Physical Appearance Flashcards
Appearance cues
any physical features
Eye color, height, weight, color
Adornment cues
anything worn on the body
Clothes, perfume
Importance of physical appearance
Need to project a positive appearance often follows closely behind needs for food and shelter
People develop a sense of the importance of physical appearance early in life
Links between physical attractiveness and well being
proteus effect
peoples actions in online environments reflected how they thought a person with their avatars characteristcs should act, with peope assigned attractive avatars engaging in more assertive behavior
Halo effect
error in reasoning in which an overall positive impression is formed based off a single, positive characteristic
Attractive people are more confident because of self fulfilling prophecies
physical attractiveness in relationships
Physical appearance=one of the best predictors of romantic attraction, passion, intimacy, and commitment in relationships
Key determinant of “falling in love at first sight”
Plays a role in keeping long-term stable relationships satisfying
Acts as a screening device for determining who qualifies as a potential romantic partner
hypothesis
market model
everyone agrees on whos the most attractive, but in the end we settle for the best we can get
Aspirational partner
with all else being equal, most people would want to date the most physically attractive person possible
Matching hypothesis
people seek partners like themselves-similar attractiveness levels
Realistic partner
-the partner that people usually pursue-usually matching them in physical attractiveness
Hybrid selection strategy
people pursue those who are within a matching range of physical attractiveness, as well as those who are somewhat aspirational
Effects of physical attractivenes are relatively small
Pedestal effect
people tend to expect and demand more from especially good looking people
Interaction appearance theory
having a positive communicative interaction with someone can enhance peoples perceptions of their physical appearance
Teachers and physical attractiveness
Mixed evidence for effects of physical attractiveness on ratings of classes and teachers
Students and physical attractiveness
Teachers were more likely to call on and encourage better looking students
Halo effect+self fulfilling prophecy
Lookism
which is beautiful is good stereotype
Employers associate more positive characteristics with good looks
More likely to be hired and payed more
Beauty is beastly effect
when extremely physically attractive individuals are falsely attributed negative characteristics
Beautiful women-may be judged as falsely to involved in social lives when applying for managerial positions and positions traditionally held by men
What makes a face attractive
A subjective assessment based on interpersonal and cultural factors
An objective assessment related to features that are universally agreed upon as good-looking
Symmetry
how similar two sides of the face/body are
More symmetry=more attractive
Koinophilia
no outstanding or unusual features
Neoteny
youthful facial features like large eyes, small nose, full lips
Balance between neoteny and sexual maturacty=attractive
Somatotypes
body types
Endomorphs
heavy in comparison to height with rounder body and usually underdeveloped muscles
Mesomorphs
strong muscular build with weight proportional to heigh
Ectomorphs
thin compared to heigh with lean body type and small muscles
Exto-mosos
tones and lean with with weight proportional to height
Someone muscular-male
Someowhat curvaceous-female
Endo-mosos
toned with weight proportional to height but has some areas where they are round with softer muscle-dad bod
Scarcity principle
the value of something increases when its perceived to be in limited supply or difficult to obtain
clothing consciousness
-involves making careful choices about what to wear
Exhibitionism(in terms of clothing)
using clothing to attract attention by wearing unique, tight-fitting, or revealing outfits
Practicality(in terms of clothing)
dressing more for comfort than to impress other people or be “in style”
Conservatism
wearing less exhibitionism clothes
Dressing for fun
wearing sexy clothes and/or clothes that would be appropriate for a party
Waist to Hip ratio and what is attractive/healthy for men and women
circumference of the waist divided by the circumference of the hips
.7 for women and .9-1 for men=more attractive and healthier
