RELATIONSHIPS - factors affecting attraction : Physical attractiveness

Question 1

what is physical attractiveness?

Answer 1

• how appealing we find someones face
• there is a general agreement across cultures about what is considered physically attractive.

Question 2

Shakelford and Larsen (1997)

Answer 2

people with symmetrical faces are rated more as attractive = genetic fitness.

people are also attracted to baby face features = triggers a protective and caring instinct

Question 3

Explain the Halo effect.

Answer 3

• used to describe how one distinguishing features tends to have a disproportionate influence on our judgements of a persons other attributes.
• we think of preconceived personality traits we think attractive people must have

Question 4

Dion (1972)

Answer 4

” what is beautiful is good” = found that physically attractive people are kind, sociable etc = creates a self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 5

what did Walster + Walster (1966) propose?

Answer 5

the matching hypothesis

Question 6

what is the matching hypothesis?

Answer 6

The belief that we look for partners who are similar to ourselves = we take into account of our own attractiveness when seeking for a romantic partner.

Question 7

Outline the procedure of Walster et al (1966).

Answer 7

• male and female students were invited to a dance
• completed a questionnaire about themselves
• ps were rated for physical attractiveness
• were told data about themselves
• computer would randomly decide their partner for the evening

Question 8

Outline the findings and conclusion of Walster et al (1966).

Answer 8

• hypothesis not supported
  -most liked partners were also the most physically attractive , rather than taking into account of their own physical attractiveness

CONCLUSION: we tend to seek and choose partners who match our physical attractiveness.

Question 9

give the strengths of research into physical attractiveness.

Answer 9

+ RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR HALO EFFECT
Palmer + Peterson (2012) = found physically attractive people were rated more politically knowledgable and competent than unattractive people.

+ EVOLUTIONARY SUPPORT
(Cunningham et al 1995) = white+hispanic+asian men were all attracted to women w/ large eyes and small nose.
Researcher concluded = what is physically attractive is consistent across different societies. = importance of physical attractiveness makes sense at an evolutionary level.

Question 10

give limitations of research into physical attractiveness.

Answer 10

• research challenging the matching hypothesis
  Taylor et al (2011) = studied activity logs on dating app = people tended to prefer those who were more attractive than themselves = contradicts the matching hypothesis decreasing its value
• attractive research varies with individuals = not reliable