Lecture 11: Physical Attraction Flashcards
What characteristics make someone’s face attractive according to cunningham’s 1986 study?
- Men’s ratings of female beauty (face)
- Large eyes
- Small nose
- Small chin
- Prominent cheekbones
- narrow cheeks
- high eyebrows
- Large pupils
- Big smile
- Women’s ratings of male beauty (face)
- Large eyes
- Prominent cheekbones
- Large chin
- Big smile
Are there differences in cultures about what is physically attractive?
*People from different cultures agree on what is physically attractive in the human face and human body.
Is beauty objective or subjective?
- Objective:
- We like the same faces
- Subjective:
- Beauty changes over time
- Mental state has an impact: being in love
- Situations have an impact (comparisons).
What did Buss et al (1986) find?
- 100 students between 18-23 were asked about their preferred characteristics in a potential partner:
- Kind and understanding: male - 2.43%, female - 2.08%
- Exciting personality: male - 3.63%, female - 3.28%
- Intelligent: male - 3.78%, female - 3.28%
- Physically attractive: male - 4.04%, female - 6.26%
- Healthy: male - 5.49%, female - 5.84%
- Easy going: male - 5.67%, female - 5.72%
- Creative: male - 8.33%, female - 7.56%
- Wants children: male - 8.01%, female - 8.82%
What did Filsinger et al (1988) find?
*He observed the verbal interactions of dating couples and measured how dominant each partner was.
*How many men had broken up after five years?
It was more likely for men to break up if the female was more dominant.
What deceptive tactics are used in dating?
- Males: Lie about their career expectations
* Females: Lie about their looks (suck in their stomachs).
What was found in Greenless & McGrew’s 1994 study on lonely heart adverts?
- Analysed hundred of lonely heart adverts in british magazines
- More women than men offered information about their physical appearance.
- Men were more likely than women to seek good looking women.
- More men than women offered information about their financial security.
- Women were more likely than men to seek financial security.
What effect does self monitoring have?
- High self monitors take other’s evaluative opinion into account.
- Low self monitors are guided by their personal desires.
- Who find having a physically attractive partner more important?
- People with high self monitors prefer their partner to have good looks over their personality.
What bias is there in beauty and in hiring?
Marlowe et al 1996.
*Marlowe presented a set of job application folders to 112 male and female managers of a financial institution.
*They were led to believe that they were evaluating actual prospective employees.
*Who were selected?
Both male and female applicants were more likely to be employed if they were highly attractive.
Why do people prefer attractive people?
*The beautiful is good stereotype: The belief that physically attractive also process desirable traits (Dion et al 1972).
What is Eagly et al’s 1991 study on beautiful is good stereotype?
- Strong stereotypes for:
- Social competence (popular, likeable)
- Intermediate stereotypes for:
- Potency (dominant)
- Adjustment (happy)
- Intellect
- No stereotype for:
- Integrity
- Concern for others.
What was Sigall et al’s 1973 study?
*Participants were introduced to a man who was sitting next to wither an attractive or unattractive woman. She was introduced as his lover.
*How likeable, intelligent and self - confident did they find the man?
The score was more positive if the man was considered attractive rather than unattractive.
What Disadvantages are there to being attractive according to Major et al’s 1984 study?
*Female participants who found themselves either attractive or unattractive were asked to write an essay.
*Essay would be marked by a male
*One group was told that the marking was blind, other group was told that the male marker would know who they are
*They all got excellent marks
*Why did they think they received these marks?
More women who were in the blind condition thought it was because they were attractive more than those who were in the seen condition.
