Physical Attractiveness Flashcards
Evolution
- It is a process that occurs through the accumulation of small changes in the genetic material of a population over many generations.
- These changes can result in the development of new species, traits, and characteristics.
Matching hypothesis
- Walster et al. - The more physically desirable a person is, the more desirable they would expect a dating or marriage partner to be.
- An individual would most often choose to date a partner of approximately their own attractiveness.
Halo effect
- The physical attractiveness stereotype is the idea that what is beautiful is good.
- Dion et al found that physically attractive people are rated as more kind and sociable.
+ P - Research support for the halo effect
E - Palmer and Palmer - physically attractive people rated as more politically knowledgeable than unattractive people.
E - Halo effect continued despite P’s knowing these ‘smart’ people had no expertise.
L - This shows that the halo effect has been applied to many areas in everyday life and confirms PA is an important factor in the initial formation of relationships.
- P - Individual differences
E - Towhey - asked male and female P’s how much they liked a person based on their picture and some biographical information. P’s completed a MACHO scale (designed to measure sexist attitudes and behaviours).
E - Found that those who scored highly were more influenced by PA (men).
L - This shows that the effects of PA can be moderated by other factors and challenges the idea that it’s a significant factor.
- P - Beta bias
E - Meltzer et al surveyed men and women.
E - Results showed that men thought of physical attractiveness as very important and it made them more satisfied in a relationship. Women felt that physical attractiveness did not contribute to their satisfaction level.
L - This suggests that the theory suffers from beta bias as it fails to exaggerate the differences between how important physical attractiveness is to men and women.
