factors affecting attraction- physical attractiveness

what factors affect physical attraction?

• symmetry of face

• neotonous face

• hip-waist ratio

what is the evolutionary explanation?

• it states that we are primed to find certain traits attractive associated with healthy and good genes which signal that offspring would be healthy

Trivers 1972- females invest more than men

• he stated females look for good genes, a protector , a provider and a good dad and males look for signs of fertility and reproductive value wh

waist hip ratio- singh 2002

• singh studied wHR in male preference and found it to be more attractive than female body shape

• wide hips and narrow waist are thought to be a symbol of fertility

shacklesford and larsen 1997- evolutionary explan example

• they found that people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive.

• this symmetry is a sign of genetic health beacuse it requires robust genes and its difficult to fake and are more likely to have offspring that survive

• people are attracted to neotenous features such as widely separated large eyes and a delicate chin and small nose which makes a person appear more caring

whats the halo effect?

• this occurs when an attractive person is assumed to posses other desirable personality traits

• dion et al phsyically attractive people were consistently rated as kind and strong

• palmer and peterson asked participants to rate people on political competence and attractive people were rated higher

• The halo effect is a type of cognitive bias, as it involves generalising conclusions and forming an impression about a good-looking person based only on their attractiveness and on no other available information

whats the matching hypothesis?

• The matching hypothesis (Walster et al., 1966) is based on the assumption that people tend to pair up with partners who are of roughly the same level of attractiveness as they are

taylor et al

• online dating study and this gave no evidence that decisions were based on matching

whats complex matching?

• it states that when there is a lack of physical attractiveness, other factors can compensate

• such as kindness, charming personality, status, money can compensate

walster et al matching study

• students were invited to a dance. they were rated for physical attractiveness by objective observers at the start and they completed a questionnaire that asked about their personality and self esteem. they were told their answers would be used by a computer to decide a partner for them to pair up with for the evening.( this was done randomly)

• the matching hypothesis wasnt supported. physically attractive partners were the ones who were liked the most and more likely to be asked on another date.

• ellen berschied replicated the study but this time each participant was able to select their partner for people with varying degrees of attractiveness. this time people chose partners who matched them.

• in conclusion, we tend to seek and chose partners whose attractiveness matches our own