Factors Affecting Attractiveness: Physical Attractiveness Flashcards
What does evolutionary explanations of attractiveness state that traits associated with attractiveness act as and why is it important
Indications of good health . Therefore choosing an attractive partner is the best way of ensuring a healthy partner and a healthy child
Why is perceived health important
Partner will be physically able to bear children (women) or provide for the family (men).
Also means there is a good chance that genes they carry will produce healthy offspring
What did Shakeford and Larsen (1997) find
The people with symmetrical faces are rated as more physically attractive and its thought that this is an honest signal of genetic fitness as being symmetrical requires robust genes
What is the baby face hypothesis
States that we are attracted to neotenous features such as widely spread eyes and small nose as they trigger an innate caring instinct. This doesn’t indicate fertility but may still have an adaptive advantage
What did McNulty (2008) find
Evidence that the initial attractiveness that brought the partners together continued to be an important feature of the relationship after the marriage, for at least several years
What is the halo effect
Preconceived ideas about the personality traits attractive people must have, and they are almost universally positive
What did Dion et al(1972) find
That physically attractive people are consistently rated as kind, strong, sociable, and successful compared to unattractive people
What does matching hypothesis suggest
That we match our attractiveness levels to others
What does Walster et al’s (1966) matching hypothesis state
That we choose partners that are of a similar attractiveness to ourselves and to do this we assess our own value to a potential partner
What is the computer dance study, Walster (1966)
- 752 students bought tickets for a dance during freshers
- They were told info they gave would be fed into a computer providing them with their ideal match
- They were acc randomly assigned a partner
- Unseen observer marked them on attractiveness
- After 2 hrs with date they were asked how much they liked them
What did Walster(1966) find
Those who were physically attractive were liked the most. Men asked out a partner if they found her attractive, regardless of personality or how attractive they themselves were
What did Taylor et al (2011) do
Studied the activity logs of a popular online dating site. This was a real life test of matching hypothesis because it measured actual date choices rather than preferences. This is keeping in line with the original hypothesis which concerned realistic as opposed to fantasy choices
What did Taylor et al (2011) find
Online daters sought meetings with potential partners who were attractive than them. It seems they did not consider their own level of attractiveness when making decisions about who they date. This matters as the matching hypothesis may no longer explain preferences in a useful way
