system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What makes us attracted to a certain "type"?

For example, I tend to like beards. I know guys who like blondes, etc. Is it something that happened in our lives while growing up that makes us attracted to a certain quality in people, or is it genetic?
gpt
As we live we make all sorts of subconscious mental correlations. This is important because we learn things, like that "fire is hot". But some connections we make are as a result of conditioning or other reasons. For instance, if every time for a year that you enter a blue room, you stop what you are doing, and sit down and read a book for an hour, then eventually entering a blue room will make you want to read a book.

Our brain is constantly trying to learn things about our environment. As a result it is possible to make connections that aren't necessarily factually relevant,  like a preference for beards. Maybe you used to know several people who were nice that had beards, or maybe you liked a series of characters in TV shows that you watched that had beards. Or maybe the connection was made as a preference to furry animals and that connection just gives enough of a preference to beards that it is noticeable. There are too many possible reasons to speculate.

Just remember that even when you aren't paying attention, your brain is making connections. If you stay conscious of that fact you can condition your brain in all sorts of interesting ways.