Transcript Physical Attractiveness

Beauty As A Social Problem
View Attractive
Female(s)
Perception of
attractiveness
level of
subsequent images
of females
Down
Up
• Contrast Effect
• Outside relevant universe
• Adaptation Level (Helson)
Frame of reference is
affected by our past
experience
• Association of average female
with attractive image
(reinforcing effect)
Media Impact
What images are most common on prime-time TV?
Young, attractive, wealthy
Study 1: Procedure and Results?
Charlie’s Angels Viewers
Mean = 3.4
Control Groups
Mean = 4.0
Study 2: Procedure and Results?
Experimental Group
(viewed picture of
attractive female)
Mean = 4.4
Control Group (no
picture viewed)
Mean = 3.5
Higher scores
indicates less
attractiveness
Study 3: Procedure and Results?
Role of Informational Social Influence (confederate comments)
Comments were
negative for the
highly attractive
photos and positive
for the less attractive
ones
Overall Implications?
Consequences of Being Physically Attractive
What is Beautiful is Good
Procedure and Results?
Physical Attractiveness
Advantages:
• Greater overall liking (best predictor of desire to date)
• More desirable character traits (e.g., sensitive, warm, intelligent)
• Higher income
• Higher evaluation of work performance
• More lenient treatment in the legal system
• Better mental health
• Matching
Length of
relationship
Often different in
physical
attraction
Short
Long
Couple is
equal in
physical
attraction
Attractiveness as a Business
• In 2002, 6.9 million spent on cosmetic surgical and non-surgical
procedures in the U.S. --- a 22% increase from 1997 (American Society for
Plastic Surgery, 2003)
• Most common procedure (Botox injections) was performed 1.6 million
times in 2002
• Across the world, the cosmetic industry makes 20 billion/year
• Nearly 1 million adults wear braces (mostly to improves smiles)
• 35 billion is spent on weight loss programs, diet foods, and health club
membership per year in the U.S.
Schemas and Behavior
Phone conversation
with males
Low
Physical attractiveness
of female described to
males
High
Females did not know how
they were described to males
Females behavior, rated by listeners, was judged to be
warmer, friendlier, and possess greater confidence when
they were described to the male as “attractive”
Males gave positive
impressions
personality, were
warmer, more
friendly, and used
more humor when
talking to the
“attractive” female
Snyder et al. (1977)
Attractive photo
Positive
Mood
Average photo
High
Low
Same-Sex
Photos
(Kenrick et al., 1993)
Opposite-Sex
Photos
Romantically linked
Impression
of man
Strangers
7.5
7.1
7.0
6.5
6.1
6.0
5.5
5.9
5.5
5.0
Low
High
Female’s attractiveness
Eating Lightly and Self-Presentation
Basic Premise: People are motivated to behave in ways to enhance their image
• Females have greater number of eating disorders and dieting than males
(emphasis on thin as attractive)
“Undesirable”
Male
Equal intake of candy by
males and females
“Desirable”
Male
• Females ate significantly less food when interacting with a
desirable male (Mori, et al., 1987)
Gender and the Personal Columns
Males
Females
Offer
Seek
Offer
Seek
Money
Young
Money
Status
Physically
attractive
Physical
attractiveness
Career
(Deaux & Hanna, 1984)
Job information
Personality traits
(e.g., sincerity)
Gender Differences in Mate Preferences
% Money
spent
40
Men
% Monet
spent
High Budget
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
Physical
attractiveness
(Li et al., 2002)
Social status
Women
Low Budget
Physical
attractiveness
Social status
% “yes”
100
Gender Differences in
Sexual Behavior
Females
Males
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
Go on a date
Go to
apartment
Sexual
invitation
Thought Frequency As Pie Charts
The
relationship
Men
Women
Sports
Men
thrashing
Aging
The
relationship
Sex
Sex
Pets
Food
Things we
Having shouldn’t
to pee have eaten
Going
bald
Career
Strange ear
& nose hair
growth
Aging
Attitude similarity and attraction
Attraction toward other person (range = 2-14)
Byrne and Nelson (1965) asked
to rate how much they liked a
stranger after learning he agreed
with varying proportions of their
attitudes expressed on a
questionnaire. (Higher numbers
indication greater liking.)
13.00
12.00
11.00
10.00
9.00
8.00
7.00
6.00
.00 .20 .40
.60
.80 1.00
As the graph shows, the
greater the proportion of
attitudes subjects shared
with the stranger, the
more subjects liked him
Proportion of similar attitudes held by
other person
Why such a powerful effect of similarity?
A) Cognitive Consistency
(We like ourselves, therefore we like those who are like us)
B) Social Comparison (validation of one's beliefs)
C) Anticipate/Predict other's behavior (e.G., Likes/dislikes,
interests)
D) They will like us also (reciprocal)
Application of Similarity Theory
Key Dimensions Used by eHarmony
[http://www.eharmony.com/singles/servlet/about/dimensions]
Stated goal: “eHarmony … creates compatible matches based on 29 dimensions
scientifically proven to predict happier, healthier relationships”
Core Traits --Social Style (Character, Kindness, Dominance, Sociability, Autonomy, Adaptability):
How do you relate to other people? Do you crave company, or prefer to be alone? Are
you more comfortable leading, or do you prefer to go along with the group?
Cognitive Mode (Intellect, Curiosity, Humor, Artistic Passion)
How do you think about the world around you? Are you motivated by an insatiable
curiosity about the world and events around you? Are you constantly looking for
intellectual challenges? Do you find humor to be your favorite coping strategy when
dealing with the world?
Physicality (Energy – Physical, Passion – Sexual, Vitality & Security, Industry,
Appearance). How do you relate physically with the world? How do you relate
physically with yourself? Are you energetic, athletic and constantly in motion? Or are
you more comfortable and happy walking than running?
Application of Similarity Theory (cont.)
From eHarmony
Relationship Skills (Communication Style, Emotion Management – Anger,
Emotion Management – Mood, Conflict Resolution)
The amount of effort and skill that you devote to making a relationship work are
key elements of who you are, and what type of person you are most likely to
succeed with in a relationship
Values and Beliefs (Spirituality, Family Goals, Traditionalism, Ambition,
Altruism). Values and Beliefs are at the center of most of our life experiences.
How we feel about spirituality, religion, family and even politics for a enormous
part of how we think about the world, and who we are going to be most
comfortable sharing our lives with.
Key Experiences (Family Background, Family Status, Education) All of your life
experiences combine to affect who you are and how you relate to the world.
Although many of the effects of these experiences are represented by the other
Core Traits and Learned Attributes, the following components of the 29
Dimensions are considered separately as part of your Key Experiences in your
compatibility profile
Repulsion Hypothesis
Basic premise: Differences are disliked; perceived as threatening
“Lab” studies
Avg. attraction score
• Similar attitudes
5.5
• No information regarding attitudes
5.2
• Dissimilar attitudes
2.1 (less attraction)
No
difference
Iowa Caucus Study (Democratic)
Democrat
Description of person
No party affiliation
Republican
No
difference
Disliked
D S S D S
DS
S D D
DDD S
S D
Reject those who are
dissimilar
DDSDDD
S D D S D
S
S
S
End result is that we are
left with similar people to
interact with
S
S
S
S
S
The motivational value of dissimilarity is various other
theories in social psychology:
•
Balance Theory
Imbalance is motivating
•
Congruity Theory
Incongruity is motivating
•
Dissonance Theory
Dissonance is motivating
•
Equity Theory
Inequity is motivating
Naturally discovering similarity/dissimilarity (rather
than being given other’s attitudes is quite different
Active search process
“No man or woman really knows what love is until they have been
married a quarter of a century.” --- Mark Twain
Love marriages
Arranged marriages
90
80
70
60
50
40
0-1
1-2
2-5
5-10
Years of marriage
10+
Marriage, Health and Longevity
Health &
Longevity
High
Happily married
Unhappily married
Unmarried
Low
Men
Women
Interpersonal Relationship --- Newer
Approaches
• Individual subjective reactions to cues in
an interaction
Relationships
• Active search/detection process for cues
• Timing and sequencing of cues (e.g.,
baking a cake example)
Interpersonal Relationship --- Newer
Approaches (cont.)
Thoughts about
interpersonal
interactions
Narratives/stories
about
relationships
Evaluation of
interaction as good,
average, poor
• Future
possibilities
• Strategies
• Who is told? When they are told?
What is said? Why they are told?
• Difference in perceptions; memory for facts
Misattributions of Friendly Behavior
Routine
Conversation
Female
Male
Viewed female as
promiscuous; were attracted to
the female; saw themselves as
flirtatious and seductive
Female
Observers
Male
Sexual
Interaction
lens
Viewed males as behaving
in a sexual manner;
females as promiscuous
Relationship Conflict --- Some Issues
• Jealousy --Men
Sexual infidelity (60%)
Women
Emotional infidelity (83%)
• Communication --Demand-withdraw interaction pattern (Females wish to
discuss problems, men avoid/withdraw from such discussions)
• Sex
• Children
• Money
• Different expectations
Relationship-Enhancing and Distress-Maintaining Attributions
Relationship-Enhancing
Attribution
Distress-Maintaining
Attribution
Positive Event
My partner takes me
out to an expensive
dinner
My partner is
sweet and
thoughtful
My partner took
me out to write the
cost off on taxes
Internal, stable,
global
External, unstable,
specific
Something
unexpected must
have come up
External, unstable,
specific
My partner is
always uncaring
and selfish
Internal, stable,
global
Negative Event
My partner forgot my
birthday