factors affecting attraction: physical attractiveness Flashcards
what is physical attractiveness?
an important factor in the formation of romantic relationships. the term usually applies to how appealing we find a persons face, and the assumption that we seek to form relationships with the most attractive person available
why are people often attracted to people with a ‘baby face’?
because these trigger a protective and caring instinct
what is the halo effect?
it describes how physical attractiveness tends to have a disproportionate influence on our judgements of a persons other attributes, like their personality
•we may think that more attractive people will be nicer people, because we believe this we act nicer to them (self fulfilling prophecy)
who proposed the matching hypothesis?
walster and walster
what is the matching hypothesis?
•suggests that we look for partners who are similar to ourselves in terms of physical attractiveness, people form their long-term relationships with partners of similar physical attractiveness
what was the computer dance experiment?
•aim: to test whether people form intimate relationships with people who are the same level of physical attractiveness
•376 males and 376 females at a freshers ball
•all participants rated for physical attractiveness (hot-mid-ugly)
•they had to complete a questionnaire asking ‘would you ask your partner out on a second date?’
•conclusions: the matching hypothesis was not supported. personality was a greater influence, especially for females. males were willing to see a female again regardless of their inferior looks.
•attractiveness categories did not influence answers
did the computer dance experiment support the matching hypothesis?
no, attractiveness categories did not influence answers
how did Walser’s study change when he replicated it?
•students chose their own dates
-overcame artificiality/ validity issues
•findings: participants partnered with those who closely matched their own physical attractiveness
strength: research support for the halo effect
•Palmer and Peterson found that physically attractive people were rated as more politically knowledgeable and competent than unattractive people
•the halo effect was so powerful that he persisted even when participants knew that these ‘knowledgeable’ people had no particular expertise
•has implications for the political process- it suggests that competent politicians may not be judged to be as suitable due to their physical attractiveness
strength: research support for the evolutionary process
•Cunningham found that women who had features of large eyes, prominent cheekbones, small nose and high eyebrows were rated as highly attractive by men
•researchers have found that what is considered physically attractive is remarkably consistent between cultures
•attractive features (like symmetry) are a sign of genetic fitness and contribute to sexual selection
•the importance of physical attractiveness makes sense on an evolutionary level
limitation: research challenging the matching hypothesis
•Taylor studied activity on a popular online dating site, measuring real life date choices
•researchers found that online daters sought meetings with potential partners who were more physically attractive than them
•this undermines the validity of the matching hypothesis because it contradicts the central prediction about matching attractiveness
limitation: choosing individuals for dating could be considered a different situation to selecting a partner for a romantic relationship
•Feingold carried out a meta analysis and found a significant correlation in ratings of physical attractiveness between romantic partners
•also, just because online dating partners seek more attractive potential partners does not mean that they get them
•so dating election may just be as ‘fantasy’ as it is in laboratory research
•therefore there is support for the matching hypothesis from studies of real world established romantic partners
limitations: bias, ethics and long term
- bias interpretations, the categorisation of attractiveness is subjective
- ethics, does not safeguard the well-being of participants, involved lying and perception
- dating apps are not long term and do not actually test attractiveness in long term relationships
