Physical attractiveness

• Evolutionary theory of physical attractiveness

  > Shackelford and Larsen found that people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive.

  > This is because it may be an honest signal of genetic fitness as it is difficult to fake facial symmetry

  > Women with neotenous (baby face) features such as wide eyes and a small nose are seen as more attractive because they trigger a protective and caring instinct which is valuable resource for females wanting to reproduce
• The matching hypothesis

  > Walster et al suggests that we look for partners who are like ourselves in terms of physical attractiveness, instead of choosing the most appealing people

  > Berscheid et al replicated a piece of research called 'The computer dance' where participants were asked to choose their own dance partner from people of varying degrees of physical attractiveness
• The matching hypothesis 2

  > It was found participants chose partners who 'matched' them in physical attractiveness

  > Therefore, we seek partners whose attractiveness is similar to our own as we risk being rejected if we select someone who is much more attractive
• Physical attractiveness AO3

  :) RTS evolutionary processes - Cunningham et al

  > Many similarities across cultures when studying physical attractiveness

  > Large eyes, prominent cheekbones, small nose and high eyebrows were rated attractive by Hispanic and Asian males

  > This therefore means it is possible to generalise findings from western cultures to non-western cultures as they have displayed similarities when investigating evolutionary explanations
• Physical attractiveness AO3

  :( RTC Matching hypothesis Taylor

  > They studied the activity logs of a popular dating site. This was a real-life test of the matching hypothesis because it measured actual date choices and not just preferences

  > Online daters sought partners who were more physically attractive then them

  > Therefore, lowering the validity of the matching hypothesis as a factor that affects attraction in romantic relationships, as it contradicts the prediction about matching attractiveness
• Physical attractiveness AO3

  :( Research is correlational

  > Cause and effect cannot be established between physical attractiveness and levels of attraction in romantic relationships

  > There could be another intervening factor impacting the attraction within the romantic relationship such as, the amount of time partners spend together

  > Limiting the support and internal validity of the research into physical attractiveness as a factor affecting attraction in romantic relationships.