Physical Attractiveness in Relationships Flashcards
What did Shackleford & Larsen find?
People with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive. It is thought that this is a signal of genetic fitness that cannot be faked - it’s an “honest” signal.
What are neotenous features?
Baby faces features, are thought to trigger protective & caring instincts - related to the formation of attachment in infancy.
What is the halo effect?
We hold preconceived ideas about the attributes of physically attractive people. We believe that all of their other attributes are overwhelmingly positive.
What did Dion et al find?
Physically attractive people are consistently rated as kind, strong, sociable & successful, compared with unattractive people.
What is Walster et al’s ‘Matching Hypothesis’?
People want to date someone of the same level of attractiveness.
Walster et al’s Matching Hypothesis: PROCEDURE
Male & female students invited to a dance. Rated for physical attractiveness by objective observers at the start & also completed a questionnaire about themselves. Were told the info was used by a computer to decide their date for the evening. Actually = randomly paired.
Walster et al’s Matching Hypothesis: FINDINGS
Didn’t support hypothesis. Most liked = most attractive, not taking their own attractiveness into account.
Berscheid et al replicated this study, where students selected their own partners & found?
Chose partners of similar physical attractiveness. Suggests we tend to seek & choose partners whose physical attractiveness matches our own. Partner choice is a compromise - we avoid rejection by the most physically attractive & settle for those in our own “league”.
Strength: research support for halo effect
Palmer & Peterson found that physically attractive people were rated more politically knowledgeable & competent than unattractive people. Halo effect persisted even when participants were told “knowledgeable” people actually had no expertise. Suggests dangers for democracy, if politicians are elected just because they are considered physically attractive by voters.
Limitation: real-world research doesn’t support matching hypothesis
Taylor et al. studied online dating activity logs, which measured actual dating choices & not fantasy preferences. This real-world test of the hypothesis found that people sought dates with people who were more physically attractive than themselves. Contradicts central prediction that real couples seek to match attractiveness.
COUNTERPOINT: limitation: real-world research doesn’t support matching hypothesis
However, choosing people for dating is different from real-world romance. Feingold’s meta-analysis found a significant correlation in the ratings of physical attractiveness between romantic partners. People may express ideals in dating selection & lab research. Shows there is support for the matching hypothesis from real world studies.
