While I think that caring about how you look is not the same as “attention seeking”, I think that “feeling good about you look” is still related to socialization.
If we didn’t care whatsoever about others, we wouldn’t have any reason to care about how we look. It doesn’t have to be consciously thought like “if I do that, I’ll be more attractive to the other sex” or “if I wear this, my tribe will recognize me like one of theirs”. But feeling good about your appearance is still, in a roundabout way, about socialization, I think.
When I look in the mirror and see myself with my long hair (as a man), my metal band shirt and a wristband with norse symbols, I feel great about myself. But I think it’s not random coincidence that I happen to be really into metal.
While I think that caring about how you look is not the same as “attention seeking”, I think that “feeling good about you look” is still related to socialization.
If we didn’t care whatsoever about others, we wouldn’t have any reason to care about how we look. It doesn’t have to be consciously thought like “if I do that, I’ll be more attractive to the other sex” or “if I wear this, my tribe will recognize me like one of theirs”. But feeling good about your appearance is still, in a roundabout way, about socialization, I think.
When I look in the mirror and see myself with my long hair (as a man), my metal band shirt and a wristband with norse symbols, I feel great about myself. But I think it’s not random coincidence that I happen to be really into metal.