Download - View Attractive Female(s)
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