Do humans have phsyological attraction to shiny things?

There is no scientific study or fact to back up your…. Oh look, a shiny penny.

Well, Crows are definitely attracted to shiny things and some have theoretically traced our evolution back to birds, so…

“All that glitters is gold, and she is buying the stairway to heaven.” (Led Zeplin)
From early childhood shiny things are portrayed as “good”. A gold star, glitter, fireworks.

I don’t know. I always figured my my simple-minded attraction to shiny objects was the result of my being kind of a bird brain.

I love shiny brown eyes and shiny hinys! ;)

If I were to guess, I would say it cries back to the days that fire was the most prized possession, and humans were just starting to develop the capacity to anthropomorphize inanimate objects and create deities.

Fire is precious. This thing shines like fire. It must have the power of the fire gods. It is precious.

The fact that it’s continued to this day is just a side effect of our desire to attach wealth to something.

I noticed, after watching one of the thousands of dance performances I see every year, that the dance numbers with shiny costumes drew my attention more easily. Like, if I sat through a bunch of numbers with plain costumes, and a girl entered the stage wearing sequins, my ear was drawn to her immediately. In that case, I’d say that it has to do with how concentrated the light was, yet not blindingly so. I felt it gave the costumes a certain luminescence, so they stood out from a flat background.

I think I do.

I like to pick up shiny things to put in my nest.

Did you mean psychological or physiological?

@Jeruba Who knows? Perhaps “phsyological” or something like it would be a useful neologism for something in between physiological and psychological. :-)

I meant what I said. It would be physo because it’s some automatically done by a person.

Jeruba is shiny.

* sigh *

Many say the shiny stimulus produces a certain reaction in the brain in humans. It triggers your pleasure center(s) and neurotransmitters are released. Basically, it makes you physically as well as psychologically happy.

@TriflinTriscuit Yes EXACTLY! I just need to know why?

That is still a matter of psychological debate. There ARE studies specific to shiny stimuli in animals, but the conclusions are not scientifically valid (yet). Here’s an interesting article on aesthetics and tastes/personal preferences: http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Hogan_aesth.html

Heres one possibility: Each other’s eyes are shiny, especially when crying tears of joy or sadness, two powerful events. Also….Water is shiny, we always need that.

Generally, shiny things stand out from their surroundings. We are wired to notice when something is significantly different.

Shiny things also tend to have more intrinsic value to them: the shine is usually a result of the object having been crafted in some respect.

My husband hates chrome on a car. He likes brushed metal. I would say people like things that appear new and clean, but I would not agree with the shiny statement. I think it depends on the person. For that matter some people like a worn look, so who knows. There was that whole grunge trend, and people spend time destressing furniture. Shabby chic and all of that sort of thing.

Shiny eyes are one important signal that people are healthy and able to reproduce.

@simone54, I’m sorry, but there is no such word as “phsyological.” So I was trying to figure out whether you meant sike-o-logical (having to do with the mind: psychological) or fiz-e-o-logical (having to do with the chemical and physical processes of the body: physiological) since it looked to me like that word could go either way.

A couple of people here could go either way.