where did you go to college at?
There are alternative hypotheses to cognitive dissonance.
The one that springs to my mind is only partly what I would call cognitive.
Sometimes we are operating with the conscious part of our minds. That part may pick up a pheromone as a bad odor indicitave of someone needing a bath. This accounts for repulsed looks, drawing back the hand, etc. Once a closer interaction begins (perhaps due to social expectations of a certain degree of civility, especially in a classroom) then the reptillian brain may kick in without interference and start decoding the pheromone message.
P74 is very smelly, even at 50mcg.
really? what does it smell like? i only smell the alcohol.
Sorry - no - it just evaporated …
I know that look well … an interesting mixed signal - but one whose meaning is usually clear - she wants you to initiate contact but is letting you know she is receptive/interested.
The Mrs. throws this at me when she wants me to take the lead …
I certainly agree with the overall thrust but I bet the repulsed look from some folks can be from something as simple as your shirt is polo and not izod … but once you do initiate contact, as you said above, well, things shift …
There is a htread on personality types - so I am sure a lot of people have a hypothesis about what personality types are most receptive to pheromones … and I bet that does play a part of it. But I also bet that genetics and general socialization does also …
Anyone good with tables - we ought to chart this out …
I’ve been thinking of this recently.
The Meyers-briggs personality typing is based on a Jungian psychological model. Some say it is not “scientific.” However, it does seem to measure something as the typing exhibits considerable consistency over time and multiple testing.
I’ve wondered if the S/N and T/F dichotomies in the Meyers-Briggs rankings indicate predominate usage of cortical or limbic faculties of the brain, and whether those rankings might correspond to differing reaction types observed for pheromones. It might me a good subject for a doctoral thesis if anyone is interested.
I do believe one of our new members to the forum, schell is coming up with something in this subject area. I talked a little with steveO about it and he said its been studied a few times with inconsistant results.
I havnt seen the studies myself but I think its a interesting and useful area to cover.
Tisha
I very much appreciate that observation, GWTW … the operation of processes across the conscious and unconscious is not something I’d want to discount. But what if cognitive dissonance doesn’t have to be conscious? CD reduction could easily be a partially non-conscious cognitive process, too.
Reading up, I have the suspicion we’re not disagreeing on the non-concsious perspective …
@tfer15: I got my bachelor’s from Northwestern University in Evanston IL.
I think dissonance … and tension in general … and the release thereof… can be very valuable tools in interacting with others.
When you tell a story … you identify a conflict … and the events that set the stage for … and then lead up to … a crisis … when the tension is suddenly released. We love stories. (Who says porn has no plotline? There is tension, and it’s released, that’s the oldest plot in the world.)
In comedy, seemingly bad things turn out to be good, or at least neutral, or perhaps harmless. A “mistake”. The tension leads up to realizing the mistake. (In cocky-funny, negs make it seem like you don’t like someone, but then, a while later, it turns out that you were attracted.)
So … while social proofing yourself, setting yourself up as a guy who is easygoing, approachable, and that everybody finds likable seems a natural strategy …
… What if you have all that social proof available “on tap” but you conceal it and instead appear to be a guy who is aloof … very alpha but lone-wolf A314 with mucho DHV? And you let that image of yourself be established in the mind of your target … and THEN, when you’re ready to engage, you turn out to be very agreeable, social, approachable, friendly … and you pop the spigot of your social proof and let it flow?
Now, perhaps your target sees your game … and will at least have to give you reps for your degree of sophistication and planning. But if your target doesn’t see it coming, then I think the effect can be profound: as in head-shaking, WTF?, entrancing, world-tilting … “I thought this guy was a snob / loner / not interested in me / too good for me … but he is really okay, friendly, hooked in socially, interested in me, and not arrogant at all.” (Take two of those, get a good night’s rest, and make breakfast for me in the morning.) 
The Shine / A314 tension is more directly approach-avoidance. It’s about being a forbidden source of pleasure that’s actually beckoning you to come play.
I think using tension, and dissonance, and releasing tension and reducing dissonance … are the underpinnings of experiences that people call “romantic.” It’s a way of making meaning for people.
Perhaps one of the best ways to develop your strategic outer game is to pick up a book on writing … how to craft dialogue in a novel, how to structure a play or screenplay
pretty trippy stuff. cant wait to study this.