Benefits of Beauty by Matt Dwyer, Sara Enzenauer, Rachel Budihas, Angela Wahl.

Benefits of Beauty

by Matt Dwyer, Sara Enzenauer, Rachel Budihas, Angela

Wahl

American Society, What is

attractive?

What is attractive?

Ideal Female and Male Bodies: An Analysis of College Students' Drawings

Media decides attraction

• Body ideals are formed by the media

• Typical female models are found to be 9% taller and 16% thinner than the average American

• Media images of male bodies are becoming increasingly muscular over time

What is Attractive in US:Female

“curvaceously thin” body that is characterized by small hips and waist and a large bust

What is attractive in US: Male

The ideal male body in U.S. society is best described as a “muscleman,” with broad shoulders and disproportionately large chest and arm muscles

Biological benefits of beauty

• Attractive people are seen as healthy

• Youthful people are seen as more attractive

• Attractive people are seen as more reproductively fit

Attractiveness and finding a mate

• More important for females to have a "perfect" body

• Men focus attention more on looks

• social settings

Happiness and Self Esteem

• Physical Attraction

• Results

o positive correlationo negative correlation

(Mathes, 1975)

Attraction and Power?

Presidential Candidates

• Visual cues such as physical appearance, are instrumental in shaping our impressions of political candidates

• Case Study: 1960 Presidential Election

(Kraus, 1988)

Social & Economic Effects

Job Earnings

• Attractive people are likely to earn an average of 3% to 4% more than a person with below-average looks.

(Shellenbarger, 2011)

Attractiveness and intelligence

• Perceived as more intelligent

• Studies with Kindergarteners

• Within and between the sexes

• Theory better quality genes

• Assortative mating(Kanazawa, 2009)

Attraction and the Halo Effect

The Halo Effect• Our cognitive judgment of a

person is biased from impressions (attraction)

• The halo effect was given its name by psychologist Edward Thorndike

• Dion and Berscheid (1972): relationship between the halo effect and attraction

Attraction

Bibliography

• http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200903/beautiful-people-are-more-intelligent-i

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1151901

• http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/jpps/vol2/iss1/4/

• http://yourlife.usatoday.com/your-look/story/2011/03/Beautiful-people-are-happier-study-finds/45500558/1

• http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10555.pdf