physical attraction Flashcards
(3 cards)
strength: there is research support
E – Feingold (1988) carried out a meta-analysis of 17 studies and found a significant correlation in ratings of physical attractiveness between romantic partners.
E –This research suggests that people tend to find other people attractive when they match their own level of physical attractiveness. This shows not only shows how physical attractiveness is a factor affecting attraction, but it also provides support for the predictions of the matching hypothesis (I.e., we are likely to be attracted to people who we perceive to have a similar level of physical attractiveness to our own). This finding is especially strong as it comes from a meta-analysis. Because meta-analyses combine the results of multiple studies, they have large sample sizes. As a result, their samples are highly representative, meaning we can have confidence in this research’s support for the matching hypothesis as an explanation for the role of physical attractiveness as a factor affecting attraction.
research into the role of physical attractiveness is overly complex
E – for example penon dound that women rated pictures of feminised make faced most attractiove when on yheor menstrual cycle and during their ovulation they rated more masculine faces most attractive.
E – This research clearly illustrates the role of a person’s physical appearance on perceptions of attraction. However, it demonstrates that the link between physical appearance and attraction is not static over time. This suggests research that concludes certain features are necessarily attractive (and other features are not) may be overly simplistic. However, this study’s finding on the link between physical appearance on attraction may lack credibility due to its lack of ecological validity. The task in this experiment is highly artificial and may therefore reveal little about the reality of how women view physical appearance as a factor affecting attraction.
limitation: research may be socially sensitive
E: according to seiner and Stanley, research is considered to be socially sensitive if it has the potential for harmful social consequences.
E:research into physical attractiveness is socially sensitive because it requires judgement about what is attractive and what is not which could be used to fuel discrimination against people not judged attracrive .
