psyched advice

if i could write my own advice column, i'd love to write one like this:

Dear Yasmeen,

I've just met this guy who's super sweet and charming. We talk occasionally, and I'm about average in terms of prettiness, but how do I get him to ask me out? Are there any ways psychology could help me?

Sincerely,

Hopeful in Hoboken

dear hopeful,

there are tons of ways psychology could help you out! we learned in my first year of psychology that attraction between two people are often predicted by four things: similarity, proximity, reciprocity, and physical attractiveness. find things you and your guy have in common for similarity, and for proximity, try to see him regularly. as for reciprocity and physical attractiveness, those two shouldn't be a problem! also, a university of rochester study has shown that men find women wearing red more attractive, so if you feel it necessary, put on that red shirt! and this guy doesn't necessarily have to be the one to ask you out either. if you're too scared to ask him straight out, plan to do something you know he'd like doing, mention it in passing, and invite him along.

hope this helps,

yasmeen

by the way, feel free to take the advice, it really is based on reality, not made up like the letter from hopeful in hoboken.