physical attractiveness
physical attractiveness
an important factor in the formation of relationships. the term usually applies specifically to how appealing we find a person's face. there is a general agreement within and across cultures about what is considered physically attractive, and an assumption that we seek to form relationships with the most attractive person available.
another feature of attractiveness is thought to be blonde hair. a suggested evolutionary explanation is that blonde hair was / is more...
difficult to keep clean and it may act as a signal of cleanliness and health
[physical features] SHACKELFORD + LARSEN found that people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive. this is because...
it is maybe an honest signal of genetic fitness - it is difficult to fake facial symmetry.
psychologists use the term 'halo effect' to describe how...
one distinguishing feature tends to have a disproportionate influence on our judgment of a person's other attributes
[the matching hypothesis] the MH proposed by WALSTER + WALSTER suggests we look for partners who are...
similar to ourselves in terms of physical attractiveness (also similar in terms of personality etc) instead of choosing the most appealing people
DION et al found that physically attractive people are consistently rated as kind, strong, sociable, and successful compared to unattractive people.
the belief that good looking people probably have these characteristics makes them even more attractive to us, so we behave positively towards them - a good example of a self-fulfilling prophecy
matching hypothesis
the belief that we do not select the most attractive person as a prospective partner but instead are attracted to a person who approximately 'matches' us in physical (ie facial) attractiveness. this implies that we take into account our own attractiveness 'value' to others when seeking a romantic partner
S: evolutionary explanation - role of physical attractiveness is research support for evolutionary processes E: CUNNINGHAM et al found that female features of large eyes, prominent cheekbones, small nose and high eyebrows were rated as highly attractive by white, Hispanic and Asian males.
the researchers concluded that what is considered physically attractive is remarkably consistent across different societies. attractive features (symmetry) are a sign of genetic fitness and therefore perpetuated similarly in all cultures. L: therefore the importance of physical attractiveness makes sense at an evolutionary level
people are also attracted to faces with neotenous features such as widely separated and large eyes, a delicate chin and a small nose because...
these trigger a protective or caring instinct, a valuable resource for females wanting to reproduce.
S: research support for halo effect - evidence that physical attractiveness is associated with the halo effect E: PALMER + PETERSON found that physically attractive people were rated as more politically knowledgeable and competent than unattractive people.
this halo effect was so powerful that is persisted even when ppts knew that those 'knowledgeable' people had no particular expertise. L: this finding has implications for the political process - it suggests there are dangers for democracy if politicians are judged as suitable for office just because they are considered physically attractive by enough voters
[the halo effect] physical attractiveness may also matter because we have preconceived ideas about the personality traits attractive people must have, and they are almost universally positive.
this is the physical attractiveness stereotype - a widely accepted view of attractive people, neatly summed up in a phrase coined by DIOn + her colleagues: 'what is beautiful is good'
S: individual differences - some people just do not seem to attach much importance to physical attractiveness E: TOWHEY asked male and female ppts to rate how much they would like a target individual based on their photograph and some biographical information. the ppts also completed a questionnaire - the MACHO scale - designed to measure sexist attitudes and behaviours.
towhey found that the ppts who scored highly on the macho scale were more influenced by physical attractiveness of the target when making their judgement. low scales were less sensitive to this influence. L: this shows that the effects of physical attractiveness can be moderated by other factors, and so challenges the notion that it is a significant consideration in relationship formation for all potential partners.
in other words, our choice of partner is basically a compromise - we desire the most physically attractive partner possible for all sorts of evolutionary, social, cultural and psychological reasons, but...
we balance this against the wish to avoid being rejected by someone that is unattainable ('out of our league') - someone who is very unlikely to consider us physically attractive