AO1

• Shackleford and Larson found that people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive. It is thought that this is a signal of genetic fitness that cannot be faked, which makes it an honest signal. Explanations based on physical attractiveness are evolutionary ones.
• Attributes that signal high quality are naturally selected. Women with a favourable waist to hip ratio are seen as attractive because they are perceived to be more fertile, and people with more symmetrical features are seen to be genetically fit.
• Neotenous features are thought to trigger protective and caring instincts related to the formation of attachment in infancy. This is also an evolutionary explanation because features that strengthen attachment are naturally selected. This means baby face features are seen as attractive.
• The halo effect, which is a cognitive bias, describes how physical attractiveness is generalised. We hold preconceived ideas about the attributes of physically attractive people. We believe that all their other attributes are overwhelmingly positive as a result. For example, Dion et al found that physically attractive people are consistently rated as kind, strong, sociable and successful compared with unattractive people.
• Walster et al proposed the matching hypothesis: that similar people end up together. The more physically desirable someone is, the more desirable they expect their partner to be.
• Matching hypothesis study: computer dance. Students were rated on physical attractiveness by objective observers and completed questionnaires. They told the questionnaire data was used to pair partners, but in fact randomly paired them together with partners. Physically attractive partners were liked the most and more likely to be asked on another date (not supporting the matching hypothesis).
• Berscheid et al. replicated the computer dance study and students selected partners themselves. This time they chose partners of similar physical attractiveness. This suggests that we tend to seek and choose partners whose physical attractiveness matches our own. Partner choice is a compromise. We avoid rejection by the most physically attractive and settle for those in our league.