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Attractiveness
Is “beautiful” or “handsome” synonymous with “good”?
Is beauty only skin deep?• Is attractiveness a
superficial feature?• The survival of a genetic
line hinges on mate selection.
• Like it or not, physical appearance plays a major role in life.
• 82% of males and 93% of females “are actively oriented toward maintaining an attractive appearance.”
Biology and attractiveness• Evolutionary selection:
– Faces and bodies are perceived as signs of mate quality.
– facial attractiveness affects mate selection and the likelihood of reproductive success.
Is beauty culturally universal?• 6 month old infants
turn their heads toward attractive faces and away from unattractive faces (Rubenstein, Kalakanis, & Longlois (1999).
• People in different cultures generally agree on which faces are more attractive (Cunningham et al. 1995; Langlois et al. 2000; Perrett et al. 1994)
Looking up to leaders• Since 1900, the taller
presidential candidate has won 19 of 28 elections– Obama 6’2”, McCain
5’9”– Only 3 of 43
American presidents were 5’7” or shorter• James Madison• Benjamin Harrison• Martin Van Buren
Size matters• For Men• Half of all CEOs are 6’ or
more.• A 2004 study found that
every inch of height adds $789 in salary per year.
• The study controlled for gender, weight and age.
• A male who is 6’ tall earns $5,525 more annually than someone who is 5’6”.
• For Women• Taller women earned
more as a result of their height, but the disparity in income was not as great as for men.
• In a British study, taller women were perceived, by both sexes, as more intelligent, assertive, independent and ambitious.
The “Beauty is good” stereotype• Dion, Berschied, &
Walster (1972) developed the “beauty is good” stereotype.– Children’s fairly tales
equate beauty with goodness
– Popular TV reality shows emphasize vanity
– Celebutards: Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan
• Tabloids and women’s magazines focus on looks
A double standard for attractiveness?• Are older men
perceived as more attractive than older women?– As men age they
may perceived as more distinguished
• The older, rich, ugly guy with a beautiful young girl stereotype.
• As women age they tend to be judged by the same standards of beauty– slim– curvy– wrinkle-free– no grey hair
Facial symmetry• Facial symmetry signifies
biological quality• People prefer others with
symmetrical and proportional faces– Bilateral symmetry: left
and right sides of the face are mirror images
– Proportionality: equally sized features
Asymmetrical faces
Averageness• faces with
average features are preferred
• faces that are closer to average are consistently rated as more attractive
Sexual dimorphism• Dimorphism: how biologically
distinct females and males of the same species are from one another
• For human faces dimorphism refers to how masculine or feminine a face is.
• Greater dimorphism (feminization) is preferred for female faces
• For male faces, results are mixed– More recent studies show a slight
preference for feminized male faces– Women’s preferences shift toward
masculine faces during ovulation– “Men, gay or straight, prefer high
sexual dimorphism in the faces of the sex that they are attracted to.”