Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Love Journal | Page 30

Lack of Cognitive Attraction
American dating culture has been founded on romance movies that portray the idea of kissing a stranger, falling in love instantly,
and riding off into the sunset for a happily ever after. There is a clear lack of cognitive attraction when focusing in on Disney movies, such
as Sleeping Beauty . The focus is heavily on the physiological attraction, whether or not they feel electrically pulled towards one another by
just one look into the other’s eyes. Taking a closer look at this, the problems of stalking, stranger danger, and at the same time, impossible
dating expectations that arise are at the root of neglecting to portray the importance of cognitive attraction in Sleeping Beauty .
Examining a scene in Sleeping Beauty when Aurora is in the woods with the animals, the scene starts with her saying she is not
supposed to talk with strangers. Unknowing that the prince is watching her from the bushes, she begins to dance and sing; he is “drawn to
her” and continues to watch her from the bushes. Eventually he comes out of the bushes to come behind her, this disrupts her song and dance.
Physiologically he is sexually aroused. The article, “Love Actually: the meaning behind lust, attraction and companionship” by Katherine Wu
discuses how sexual arousal shuts down parts of the brain, like the pre-frontal cortex, meaning that judgment and critical thinking is impaired
(Wu 7). Clearly he is not behaving rationally and is explained with his judgment being impaired. Once they are waltzing together, the hor-
mones that are being released in the prince’s brain is testosterone, as it plays a crucial part in this stage of lust. For Aurora the hormone
that is being released is estrogen (Wu 3). Of course there is the attraction phase that the audience gets to see take place toward the end
of the movie. This is when the two characters are in the exciting and euphoric stage, where everything is rainbows and butterflies (once she
awakes from her comma, of course). The hormones that are being released in this stage are dopamine and norepinephrine, which is released
when we take action that, feels good to us (Wu 4). It is the bodies own reward system, which allows the brain to have it’s own reward
pathway after doing something that is enjoyed, like being physically near to a loved one (Wu 4). Are these characters founding their love on
anything other than the physiological response? The third stage of love is attachment, this happens over time when the hormones, oxytocin and
vasopressin are being released (Wu 6). The last stage of attachment is neglected in Disney Movies, such as Sleeping Beauty , as the movie
typically ends before that stage has really even begun.
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