Factors affecting attraction studies and AO3

ATTRACTIVENESS AND MATCHING HYPOTHESIS STUDIES

Langois et al

- people avoid the facially disfigured

- young children are biased towards attractive young children

- babies gaze longer at attractive faces

- Teachers rate attractive children as cleverer and more successful

Synder et al procedure

- previously unacquainted adults (males and females) became acquainted through a telephone-like intercom conversation

- Before the conversations, the males were shown a polaroid picture and led to believe this was the woman they were talking to (rated attractive or not)

- researchers listened in and rated the Ps impressions of their targets (the women)

Synder et al findings

- results showed that targets whose partners believed them to be attractive became more sociable, warm and outgoing than those who believed their target was unattractive

- targets behaved according to the perceivers (the men) beliefs

- Self fulfilling prophecy

Walster et al

- matching hypothesis

- people are attracted to people who they believe are of a similar attractiveness level to them

Murstein procedure

- Asked Ps to assess from photographs the physical attractiveness levels of genuine engaged couples and non-genuine couples

Murstein findings

- found that the real couple were more likely to be judged as having similar levels of attractiveness

- supports matching hypothesis

AO3 OF ATTRACTIVENESS

it's not so simple

- people can be attractive in more than one way (money, talent, personality etc.)

- matching could rely on a number of factors (like what is argued by filter theory)

desirability vs actual pairings

- attractiveness is more indicative of how desirable we are

- matching levels are more indicative of how likely we are to actually pair up

Gender diffs

- men find attractiveness in women more important than women find attractiveness in men

- womens attractiveness is more of an indicator of how often she will date

Cultural diffs

- in cultures with arranged marriages, attractiveness is not likely to be the main influencing factor in the pairing up of partners

Role of biology

- more likely to be attracted to people who have high reproductive and genetic potential

- e.g. indicators of fertility, muscularity in men, facial symmetry

- sexual selection theory

- some global patterns (e.g. men liking younger women)

STUDIES OF SELF DISCLOSURE

Sprecher et al procedure

- 156 Ps

- parted into unacquainted 2-person dyads (2/3rds female-female, 1/3rd female-male)

- Self-disclosure over skype in 2 conditions

reciprocal condition: dyad members took turns disclosing and asking questions

non-reciprocal condition: one person asked questions whilst the other disclosed (roles switched in 2nd interaction)

Sprecher et al findings

reciprocal condition was the most likely to end in closeness, perceived similarity etc.

AO3 OF SELF DISCLOSURE

Given or received?

levels of received self-disclosure is a better predictor of liking and loving

Appropriateness of self-disclosure and timing?

- early on can be less attractive (Altman and Taylor -> disclosing personal info in the initial stages of a relationship was inappropriate and didn't heighten attraction)

- people who understand the norms of self disclosure reciprocity are more likely to be attractive

- a gradually evolving disclosure works best

Content?

- intimate disclosure is better than neutral BUT ONLY GENERALLY INTIMATE NOT HIGHLY INTIMATE

- early disclosure of the highest intimacy is a no go

- Brewer and Mittelman -> extreme personal SD early on doesn't increase attraction and may be seen as maladjusted

Attributions?

- if we feel specially chosen for SD, then the other person is more attractive

- selective disclosure is seen as more attractive

- Wortman et al -> found that when people felt specially selected, they felt trusted and admired

Gender?

- Women are more interested in SD and it may therefore be having more of an effect on how they perceive attractiveness in men

- Men's self disclosure runs against the gender norm and so could be perceived as unattractive, odd or attractive as it is unusual and rewarding (the latter is true according to meta analysis)

Reciprocation?

- Reciprocal turn taking is best

- but extended reciprocal is worse than short turn-taking reciprocal

- one sided is less attractive

- Sprecher et al

Culture?

- Some cultures do more SD in romantic relationships than friendships

- Kito -> Americans disclose more than Japan

- topics for SD vary with westerners being more intimate than non-western

- Japanese women like less disclosure from men than Japanese men do from women (opposite to the west)