exam 1 Flashcards
The myth of learned attractiveness
Exposure to culturally presented ideals
Belief that cultures vary dramatically in beliefs about what is attractive
Such convictions were supported by early cross-cultural work by Ford & Beach (1951) who catalogued differences between cultures in preferences for
body weight
breast size
aspects of female physique
Agreeness
While individual and cross-cultural differences exist, this politically correct view of beauty is to some extent false.
Agreement between individuals is one of the best-documented and most robust findings in facial attractiveness research since the 1970s
Laglois and colleagues (2000)
ran a meta-analsys on with-cultural and across-culture agreement on attractive faces.
There is a high degree of agreement from individuals within a particular culture about who from that group has an attractive face
The thing is, there also is high agreement between individuals from different cultures about who from that group is attractive
Benefits of an Attractive Face
Numerous benefits of having an attractive face
Three meta-analyses on the ‘beautiful=good’ heuristic, whereby attractive individuals are perceived to possess a variety of positive personality attributions
Attractiveness associated with upward economic mobility (especially for women)
Attractive people are more likely to be hired than less attractive individuals
Attractiveness influences judgements about the seriousness of committed crimes
Attractive individuals pay lower bail
Clark Study
Pretext of a study on ESP
70 opposite-sex strangers
Pretested for Emotional Responsiveness to Facial Expression (ERFE)
Silently gazed into each other’s eyes for two minutes
High in ERFE = High in passionate love for partner
University of Alaska Study
Romantic beliefs scale (RBS) “One and only love” “love at first sight” “Love will find a way” Eye contact, same as Clark study High RBS = High romantic love
The Facial-Feedback Hypothesis
The expression on your face can initiate genuine feeling
The “actors experiment” (face=emotion)
In these gaze studies, you’re acting like a person in love
As such, eye gaze can enhance or initiate a feeling of love
what happens when you gaze into the eyes of someone with whom you share a close relational bond & affection
Amygdala (emotional center of the brain) fires up
Three hormones dump into your system:
Adrenaline (excitement; causes your palms to sweat, increases breathing and heart rate, dilates pupils and blood vessels, making your skin feel hot)
Dopamine (neurotransmitter that makes you feel good)
Oxytocin (attachment
Hess study 1: What makes pupils dilate?
Showed men and women an assortment of pictures while measuring their pupil dilation
Men=pictures of naked women
Women=pictures of children and naked men
Hess study 2: Do we like it?
Showed men pics of women
Identical, except for pupil size
Men preferred pics of larger pupils
Couldn’t identify why
“prettier” “more feminine”
No one consciously registered pupil size
Pupil Dilation
Why? Pupils dilate wider during youth Pupils dilate with excitement That includes sexual arousal In women, pupils dilate widest during ovulation
So… (straight) men triggered by women with large pupils
Signals youth, fertility, receptivity
Pupil Dilation In contrast
women prefer men with medium size pupils
Why?
Women are often suspicious of guys with big pupils
Drunk/drugged
Wild/out of control
Sexually aggressive
Human Pheromones
Pheromones are nature’s aphrodisiacs
Mother Nature is a generous dealer
Bugs, birds, and a whole host of mammals use them
In humans, researches describe pheromones as
blend of odors derived from:
Sex-related hormones
Immune system markers
Bacterial by-products
Sex-Related Hormones
Male sex-related hormones Androgens Testosterone Testosterone derivatives Androstadienone Androstenone
Female sex-related hormones
Estrogen
Progesterone
