A03

• Strength:

  • Palmer and Peterson (2012): physically attractive people were rated more politically knowledgeable and competent than unattractive people
  • Implication and suggests politicians might be elected because they are considered physically attractive by enough voters
  • Halo effect can be observed in real-life situations
• Strength:

  • Cunningham et al (95): large eyes, small nose and prominent cheekbones in females were rated as highly attractive by white, Asian and Hispanic males
  • Wheeler and Kim (97): Korean and US students judged physically attractive people to be more trustworthy, mature, concerned for other people and friendly
  • Consistency suggests - physical attractiveness is culturally independent and may have evolutionary roots
• Limitation:

  • Scored highly on the MACHO scale were more influenced by physical attractiveness when judging likeability from a photograph and basic biographical data
  • Low scores - less sensitive to this influence, there are individual differences in the importance placed upon physical attractiveness
  • Suggests - the effects of physical attractiveness can be moderated by other factors and may not be as significant a consideration in relationship formation for all partners
• Limitation:

  • Walster et al (66): initial study failed to support the theory - students preferred partners who were more physically attractive rather than matching their level
  • Feingold's (88) meta analysis of studies of actual partners - significant correlation in ratings of attractiveness between them
  • Findings from more realistic studies support the hypothesis even though OG studies didn't
• Limitation:

  • Taylor et al (2011) online daters sought dates with partners who were more attractive than themselves and didn't consider their own level of attractiveness
  • Research involved actual dating choices yet support the matching hypothesis
  • The matching hypothesis no longer explains preferences regarding physical attractiveness in a useful way
• Whilst overall physical attractiveness can help us predict who will be regarded as desirable for romantic relationships, attractiveness is only one critical variable in relationship formation
• In many cultures attractiveness isn't likely to be the primary characteristic when parents/family members are choosing suitable marriage partners - research into attractiveness does have to take into account the very differing cultural values place on this trait
• What are the gender differences?

  Men value physical attractiveness more in women than women do in men, it's also easier for men to compensate through other means for not being physically attractiveness
• What is the role of biology?

  • Tries to explain mate choice in terms of 'built-in' preferences which are developed through human evolution
  • In evolved animals general patterns can be detected in sexual preferences