View Attractive Female(s)

Perception of attractiveness

level of subsequent images of females

Down

• Contrast Effect

• Adaptation Level (Helson) Frame of reference is affected by our past experience

Up

• Outside relevant universe

• Association of average female with attractive image (reinforcing effect)

Beauty As A Social Problem

Media Impact

What images are most common on prime-time TV?

Young, attractive, wealthy

Study 1: Procedure and Results?

Charlie’s Angels ViewersMean = 3.4

Control GroupsMean = 4.0

Study 2: Procedure and Results?

Experimental Group (viewed picture of attractive female)

Control Group (no picture viewed)

Mean = 4.4

Mean = 3.5

Higher scores indicates less attractiveness

Study 3: Procedure and Results?

Role of Informational Social Influence (confederate comments)

Comments were negative for the highly

attractive photos and

positive for the less attractive

ones

Overall Implications?

Consequences of Being Physically Attractive

What is Beautiful is Good

Procedure and Results?

Physical Attractiveness

Advantages:

• Greater overall liking (best predictor of desire to date)

• More desirable character traits (e.g., sensitive, warm, intelligent)

• Higher income

• Higher evaluation of work performance

• More lenient treatment in the legal system

• Better mental health

• Matching Length of relationship

Short

LongCouple is equal in physical

attraction

Often different in physical attraction

• In 2002, 6.9 million spent on cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures in the U.S. --- a 22% increase from 1997 (American Society for Plastic Surgery, 2003)

• Most common procedure (Botox injections) was performed 1.6 million times in 2002

• Across the world, the cosmetic industry makes 20 billion/year

• Nearly 1 million adults wear braces (mostly to improves smiles)

• 35 billion is spent on weight loss programs, diet foods, and health club membership per year in the U.S.

Attractiveness as a Business

Schemas and Behavior

Physical attractiveness of

female described to males

Low

High

Phone conversation with

males

Females did not know how they were

described to males

Males gave positive

impressions personality,

were warmer, more friendly, and used more humor when talking to the “attractive”

femaleFemales behavior, rated by listeners, was

judged to be warmer, friendlier, and possess greater confidence when they were described to

the male as “attractive”

Snyder et al. (1977)

High

Low

Positive Mood

Attractive photo

Same-Sex

Photos

Average photo

Opposite-Sex Photos

(Kenrick et al., 1993)

Impression of man

Female’s attractivenessLow High

7.5

7.0

6.5

6.0

5.5

5.0

Romantically linked

Strangers

7.1

5.96.1

5.5

Eating Lightly and Self-Presentation

Basic Premise: People are motivated to behave in ways to enhance their image

• Females have greater number of eating disorders and dieting than males (emphasis on thin as attractive)

“Undesirable” Male

“Desirable” Male

• Females ate significantly less food when interacting with a desirable male (Mori, et al., 1987)

Equal intake of candy by males and females

Gender and the Personal Columns

Males Females

Offer Seek SeekOffer

Money

Status

Career

Young

Physically attractive

Physical attractiveness

Money

Job information

Personality traits (e.g., sincerity)

(Deaux & Hanna, 1984)

40

30

20

10

0

40

30

20

10

0

Men

Women

High Budget

Low Budget

Physical attractivene

ss

Social status

Physical attractivene

ss

Social status

% Money spent

% Monet spent

Gender Differences in Mate Preferences

(Li et al., 2002)

Go on a date

Go to apartment

Sexual invitation

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

% “yes” Females

Males

0

Gender Differences in Sexual Behavior

Thought Frequency As Pie Charts

Men thrashing

AgingHaving to

pee

Things we shouldn’t

have eaten

Food

PetsSex

The relationship

Women

Sports

The relationship

Sex

Men

Going bald

AgingStrange ear & nose hair

growth

Career

Attitude similarity and attraction

13.00

12.00

11.00

10.00

9.00

8.00

7.00

6.00

.00 .20 .40 .60 .80 1.00

Attraction

toward

other p

erson (ran

ge = 2-

14)

Proportion of similar attitudes held by other person

Byrne and Nelson (1965) asked to rate how much they liked a stranger after learning he agreed with varying proportions of their attitudes expressed on a questionnaire. (Higher numbers indication greater liking.)

As the graph shows, the greater

the proportion of attitudes subjects shared with the

stranger, the more subjects liked him

Why such a powerful effect of similarity?

A) Cognitive Consistency (We like ourselves, therefore we like those who are like us)

B) Social Comparison (validation of one's beliefs)

C) Anticipate/Predict other's behavior (e.G., Likes/dislikes, interests)

D) They will like us also (reciprocal)

Stated goal: “eHarmony … creates compatible matches based on 29 dimensions

scientifically proven to predict happier, healthier relationships”

Core Traits ---

Social Style (Character, Kindness, Dominance, Sociability, Autonomy, Adaptability): How do you relate to other people? Do you crave company, or prefer to be alone? Are you more comfortable leading, or do you prefer to go along with the group?

Cognitive Mode (Intellect, Curiosity, Humor, Artistic Passion) How do you think about the world around you? Are you motivated by an insatiable curiosity about the world and events around you? Are you constantly looking for intellectual challenges? Do you find humor to be your favorite coping strategy when dealing with the world?

Physicality (Energy – Physical, Passion – Sexual, Vitality & Security, Industry, Appearance). How do you relate physically with the world? How do you relate physically with yourself? Are you energetic, athletic and constantly in motion? Or are you more comfortable and happy walking than running?

Application of Similarity TheoryKey Dimensions Used by eHarmony

[http://www.eharmony.com/singles/servlet/about/dimensions]

Relationship Skills (Communication Style, Emotion Management – Anger, Emotion Management – Mood, Conflict Resolution) The amount of effort and skill that you devote to making a relationship work are key elements of who you are, and what type of person you are most likely to succeed with in a relationship

Values and Beliefs (Spirituality, Family Goals, Traditionalism, Ambition, Altruism). Values and Beliefs are at the center of most of our life experiences. How we feel about spirituality, religion, family and even politics for a enormous part of how we think about the world, and who we are going to be most comfortable sharing our lives with.

Key Experiences (Family Background, Family Status, Education) All of your life experiences combine to affect who you are and how you relate to the world. Although many of the effects of these experiences are represented by the other Core Traits and Learned Attributes, the following components of the 29 Dimensions are considered separately as part of your Key Experiences in your

compatibility profile

Application of Similarity Theory (cont.)

From eHarmony

Basic premise: Differences are disliked; perceived as threatening

Repulsion Hypothesis

“Lab” studies Avg. attraction score

• Similar attitudes 5.5

• No information regarding attitudes 5.2

• Dissimilar attitudes 2.1 (less attraction)

No difference

Iowa Caucus Study (Democratic)

Description of person

Democrat

No party affiliation

Republican Disliked

No difference

D S S D S

D S S D D

D D D S S D

D D S D D D

S D D S D

Reject those who are dissimilar

S S S S

S S S

SEnd result is that we are

left with similar people to interact with

• Balance Theory Imbalance is motivating

• Congruity Theory Incongruity is motivating

• Dissonance Theory Dissonance is motivating

• Equity Theory Inequity is motivating

The motivational value of dissimilarity is various other theories in social psychology:

Naturally discovering similarity/dissimilarity (rather than being given other’s attitudes is quite different

Active search process

Years of marriage

0-1 1-2 2-5 5-10 10+

90

80

70

60

50

40

Love marriages

Arranged marriages

“No man or woman really knows what love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.” --- Mark Twain

Health & Longevity

Low

High

Marriage, Health and Longevity

Men Women

Happily married

Unhappily married

Unmarried

Interpersonal Relationship --- Newer Approaches

Relationships

• Individual subjective reactions to cues in an interaction

• Active search/detection process for cues

• Timing and sequencing of cues (e.g., baking a cake example)

Thoughts about interpersonal interactions

Evaluation of interaction as good,

average, poor

• Future possibilities

• Strategies

Narratives/stories about

relationships

• Who is told? When they are told? What is said? Why they are told?

• Difference in perceptions; memory for facts

Interpersonal Relationship --- Newer Approaches (cont.)

Misattributions of Friendly Behavior

Routine Conversation

Female

Male

Observers

Female

Male

Viewed female as promiscuous; were attracted to the female; saw themselves as

flirtatious and seductive

Viewed males as behaving in a sexual manner;

females as promiscuousSexual

lensInteraction

Relationship Conflict --- Some Issues

• Jealousy ---

Men Sexual infidelity (60%)

Women Emotional infidelity (83%)

• Communication ---

Demand-withdraw interaction pattern (Females wish to discuss problems, men avoid/withdraw from such discussions)

• Sex

• Children

• Money

• Different expectations

Relationship-Enhancing and Distress-Maintaining Attributions

Positive Event

Relationship-Enhancing Attribution

Distress-Maintaining Attribution

My partner takes me out to an expensive

dinner

My partner is sweet and thoughtful

My partner took me out to write the cost off on taxes

Internal, stable, global

Negative Event

My partner forgot my birthday

External, unstable, specific

Something unexpected must

have come upExternal, unstable,

specific

My partner is always uncaring

and selfishInternal, stable,

global