Attraction & close relationships pt.1

What is a common preference of facial attractiveness

high uniformity in facial symmetry of attractive faces

How are attractive people judged

more positively across a range of factors

What are the range of factors that attractive people are judged more positively on, Langlois et al., 2000

1. more likely to have dates

2. babies gaze longer at attractive faces

3. rated as more adjusted

4. perceived to be happier and more successful

Men find two types of women attractive

• childlike features

  • e.g. large eyes, small nose, small chin

• mature features

  • e.g. big smile, prominent cheekbones, high eyebrows

Both men and women prefer women with what type of facial features

feminine facial features

What are the determinants of men facial attractiveness

• large eyes set wide apart

• small nose

• prominent cheek bones

• large chin

• angular jaw

Do women prefer a feminine male face or a masculine male face

preferred feminine male face

Women associate different personality traits with different …

face shape

Masculine-faced men perceived by women as…

cold, dominant, untrustworthy, seek a quick fling

Feminine-faced men perceived by women as…

warm, kind, honest, and most likely to be committed in a long-term relationship

Are bearded faces attractive (70s, 1991, 2014, 2018)

• 70s - rated bearded men attractive, masculine, mature, dominant, etc.

• 1991 - rated clean-shaven men younger, more attractive, and more sociable than bearded

• 2014 - women & men rate heavy stubble and full bearded men more attractive

• 2018 - Australian women rated men with full beard as more attractive

  • possibly indication of masculinity and high testosterone levels

What is evolutionary psychology

studied the evolution of psychological mechanisms in human behaviour

What core assumption does evolutionary psychology have

humans have preferences when selecting romantic partners/mates

• these preferences are not random or culturally determined, they are universal and serve as adaptive solutions to evolutionary problems

The study of sexual selection and mate choice can be divided into two broad domains

• biological approach

• evolutionary psychological approach

What is the biological approach to the study of sexual selection and mate choice

explores aspects of human sexual behaviour and physiology

• e.g. ovulation, menopause

What is the evolutionary psychological approach to the study of sexual selection and mate choice

tested through social scientific methods to predict human mate preferences and choices, to suggest adaptive solutions to evolutionary problems

What did early evolution theorists argue

mate choice/selection is based on our desire for certain traits in our selected mate

• typically women choose males according to her desire for certain traits she wants in a male

  • i.e. her preference for traits influences who she chooses to mate with and reproduce

What did modern evolution theorists argue

mate choice involves both the woman’s choice of male’s traits, and male’s choice of woman’s traits

• but woman’s choice is more intense than male’s choice

What type of male’s behavioural cues are also potential mate choice cues to the woman (Miller, 2000)

behavioural cues that indicate that he will be a good parent and can provide offspring

What is parental investment

refers to the amount of time, energy, and resources parents invest in producing and raising offspring

• the more parents invest the more likely the offspring is to survive and reproduce, thus passing theory genes to the next generation

Men and women have evolved conditional mating strategies guided by

cues and signals

What is the waist-hip-ratio (WHR)

evolutionary processes favour women with a WHR of 0.70

• large

• signals youthfulness, good health, and fertility

Do foraging societies favour the WHR

thin women = ill and weak

• preferred larger WHR

Do western societies favour the WHR

heavy women = ill

• prefer smaller WHR

What is a critique of evolutionary psychology explanation of attraction and mating

• many EP studies provide support for evolutionary hypothesis rather than being directly a test of theory

• results are often not consistent with alternative explanations

• approach is too narrow, fails to consider alternative explanations

What are the two basic assumptions from cognitive-evolutionary approach to facial attractiveness (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000)

• evolutionary processes

  • favour attributes close to the population average

• cognitive process

  • favour typical/average

What is the aim of the Facial symmetry & perceived health study, Rhodes et al., 2001

to determine whether facial averageness & symmetry signal good health

What is the rationale of the Facial symmetry & perceived health study, Rhodes et al., 2001

genetic and environmental stresses during development produce random deviations in the symmetry of faces

What happened in the Facial symmetry & perceived health study, Rhodes et al., 2001

24 adults (M+F) rated the health of a set of 292 young adult faces where averageness and symmetry had been manipulated

• rate their health and how distinct they are:

  • healthiness rating from

    • 1 = not healthy, to 7 = very healthy

  • distinctiveness (ease which a face can be picked out from a crowd)

    • 1 = not distinctive, to 7 = distinctive

What are the results of Facial symmetry & perceived health study, Rhodes et al., 2001

• perfect symmetric faces (manipulated) were rated as healthy

• perceived health negatively correlated with distinctiveness

  • so symmetric faces signal good health, and distinctive faces (i.e. low averageness) signal unhealthy

• findings support cognitive evolutionary assumption that symmetrical and average faces are attractive because they are perceived as healthy

What were the participants in Little et al., (2007) study

• 78 white UK participants, (39M+39F, age 18–44, mean age=24)

• 42 Hadza participants, (29M+29F, age 20–56, mean age=33)

What happened in Little et al., (2007) study

• showed them 5 images of faces of females and 5 of male from each race

• each race was shown images of their own race

• each participant was shown the original and the manipulated image

What were the results from Little et al., (2007) study

• symmetric faced were more attractive than asymmetry across both the cultures, but more so in the Hadza (a tribe) than in the UK

  • Hadza men placed a greater value on facial symmetry in women’s faces

  • Hadza women reported increased preferences for symmetry in men’s faces when they were pregnant or nursing

    • more likely due to their increased discrimination and sensitivity to foods and disease harmful to a foetus or nursing infant

What are the conclusions from Little et al., (2007) study

• there may be an evolutionary relevance in symmetry preference, and that it is strategic between cultures and within individuals of a single culture

• symmetry may indicate genetic quality which may be more important among the Hadza were there is much higher mortality rate from birth onwards than UK society

What are the factors that contribute to attraction

• proximity

• familiarity

• reciprocal linking

• similarity

• physical attractiveness

What is proximity

chatting with people nearby, working and living nearby others

• its important as a form of social interaction and increases mutual linking, promotes willingness for cooperation

Describe how proximity increases interpersonal linking, Ji-eun S. et al., (2018)

• 3 experimental studies on proximity and men’s judgments of women

• results:

  • men liked women who were nearby, because they seemed more accessible than women far away

• conclusion:

  • so physical distance between people shapes their attraction and relationship experience

  • findings support the general idea that proximity increases liking

What is familiarity

the more exposure we have to someone, the more at ease we feel with them

• this can increase liking/attraction

What did Jorgensen & Cervone (2008) argue (familiarity)

more frequent exposure to faces of strangers increased liking them

• however, exposure doesn’t always increase attraction, sometime it can have an opposite effect

  • e..g sometimes a person can become annoyed by another’s repeated behaviours and idiosyncrasies (uniqueness) instead of growing more fond of them over time

What is the propinquity effect (familiarity)

similar to the exposure effect, in that it is the more we see/interact with a person, the more likely we are to become friend/intimate partner

• but familiarity can also occur without physical exposure

  • studies have shown that relationships formed over the internet resemble those developed face-to-face, in terms of perceived quality and depth

What is reciprocal liking

reciprocity principle: a major determinant in attraction

• tendency to like people who like us, and dislike those who dislike us

What is similarity

we like those whom we have things in common with

Describe what the Law of Attraction is (Byrne, 1971)

linear relationship between attraction towards a person and proportion of similar attitudes shared with that person

What is the Attitude Similarity study, Newcomb (1961)

• students completed attitude questionnaires before arrived to university

• measured attraction between students and attitude change over one semester

• findings:

  • proximity and having similar attitudes and things in common were important factors in determining ratings of attraction (complementarity)

What did Miller (1972) point out

that attitude similarity increased positive judgement of the other person and elicited attraction and forming favourable judgement of each other

• in contrast dissimilarity reduced the impact of these cues

Does having similar personality traits matter

studies have reported mixed findings on whether similarity in personality traits between people in a relationship is necessary or essential for relationship satisfaction

• this is due to different types of research methodologies used

What facial and physical features are we attracted to

• men: symmetrical face, and wasit-hip-ratio

• women: feminine features

What is the relationship between facial symmetry and health

facial symmetry correlated with good health

What increases liking

proximity, familiarity, reciprocal liking, similarity, physical attractiveness

What role does similarity play in friendships vs. romantic relationships

similarity is more central to the initial formation of friendships, but in romantic relationships it is a key predictor of long-term satisfaction and stability