Beauty and the attributions of the beholder

Four studies used an attributional approach to examine interpersonal attraction. Underlying causal dimensions were predicted to influence differentially two components of attraction, dating and complimenting. In the first study, 24 subjects indicated whether they would date physically attractive stimulus persons. Complimenting was examined in the second and third studies, with 24 subjects rating the likelihood of complimenting attractive opposite-sex stimulus persons and 32 subjects rating the likelihood of complimenting same-sex stimulus persons. For these studies the reason for the stimulus person's attractiveness varied in controllability (volitional versus nonvolitional) and stability (temporary versus permanent). Consistent with predictions, controllability influenced likelihood of complimenting but not dating. In addition, compliments were more likely when the reason for attractiveness was unstable than when stable. Conversely, dating was more likely when attactiveness was stable than when unstable. However, stability had less influence on men responding to women than on either men responding to men or women responding to both sexes. Similar results were obtained in a fourth study in which 56 subjects recalled incidents where they complimented or dated others for their physical attractiveness.     

Gender, Physical Attractiveness, and Electability: An Experimental Investigation of Voter Biases

In an examination of the impacts on electoral success of candidate gender, candidate physical attractiveness, prestige and responsibility of office sought, and voter characteristics, 219 college students evaluated six challengers to an incumbent in either a mayoral or county clerk's race. Challengers represented men and women of high, moderate, and low physical attractiveness. Male, but not female, voters discriminated against female candidates. While physical attractiveness accentuated perceptions of masculinity in a man and femininity in a woman, the appeal of an attractive (i.e., more feminine) woman seeking a masculine-stereotyped position was not damaged by the so-called "beauty is beastly" effect. However, attractiveness was less consistently an asset for female candidates than it was for male candidates. Male, but not female, candidates directly benefitted from being physical attractive and were also more positively evaluated to the extent that they were perceived as highly masculine. These findings not only contribute to understanding of the joint impacts of sex-role and attractiveness stereotypes, but call into question survey findings pointing to the demise of sexism in electoral politics.     

The influence of the hijab (Islamic head-cover) on perceptions of women's attractiveness and intelligence

This study examined the effects of wearing the hijab, or Islamic headwear, on men's perceptions of women's attractiveness and intelligence. A total of 57 non-Muslim men and 41 Muslim men rated a series of images of women, half of whom were unveiled and half of whom wore the hijab. For attractiveness and intelligence ratings, a mixed analysis of variance showed a significant effect of hijab status, with women wearing the hijab being rated more negatively than unveiled women. For attractiveness ratings, there was no significant effect of participant religion, although non-Muslim men rated unveiled women significantly higher than veiled women. For intelligence ratings, non-Muslim men provided significantly higher ratings than Muslim men for both conditions. In addition, Muslim men's ratings of the attractiveness and intelligence of women wearing the hijab was positively correlated with self-reported religiosity. These results are discussed in relation to religious stereotyping within increasingly multi-cultural societies.     

MAPPING GENDER

Recent theoretical and empirical work on gender-related attributes suggests a multifactorial approach, with masculine and feminine characteristics composed of many different areas: instrumentality/expressiveness in personality, occupations and leisure interests, physical/material attributes, stylistic and symbolic behaviors, social relationships, feminist attitudes, and self-rated masculinity/femininity. This article tests the multifactorial approach by measuring variables in every area by questionnaire and videotape in a sample of undergraduates. Bivariate correlations and factor analysis reveal a robust factor linking occupations and leisure interests for both men and women. Women's gender-related attributes show little coherence outside this factor. Men display a "male dominance" factor connecting low expressiveness, sports interest, male friends, sitting with knees wide apart, and conservative attitudes toward feminism. The results support a multifactorial approach but also uphold a link for men between masculine attributes and more traditional attitudes toward gender roles.     

Comparison between primary and secondary mate markets: an analysis of data from lonely hearts columns

Personal advertisements placed in newspapers can be a good source of information on the dynamics of the human mate market. From an analysis of 1587 (776 female and 811 male) advertisements placed in the local Lower Silesian (Poland) newspaper, we were able to compare primary (never married) (PMM) and secondary (divorced/separated) (SMM) mate markets. When controlling for place of residence, it was revealed that the mean time span between the end of education and the age at which females resort to personal advertisement (7–8 years) is very similar in the three education categories. Men who graduated from high school or university were over-represented on the SMM. There were no differences in the residuals of height, weight or BMI between PMM and SMM for females and significant difference only for men's height with relatively taller men on the SMM for the combined two lower levels of education. We also compared PMM and SMM separately for men and women in terms of the rates of offering and seeking resources, attractiveness, commitment and social skills. PMM and SMM differ in three such categories for men and in four for women. However when controlling for advertiser's age, there were only two differences for women (resources were sought for and attractiveness offered more often on the SMM) and one for men (commitment was sought more frequently on the SMM). This indicates that the difference in preferences should be attributed mainly to the age of subjects and only to a smaller extent to the type of mate market (PMM vs SMM).     

The effects of a parenting prime on sex differences in mate selection criteria

This study tested an evolutionary hypothesis that the mere prospect of caring for a child will increase sex differences in human mate selection criteria. That is, women would adopt a stronger preference for socially dominant men when parenting had been primed and men would adopt a stronger preference for physically attractive women when parenting had been primed. Male and female university students were randomly assigned to be exposed to a parenting prime or a nonparenting prime. Following the priming procedure, participants rated the romantic appeal of a target person of the opposite sex. Exposure to the parenting prime, the target's social dominance, and the target's physical attractiveness were orthogonally manipulated. As predicted, women adopted a stronger mate preference for social dominance when parenting was at the forefront of the mind. Contrary to predictions, the parenting prime had no effect on men's mate preference for physical attractiveness.     

“Single white male looking for thin,very attractive...”

Sociocultural pressures on women to be thin and physically attractive assume many forms today. When these external pressures are combined with the excessive demands many women already place on themselves in these areas, chronic dieting, and ultimately binge eating, often result (Agras & Kirkley, 1986; Hsu, 1989). The present study investigated the extent to which single women currently were receiving the message that physical attractiveness in general, and weight in particular, were crucial factors in being selected as a dating partner. A total of 283 male and 231 female personal ads from a singles' magazine were examined. Twenty-eight categories were created to label the qualities designated as desirable in a partner. As predicted, physical attractiveness was the characteristic most frequently sought by males (56.9%). Significantly fewer females (26.4%) required this in a prospective partner. Furthermore, requests for a thin partner were made by significantly more males (33.6%) than females (2.2%). Sex differences also were detected for the quality sought most often by females: interpersonal understanding. The results demonstrated that males still attributed greater importance to physical attractiveness and thinness than did females when selecting a date. Possible explanations for these different emphases were offered, and features that distinguished the “physical attractiveness” seekers from others were explored. The link with today's high rate of eating disorders among women was reappraised.     

Sexual strategies theory and Internet personal advertisements.

Sexual Strategies Theory supposes that certain characteristics--namely, physical attractiveness in women and dominance and the ability to provide material resources in men--are highly desirable to potential mates because they are evolutionarily advantageous. However, socially based characteristics (e.g., positive personality traits, common interests) are also desirable in potential mates. It was predicted that people who are weaker on evolutionarily advantageous traits (i.e., less attractive women, less wealthy men) would emphasize alternative, socially desirable traits to compensate for these perceived deficiencies. One hundred fifty-one Internet personal advertisements were analyzed for attractiveness, income, mention of physical attributes, and mention of other positive personal characteristics. Results were generally consistent with predictions. In males, both wealth and attractiveness were related to decreased emphasis on other positive personal characteristics, while in women, emphasis on physical attributes (but not objectively rated physical attractiveness) was negatively related to emphasis on other positive personal characteristics.     

Toward a profile of the female voter: Sex differences in perceived physical attractiveness and competence of political candidates

Recent national attention has focused on women's voting behavior because of this group's increasing power to determine outcomes of local, state, and national elections. Research has not established whether males and females use the same decision rules in evaluating political candidates. Because of the link between perceived physical attractiveness and many positive attributes, the present study examined sex differences in ratings of attractiveness and competence of 44 men and women in the U.S. House of Representatives. Results indicated that males and females use similar rules in evaluating male politicans' attractiveness. Women show a pro-female sentiment in evaluating female politicians' competence. Physical attractiveness was positively related to perceived competence for both male and female politicians. Contrary to previous research, women voters showed a marked pro-female sentiment, and men were neutral, evaluating male and female politicians similarly.     

Sex differences in the links between attractiveness, self-esteem and the body

Two studies were conducted to determine: if the links between the body and self-perceived attractiveness and self-esteem for men and women differ. Following evolutionary and social learning theories, affective and cognitive links were hypothesized for women's attractiveness while no links were hypothesized for men's attractiveness. Additionally, affective links were expected for women's self-esteem while no links were expected for men's self-esteem. The results obtained supported these hypotheses. Findings are discussed in terms of the societal value placed on women's attractiveness and evolutionary theory.     

面孔吸引力、人格标签对于男女择偶偏好的影响

通过对征婚启事、婚姻统计资料等的分析发现相貌、身材对于男性择偶重要, 能力、资源和个性等对于女性择偶重要。本研究运用实验法进一步探讨了面孔吸引力、人格标签及其交互对于大学生理想择偶偏好的影响。研究结果表明：(1)对于漂亮异性, 男性与其成为情侣的意愿显著高于女性; 而对于不漂亮的异性, 男性与其成为情侣的意愿明显低于女性。(2)对于积极词汇标签下的异性, 女性与其成为情侣的意愿显著高于男性; 而对于消极词汇标签下的异性, 女性与其成为情侣的意愿显著低于男性。(3)与消极词汇标签比较, 积极词汇标签使被试更愿意与其成为情侣, 但这种意愿的提高在相对漂亮的面孔上表现得更加明显。(4)大五人格的五个维度对择偶意愿都有影响, 影响力依次为尽责性、随和性、开放性、情绪稳定性和外倾性。女性更喜欢外向的男性, 但女性是否外向对男性择偶无影响。研究结果为理解择偶行为的性别差异提供了实验性证据。     

Differential Roles of Physical Attractiveness and Earning Capability in Explaining Sense of Power among Dating Individuals in China: A Gender Comparison

This cross-sectional study examined how self-assessed physical attractiveness and earning capability were associated with individuals’ sense of power through self-perceived mating success and investment size in romantic relationships among 196 young adults (88 men, 98 women) from Nanjing, China. Using path analysis, we tested the following hypotheses: self-assessed physical attractiveness would be more strongly associated with self-perceived mating success among women than men, whereas self-assessed earning capability would be more strongly linked to self-perceived mating success among men than women (H1); relative physical attractiveness, as compared to their partners’, would be more strongly associated with men’s rather than women’s self-perceived investment size, whereas relative earning capability would be more strongly related to women’s rather than men’s investment size (H2); for both men and women, self-perceived mating success would be positively associated with sense of power, whereas self-perceived investment size would be negatively associated with sense of power (H3). Results indicated that self-perceived physical attractiveness and earning capability were associated with self-perceived mating success similarly for both men and women, failing to support H1. Whereas relative physical attractiveness was negatively associated with investment in the relationship similarly for two genders, the negative association between relative earning capacity and investment size was only significant for women. H2 was partially supported. Finally, self-perceived mating success and investment size were significantly associated with sense of power in the expected directions for both genders, lending support to our H3. Results are discussed in light of gender differences in mate preferences and the investment theory.     

SOMATIC ATTRACTIVENESS: AS IN OTHER THINGS, MODERATION IS BEST

Much evidence exists that facially attractive persons are perceived to possess more positive personality traits than are facially unattractive persons. This stereotype is known to be more potent when applied to women than to men. Two experiments were conducted to investigate whether a similar physical attractiveness stereotype exists when "attractive" is defined in terms of physique and "positive" is defined in terms of sex role characteristics and future life happiness. Both the sex role and the life happiness items revealed a tendency for those of intermediate attractiveness to be rated highest. In terms of somatic beauty, the results indicate that while a physical attractiveness stereotype exists, its content is not compatible with the thesis that "what is beautiful is good"     

Body Image and Day-to-Day Social Interaction

Participants maintained a social interaction diary and completed a measure of body image. Body image was found to have three factors, body attractiveness, social attractiveness (how attractive people believed others found them to be), and general attractiveness. For both men and women, self-perceptions of body attractiveness and of social attractiveness were positively related to the intimacy they found in interaction. Self-perceptions of social attractiveness were positively related to women's confidence in social interaction and their perceived influence over interaction, whereas for men, confidence and influence were unrelated to social attractiveness. For both men and women, body image was unrelated to how enjoyable people found interactions to be and was weakly related to how responsive they felt others were to them. For both men and women, body image was also unrelated to how socially active people were and to the relative distribution of same- and opposite-sex interactions.     

Histrionic Personality Disorder, Physical Attractiveness, and Social Adjustment

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is the only DSM-IV personality disorder (PD) explicitly linked to a person's physical appearance. This study examined the HPD–attractiveness link in a mixed-sex sample of college students. Consistent with expectations, HPD women were rated higher in attractiveness than women with other PDs or no PD. However, a parallel HPD–attractiveness link was not found in men. Subsequent analyses indicated that, relative to less attractive HPD women, more attractive HPD women (a) had a more varied and supportive social network, (b) exhibited more negative behaviors in important relationships, and (c) showed greater use of immature defenses, and less reliance on image-distorting, self-sacrificing, and mature defenses. Similar attractiveness–defense relationships were found in HPD men, but parallel results did not emerge for men in the other two domains. Implications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions for future studies are offered.     

Adult age and gender differences in perceptions of facial attractiveness: beauty is in the eye of the older beholder

The authors examined ratings of facial attractiveness, rankings of faces and reasons given by young, middle-aged, and older men and women for young, middle-aged, and older male and female face attractiveness. No support for predictions derived from similarity, interest, and cohort hypotheses was obtained. In support of the expertise hypothesis, young and middle-aged adults rated younger faces as more attractive than old faces, whereas older adults rated all aged faces equally. In support of the crone hypothesis, older female faces were rated the lowest of all faces. Theoretical implications and real-world applications are discussed.     

The effect of attractiveness on food sharing preferences in human mating markets

The current study explored how physical attractiveness affects food sharing by studying payment preferences for hypothetical romantic dinner dates (a hypothetical mating market). We analyzed payment preferences, self-rated attractiveness, and rated attractiveness for hypothetical dates in 416 participants. We hypothesized that (1) men would be more likely to prefer to pay than would women, (2) attractive individuals of both sexes would be less willing to pay, and (3) preferences to enter an exchange would be influenced by the attractiveness of prospective partners such that (3a) men would prefer to pay for attractive women, and (3b) women would prefer to be paid for by attractive men. All hypotheses were supported by our results. Individuals with higher self-rated attractiveness were more likely to prefer that their date would pay for the meal, and we found clear sex differences in how the attractiveness of potential dates affected payment preferences. Male participants preferred to pay for dates that had higher facial attractiveness, while female participants preferred that attractive men would pay. Individuals show condition dependent financial preferences consistent with the provisioning hypothesis in this mating market that are adaptive to evaluations of their own quality and that of prospective partners.     

Adult Age and Gender Differences in Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness: Beauty is in the Eye of the Older Beholder

The authors examined ratings of facial attractiveness, rankings of faces, and reasons given by young, middle-aged, and older men and women for young, middle-aged, and older male and female face attractiveness. No support for predictions derived from similarity, interest, and cohort hypotheses was obtained. In support of the expertise hypothesis, young and middle-aged adults rated younger faces as more attractive than old faces, whereas older adults rated all aged faces equally. In support of the crone hypothesis, older female faces were rated the lowest of all faces. Theoretical implications and real-world applications are discussed.     

How Do Lay People Weight Information About Instrumentality, Expressiveness, and Gender-Typed Hobbies When Judging Masculinity–Femininity in Themselves, Best Friends, and Strangers?

To study how people weight information when judging their own and others’ masculinity–femininity (M–F), I asked 170 male and 205 female participants to rate themselves and their best friends on M–F, instrumentality, expressiveness, and gender-typed hobby preferences. Also, each participant judged the M–F of eight fictitious women (or men) described as possessing low or high instrumentality, low or high expressiveness, and hobbies typical of men or women. Regression analyses showed that gender-typed hobby preferences predicted M–F ratings of self and friends more strongly than instrumentality or expressiveness did. Similarly, analyses of participants’ judgments of fictitious people showed that participants weighted gender-typed hobbies more strongly than instrumentality and expressiveness when judging targets’ M–F. All results converged to show that lay people’s judgments of M–F are based more on information about gender-typed interests than on information about instrumentality or expressiveness.