Preview

Attractiveness- Appraised in Only One Glance?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
5623 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Attractiveness- Appraised in Only One Glance?
Research Paper
Attractiveness- Appraised in Only One Glance?

Abstract
There are several factors that influence us in our judgment of who we find attractive. Regarding the physical attractiveness, men and women both pay most attention to the face. Above that, men also take into account a woman´s waist-to-hip-ratio. Interestingly, researchers have found that for men, physical attractiveness has a greater impact on their partner choice than for women. Females are putting more emphasis on other factors such as reliability and socio-economic status. Yet, both genders benefit equally from one phenomenon: Attractive people receive more favorable treatment in hiring and promotion and are rated as smarter, more extroverted and as more socially skilled.
Besides these aspects of physical attractiveness that influence us in our behavior towards other people , there are reasons beyond which need to be considered in order to comprehend decision making in partner choice and attractiveness judgment. Three aspects of interpersonal attractiveness will be discussed in this research paper. Propinquity, similarity, and reciprocal liking are part of the field of interpersonal attractiveness, which is thematically integrated in social psychology. According to these three interpersonal effects, we tend to prefer a mate who lives in a close distance, with whom we are sharing the most important opinions and traits and who we know to like us.

Contents 1. Physical Attractiveness 3
1.1 Attractiveness of faces 3
1.2 The waist-to-hip ratio 6
1.3 Manipulation of attractiveness 9
1.4 Halo-Effect 11
1.5 A newborn´s reaction to physical attractiveness 11

2. Interpersonal Attractiveness 12
2.1 The person next door: Propinquity Effect……………………………………………13
2.2 Similarity Effect 13
2.3 Reciprocal Liking 15

3. Résumé 17

4. Bibliographical References 18

1. Physical Attractiveness

There have been numerous moments in which we have fallen victim to



References: Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D. & Akert, R. M. (2005). Social Psychology (5th ed.). New Jer sey: Pearson. Ebner, T., Gathmann, S. & Wiedermann, A. (2002). Schönheit und der Haloeffekt. In A. Hergovich (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 186-202). Wien: Facultas. Grammer, K. (1993). Die Evolution der Liebe. Hamburg: Hoffman & Campe. Langlois, J. H. & Roggman, L. A. (1990). Attractive faces are only average. Psycholo gical Science, (1st ed., pp. 115-121). Luczak, H Müller, I. & Schuster, S. (2002). Was zeichnet ein schönes Gesicht aus? In A. In Her govich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 205-213). Wien: Facultas. Myers, D. G. (2004). Psychologie. Heidelberg: Springer-Medizin. Pils, A., Stocker, G. & Wrba, P. (2002). Die Bedeutung des Hüften-Taillenverhältnis für die Beurteilung der Attraktivität. In A. Hergovich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 255-271). Wien: Facultas. Pökl, M. & Schafler, H. (2002). Ist ein schönes Gesicht Indikator für Gesundheit und Fruchtbarkeit? In A. Hergovich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 229- 251). Wien: Facultas. Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness. Role of Waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (65th ed., pp. 293-307). Singh, D. (1995). Female Judgement of Male Attractiveness and Desirability for Rela tionship: Role of Waist-to-Hip ratio and Financial Status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (69th ed., pp. 1089-110). Sinzinger, A. (2002). Die Reaktion von Kindern auf physische Attraktivität. In A. Hergo vich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 177-185). Wien: Facultas. Sponsel, R. (26.05.2005). Attraktiv und Attraktivität. Psychologie, Sozialpsychologie, Psychopathologie, Soziologie. aus allgemeiner und integrativer Sicht. Available at: http://www.sgipt.org/gipt/sozpsy/attrak0.htm [08/26/2009]. Thornhill, R Waschina, T. (2002). Lässt sich die physische Attraktivität verändern? In A. Hergovich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit . pp. 115 - 128. Wien: Facultas.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Research shows that people have a tendency to think that people who are generally more attractive are also outgoing, happier, kinder, and successful and possesses several other positive personality traits. This stereotype appears to be true at times. Research studies have established positive correlation between attractiveness and traits such as social skills, self-confidence and personal income. A probable explanation is the view that people who are attractive are more valuable in the society and hence given preferential treatment (Myers,…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, a weakness of May and Hamilton’s study is that the study lacks ecological validity. It was conducted in lab settings using artificial tasks such as rating photos whilst listening to music which is clearly not a realistic method of judging an individual’s attractiveness. Also replicating a natural social environment may be impossible. This…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    PSY328 final proposal

    • 1936 Words
    • 6 Pages

    References: Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D. & Akert, R. D. (2009). Social psychology (7th ed.). Upper Saddle…

    • 1936 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cognitive Psych Study Guide

    • 6138 Words
    • 25 Pages

    Physical Attractiveness- we like to find people that have similar physical attractiveness to us. Beautiful people are seen to be…

    • 6138 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Kassin, S., Markus, H. R., & Fein, S. (2010). Social psychology: Eighth edition. (8 ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning., pp. 117, 135, 400.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cited: Myers, D. G., Spencer, S. J., & Jordan, C. H. (2009) Social Psychology (4th Canadian ed.).…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What I believe attract us to one another is the physical appearance, what we see when we first meet a person, although there’s often more to that. The reason I say this is some people can meet someone who they physically like, but can be easily turned off by their personality or it can be the opposite where the person overlooks how less attractive the other person may be but their personality is what may have captured them. All other things being equal, we prefer highly attractive individuals as dates, as friends, and to interact with in a general situation. This so happens to be true in today’s society, women my age tend to want to hang around attractive or pretty girls oppose to someone who is less attractive. It makes them and their whole circle of friends look good. While individuals might desire a relationship with an attractive person, they might not desire a relationship with the not so attractive individual. For example, most people tend to date those who they feel they are more attractive too or have the same type of similarities and personalities from those who are less attractive but may not have the same similarities. I often wonder does it matter if the person you’re attractive to don’t share the same qualities. Even though opposites can attract whether their attractive or not?!…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Buss aimed to investigate if evolutionary explanations for sex differences in human mate preferences are found in varying cultures such as locations, ethnicity and religion. It was predicted that women preferred men who are ambitious, hardworking and financially well-off. Men preferred women who are young, attractive and chaste.…

    • 1979 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is a well-established fact that physical appearance is of great relevance in our modern society. We consider attractiveness to be either almost as important, equally important or even more importance than other qualities, such as intelligence or charisma. Thus, attractiveness must also have some significance in politics.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beauty Bias

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The 'beauty bias,' where attractive people appear to have an advantage, isn't just a rumor. There is evidence that it exists and that it leads to discrimination against less attractive people in a variety of areas, including hiring.…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Bordens, K. S. & Horowitz, I. A. (2001). Social psychology. Erlbaum: London. Chapter 6…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dion, Berscheid and Walster (1972) hypothesized that “what is beautiful is good” and that attractive people were assumed to lead happier lives and have better prospects for the future. A survey was carried out among university students and their friends to determine whether attractiveness of facial features of an individual influences one’s perceived associated personality traits. The 425 participants completed the FPS 120 Impression Formation Project survey and data was collected and analysed. It was discovered that a strong positive correlation existed between levels of attractiveness and sociability, friendliness and trustworthiness. This research study has attempted to apply Dion et al’s study of “what is beautiful is good” to the modern era and to determine if a halo effect for personality stereotyping is still applicable.…

    • 2078 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Love

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages

    There are six factors that contribute to attraction. (1) People that we are close to; for example those that we work with, share apartment buildings with, or maybe those that we attend church with. I met my husband at work; I worked first shift, and he in worked the second shift in the same department. We always spoke on my way out, as I did what was called shift change, and the rest is history. One interesting by product of the just being exposed effect is our tendency to prefer mirror images of ourselves, while our friends prefer our true image. Because most people see themselves in a mirror more than they see their true image, they come to like their mirror image more than their true image. Friends and family rarely see our image in the mirror, so they prefer the true image (Mita, Dermer, & Knight, 1977). (2) We like people who are attractive; attractiveness seems to be one the most important factor in a relationship, even though that is so superficial and will not last. Studies have shown that newlyweds, attractive individuals were not any more satisfied with their marriage than those…

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    beauty matters

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In a recent Metro newspaper article, October 31- November 2, 2008, the headline read: Prettiness Counts….just not for men. This article details how male candidates running for office need to be perceived as competent; the same, however, is not true for their female counterparts. Though competence is still a variable, studies continue to show that attractiveness is just as important for females who pursue public office. In an attempt to explain this reality, this paper will examine the following issues: First, what, exactly, is attractive? And second, why is it so important.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Like the majority of people, I am usually attracted by fashion beauty when walking on street. As we can see, physical beauty can be easily recognized. Many people could make a living by virtue of it. There are several grand fashion shows in New York every year, a variety of super models will converge in Manhattan during that time. Another good example is Victoria’s Secret, the company hire many beautiful girls to work for the advertisement. The appearance is more and more important especially in career field. Many managers consider a man is unable to do the work well if he can not deal with his dressing, so they prefer the good-looking and neat employees. In accordance with the survey, the group of charming and attractive lawyers’ income is 14% higher than their colleagues who are not so good-looking. So it is obvious that physical beauty is quite useful and important.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays