A01 Physical Attractiveness:Factors Affecting Attraction

• Explaining the importance of physical attractiveness

  The evolutionary theory is an explanation of why physical attractiveness is so important in forming relationships. Shackelford and Larsen found that people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive.
• Explaining symmetry's link with attractiveness


  Symmetry may be an honest signal of genetic fitness and people are also attracted to neotenous (baby-face) features like widely separated eyes, small noses, delicate chin as they trigger a protective instinct, a valuable resource especially for females wanting to reproduce.
• Physical attractiveness is not only important at the beginning of the relationship


  McNulty found evidence that initnial attractiveness that brought partners together continued to be an important feature of the their relationship after marriage, for atleast several years.
• The physical attractiveness stereotype.

  Physical attractiveness may matter because we have preconceived ideas about the personality traits attractive people must have- they are universally positive. This is the physical attractiveness stereotype.
• Dion et al


  Summarises the physical attractiveness stereptype as 'what beautiful is good'. They that physically attractive people are always rated as kind, caring, strong and sociable. The belief that that attractive people have all of these characteristics makes the more attractive so we become positively towards them- an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• The halo effect


  One distinguishing feature (in this case physical attractiveness) tends to have a disproportionate influence over a judgement of a person's other attributes/characteristics.
• The matching hypothesis

  Although physical attractiveness is desirable, common-sense tells us we cannot all form relationships with most atractive people. Walster proposed the matching hypothesis theory which states that people choose romantic partners, who are roughly of similar physical attractiveness to eachother.
• Compromise in choosing romantic partners


  We have to make a realistic judgement of our value to a potential partner. We desire the most physically attractive partner possible for all sorts of evolutionary, social, cultural and psychological reasons. However, we balance this against the wish to avoid being rejected by someone 'out of our league', and that is someone who is unlikely considered as physically attractivee.