Physical Attractiveness Stereotype Research Articles

Correlates of the tendency toward physical attractiveness stereotyping: Individual differences in cognitive structure and political party affiliation.

Vingt partisans actifs de chacun des trois principaux partis politiques du Canada ont a identifier, a partir de photos classees au prealable par ordre d'attrait physique des membres de leur parti et des deux autres partis. Chaque participant se voit administrer une version modifiee des epreuves de structure cognitive de Scott, Osgood et Peterson

THE PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS STEREOTYPE USING DRESS AS A FACILITATOR

Seventy‐two respondents completed a series of scales indicating their perceptions of a photographed bogus partner. Each partner was, in fact, the same person wearing a different form of dress. One of the judgments was a self‐rating of the physical attractiveness of the partner. ANOVA yielded significant effects for judgments of intelligence, morality, and psychological adjustment. For each judgment, significant differences were found between those who perceived their partners as attractive and neutrally attractive, and attractive and unattractive. These results support the hypothesis that the physical attractiveness stereotype can be extended to include the total body form.

Models of cluster growth on the Cayley tree

We study the diffusion-controlled process of cluster growth, introduced by Witten and Sander, on a Cayley tree. We show that it is then equivalent to the Eden model where growth occurs at any boundary site with equal probability. The mean level number and the square gyration radius of an $N$-particle aggregate both increase as $[\frac{K}{(K\ensuremath{-}1)}]\mathrm{ln}N$ on a tree of branching ratio $K$. The case of biased diffusion is studied numerically: an attractive bias does not change the logarithmic behavior of the size, but a repulsive bias leads to a different behavior, presumably with a mean level number of order $N$.

Male and Female Attributions and Social Influence Behavior towards a Physically Attractive Female

Summary Past reviews suggest that men and women not only make socially desirable attributions toward attractive and unattractive people, but that such attributions are correlated with positive social behavior toward attractive persons. To assess these suggestions 40 male and female Ss engaged in a social persuasion task and provided attributions toward an attractive or unattractive female confederate. While the female confederate received more socially desirable attributions in the attractive versus unattractive condition, no differences were observed in social persuasion behavior. Such findings question the assumption that social attributions are associated with differential social experiences based on a physical attractiveness stereotype.

Physical Attractiveness Stereotyping Among Black American College Students

Summary Although numerous studies of physical attractiveness stereotyping have been conducted among American whites, little research has explored such processes among blacks. Using a standard person-perception paradigm, the present experiment examined the first impressions that black American college students (24 males and 24 females) expressed towards facial photographs of black males and females representing three levels of physical attractiveness. Consistent with the research on whites, three stereotypes were evident among blacks: At higher levels of attractiveness, stimulus persons were judged to have more socially desirable personalities and greater potential for the future. More attractive women were thought to be more sex-typed. Finally, on the negative side, attractiveness also conveyed a self-centered, “bourgeois” orientation (materialistic, unsympathetic with oppressed people) and conveyed less potential for parental competence and marital stability.

Sexism and beautyism in women's evaluations of peer performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate independent and interactive effects of physical attractiveness (PA), sex, and task sex-typing on performance evaluations. Subjects were 216 college women who read poorquality essays written on masculine, feminine, or neutral topics. Essays supposedly were written by a male or a female student who was either attractive, unattractive, or physically unidentified. Results indicated that PA enhanced evaluations of both male and female essayists, except for the predicted effect that female attractiveness is less beneficial for masculine than feminine task performances. Women did not evaluate the sexes differently, and sexism was largely restricted to the interactive effects of PA. PA stereotypes also affected causal attributions of performers' outcomes in a manner consistent with attribution theory. These data are considered in the context of the existing literature and the directions for further research on sexism and beautyism.

The Supposed Physical Attractiveness Bias Against Supporters of the Women's Movement

Meta-analyses were performed on the body of literature investigating whether a bias against women who support the women's movement existed. It had been suggested that supporters were perceived as less physically attractive than nonsupporters. Yet numerous attempts to replicate the bias has resulted in a complex set of findings. The overall pattern of results did not support the existence of a bias (p = .58), and the mean effect size was virtually zero (+.01). It was concluded that people rate others with similar attitudes as more physically attractive than those with dissimilar attitudes.

The Influence of a Rape Victim's Physical Attractiveness on Observers' Attributions of Responsibility

Research has provided conflicting results as to the impact of a rape victim's physical attractiveness on observers' attributions of responsibility, attributed in part to methodological considerations. The present study, employing multiple exemplars of attractiveness and multiple dependent measures of responsibility, revealed consistent evidence of an attractiveness bias among observers, with an unattractive victim being assigned greater responsibility in general for her own victimization, as well as specific behavioral and characterological blame, than an attractive victim. The un-attractive victim was also considered to have contributed to her assault by presenting a more provocative appearance than her more attractive counter-part. These biases were stronger for male observers than for females. Although the attractiveness factor differentially influenced the perceived responsibility of a victim, it did not affect attributions toward the assailant.

The Influence of Sex, Physical Attractiveness, Sex Role, and Occupational Sex‐Linkage on Perceptions of Occupational Suitability

The effects of sex role and physical attractiveness stereotypes on subjects' perceptions of a stimulus person were examined in a field study of their influence on occupational suitability ratings. The present research distinguished the biological sex from the sex role of a hypothetical job applicant. A sample of personnel consultant subjects evaluated a male or female stimulus applicant, who was attractive or unattractive, for masculine, feminine, and sex‐neutral occupations. The stimulus applicant was either masculine, feminine, or androgynous in hisher sex role. Consistent with the experimental hypothesis, masculine and androgynous persons were preferred to feminine persons for the masculine occupations while feminine and androgynous persons were preferred to masculine persons for the feminine occupations, regardless of biological sex or attractiveness. Also consistent with predictions, attractiveness influenced ratings for the sex‐neutral occupations. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of individuating information about a stimulus person in eliminating the effects of stereotypes on judgments of individuals. Possible implications for personnel decision making are also considered.

Dimensions of the Physical Attractiveness Stereotype: A Factor/Analytic Study

Summary Two groups of male undergraduates (N = 204) indicated their impressions of target females varying in physical attractiveness. These data were subjected to a factor analysis. Of four factors which emerged, only a factor of Sexual/Social Excitement was reliably associated with physical attractiveness. Participants anticipating interaction with a target did not attribute other dimensions of personality on the basis of physical attractiveness; those not anticipating such interaction rated attractive targets higher on a dimension of activity and lower on dimensions of interpersonal sensitivity and social concern.

Facial attractiveness and vocal likeability as determinants of nonverbal sending skills1

AbstractRecent studies have examined the self‐fulfilling effects of the physical attractiveness stereotype on a person's development of social skills. The potential of vocal qualities to have similar effects has not been investigated. The present study examined the relation of attractiveness (as judged from the face) and likeability of the person (as judged from the voice) to a specific social skill—the ability to send nonverbal cues of emotion. It was found that facial attractiveness and vocal likeability increased sending accuracy of facial and vocal cues respectively, particularly for pleasant affects. The greater accuracy of facially attractive senders tended to be especially emphasized for posed (as compared to spontaneous) expressions, indicating that their superiority reflected a controllable skill. The need for further research in the tradition of “what is (vocally) likeable is good” was noted.

The Attractiveness Stereotype: Goodness or Glamour?

Three experiments that investigate the physical attractiveness stereotype are presented. The principal focus is on the domain of attributes which distinguish physically attractive from unattractive individuals. The first two experiments demonstrate that within the set of socially desirable attributes traditionally thought to be part of the stereotype, only a core having to do with social vitality is responsive to target attractiveness. It is hypothesized that when the core of positive attributes is considered in combination with the negative attributes of vanity, materialism and sexual permissiveness that have been found associated with attractiveness in other research, the stereotype corresponds more to a syndrome of glamour than one of goodness. Experiment 3 confirms this hypothesis by demonstrating that ratings of physically attractive and unattractive targets differ more on a dimension of glamour than one of goodness.

When beauty isn't talent: The influence of physical attractiveness, attitudes toward women, and competence on impression formation

The present study investigated the effect of attitudes toward women, physical attractiveness, and competence on impression formation of women. Male and female undergraduates read a competent or incompetent essay allegedly written by a physically attractive or unattractive female and responded to questions about the essay and its writer. Subjects were classified as traditionals, moderates, or liberals on the basis of their scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. Female subjects' impressions were affected by the competence of the stimulus person and by their sex-role attitudes, but were not influenced by the physical attractiveness of the writer. Males, however, were influenced by all three variables. Evidence was found for a reversal of the physical attractiveness stereotype for liberal males with reference to incompetent women. The implications of these findings for physical attractiveness research are discussed.

Limiting conditions of the “physical attractiveness stereotype”: Attributions about divorce

College students read a transcript describing a couple in the process of filing for a divorce, and made attributions about perceived “blame” or “responsibility” for the divorce, recommended financial settlement, predictions of future behavior, and personality traits of the man and woman. Stated reasons for divorce (adultery of either spouse or incompatibility), physical attractiveness of the husband and wife (established by photographs), and sex of subject varied in a between-subjects design. Attractiveness of both partners strongly influenced personality ratings with socially desirable personality traits associated with high attractiveness. Reason for divorce also affected personality ratings, but in a less unidirectional manner. Reason for the divorce was also related to perceived responsibility, to recommended financial settlement, and to predictions of future behavior. Implications of the findings are discussed.

An Assessment of Parents' and Teachers' Expectations of Preschool Children's Social Preference for Attractive or Unattractive Children and Adults

ADAMS, GERALD R., and CRANE, PAUL. An Assessment of Parents' and Teachers' Expectations of Preschool Children's Social Preference for Attractive or Unattractive Children and Adults. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1980, 51, 224-231. In 2 related investigations, preschool-age boys and girls were assessed on social attribution and social preference measures related to their use of the hypothesis in social choices for attractive and unattractive unfamiliar children and adults. Mothers, fathers, and teachers of these children were asked to report how they expected their children to behave during the social preference experimental task. Preschool children were more likely to use a physical attractiveness-stereotype bias in social attribution judgments than in social preference judgments. However, parents and teachers were found to expect behavior consistent with a beauty-is-good stereotype for both types of dependent measures. Evidence is presented which suggests that mothers and teachers may be stronger socialization agents of the physical attractiveness stereotype than are fathers. Implications for future research are provided.

Beautiful patients are good patients: Evidence for the physical attractiveness stereotype in first impressions of patients

Beautiful patients are good patients: Evidence for the physical attractiveness stereotype in first impressions of patients

Beautiful patients are good patients: evidence for the physical attractiveness stereotype in first impressions of patients

Previous research has reported the existence of a “beautiful is good” stereotype which implies that physically attractive individuals are assumed to possess more socially desirable characteristics and traits than physically unattractive individuals. To determine how physical attractiveness in patients influences first impressions, 289 health professionals reacted to prescaled stimulus photographs varying in age (young and mature), sex (male and female) and physical attractiveness (high and low). Each subject rated a single stimulus photo on fifteen 7-point bipolar personality characteristics. The results indicated that attractive stimulus persons were rated more favourably than unattractive persons on 12 of the 15 characteristics, thus confirming that a "beautiful is good" stereotype exists also among health professionals. Implications of these findings for the training and practice of health professionals are discussed.

Physical Attractiveness - a Source of Teacher Bias?

A person's physical appearance is his personal characteristic most obvious and most accessible to others in social interaction. Despite some social psychologists apparent disinterest in investigating physical attractiveness as an antecedent of liking, there has been a developing body of research which suggests that physical attractiveness is an important social cue used by others as a basis for social evaluation. If, as there appears, there is a physical attractiveness stereotype, it seems plausible to suggest that a child's personal characteristics may influence the way in which an adult evaluates his behaviour. There have been several studies that have looked at this issue as it might affect the classroom situation. These studies suggest that teachers may hold differential expectations for attractive and unattractive children.

Is Justice Really Blind?–The Influence of Litigant Physical Attractiveness on Juridical Judgment1

The present investigation examined the influence of litigant physical attractiveness on the decisions of 91 undergraduates playing the role of nondeliberating jurors in an automobile negligence trial. Seeking to achieve a more realistic simulation of actual courtroom practice than that produced in prior studies, which have relied exclusively on short written synopses as their method of trial presentation, this experiment tested the hypothesis that physical attractiveness would have a significant impact on juridic judgments even though an audiovisual presentation of the trial permitted the introduction of a variety of other important stimuli typically present at a jury trial. This prediction received empirical support: Subjects exposed to an attractive plaintiff and an unattractive defendant more often found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded more money in damages than students viewing an unattractive plaintiff and an attractive defendant. However, in contrast to findings from general studies of interpersonal evaluation, analyses of student perceptions of the two litigants provided only limited evidence for a global (positive) physical attractiveness stereotype within the context of a simulated trial. Instead, the observed effect of physical attractiveness on student decisions was apparently mediated by differential perceptions of the seriousness of the accident itself. Possible implications of the results for the judicial process were mentioned.

Students' reactions to teachers' physical attractiveness and nonverbal behavior: Two exploratory studies

Two studies describe how students' reactions are affected by the physical attractiveness and nonverbal behavior of a teacher. In the first experiment, 9- and 13-year-old students watched a videotaped session given by a female teacher. A physical attractiveness stereotype was found in ratings of the teacher; a teacher who looked attractive was rated as more competent and better able to stimulate and motivate students that when she looked unattractive. The second experiment used fifth-grade children who participated individually in a lesson given by a female teacher. Close behaviors by a teacher (eye contact, leaning forward, smiling, and head nods) produced more positive ratings than distant behaviors by the same teacher (little eye contact, leaning away, frowning, and side to side head movements). No effects on academic performance measures were found in either study due to teacher characteristics.