are: Honesty Intelligence An ample rear (sorry, but I'm a tushy guy!) Don't worry if you get torn between a couple and have trouble narrowing it down to 3. Just aim for the ones you deem the most important. Looking forward to seeing your responses!