physical attractiveness

• The matching hypothesis

  Walster - we look for partners who are like ourselves in terms of physical attractiveness, instead of most appealing people.

  Berscheid replicated a piece of research where people had to pick a dance partner with a degree of attractiveness , ppts chose people with similar pa

  we seek people whose attractiveness is similar to our own, as we risk being rejected if we selected someone who is more attractive
• Evolutionary theory of pa

  Shackelford and Larsen found people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive. As its a honest signal of genetic fitness as its difficult to fake.

  Women with neotenous (baby face) e.g. large eyes, small nose, seen as more attractive as they trigger a protective and caring instinct, which is a valuable resource for females wanting to reproduce