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