"Their ideas of beauty are, on the whole, the same as ours": Consistency and variability in the cross-cultural perception of female physical attractiveness.

The consistency of physical attractiveness ratings across cultural groups was examined. In Study 1, recently arrived native Asian and Hispanic students and White Americans rated the attractiveness of Asian, Hispanic, Black, and White photographed women. The mean correlation between groups in attractiveness ratings was r?=?.93. Asians, Hispanics, and Whites were equally influenced by many facial features, but Asians were less influenced by some sexual maturity and expressive features. In Study 2, Taiwanese attractiveness ratings correlated with prior Asian, Hispanic, and American ratings, mean r?=?.91. Supporting Study 1, the Taiwanese also were less positively influenced by certain sexual maturity and expressive features. Exposure to Western media did not influence attractiveness ratings in either study. In Study 3, Black and White American men rated the attractiveness of Black female facial photos and body types. Mean facial attractiveness ratings were highly correlated (r?=?.94), but as predicted Blacks and Whites varied in judging bodies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio.

Evidence is presented showing that body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is correlated with youthfulness, reproductive endocrinologic status, and long-term health risk in women. Three studies show that men judge women with low WHR as attractive. Study 1 documents that minor changes in WHRs of Miss America winners and Playboy playmates have occurred over the past 30–60 yrs. Study 2 shows that college-age men find female figures with low WHR more attractive, healthier, and of greater reproductive value than figures with a higher WHR. In Study 3, 25- to 85-yr-old men were found to prefer female figures with lower WHR and assign them higher ratings of attractiveness and reproductive potential. It is suggested that WHR represents an important bodily feature associated with physical attractiveness as well as with health and reproductive potential. A hypothesis is proposed to explain how WHR influences female attractiveness and its role in mate selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial and attitudinal factors affecting the perceptions of counselors by Black adolescents.

Presented to 247 Black male and female high school students racial and attitudinal information about a hypothetical male or female counselor and asked them to express their perceptions of the counselor. Attitudinal information about a counselor had a stronger effect than racial information on Ss' perception of the counselor: Counselors portrayed as attitudinally similar were rated significantly higher in attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertness, and social attraction than those portrayed as attitudinally dissimilar. Racial information also influenced perceived attractiveness: White counselors were rated higher than Black ones in attractiveness, although there was no difference in ratings of trustworthiness or expertise. White female counselors were perceived as more expert than their Black female counterparts, whereas the ratings of male counselors were not influenced by the racial variable. Implications for counselor–client relationships and the development of mental health services for minority populations are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

You're only as pretty as you feel: Facial expression as a determinant of physical attractiveness.

In Exp I, photos of 15 female target persons posing happy, neutral, and sad facial expressions were rated by 257 undergraduates for facial attractiveness using paired comparisons and Likert scales. Half of the raters were instructed to compensate for the effects of facial expression. Paired comparisons and Likert ratings were highly correlated. Target persons were less attractive when posing sad expressions than when posing neutral or happy expressions, which did not differ. In addition, independent ratings of 4 dimensions of the target persons' facial expression were obtained: pleasantness, surprise, intensity, and naturalness. Changes in these dimensions from the neutral to the happy and sad expressions and the corresponding changes in attractiveness were consistently related only to pleasantness, supporting the reinforcement-affect theory of attraction. Exp II, with 21 male undergraduates, related overall attractiveness to facial and bodily attractiveness. Both facial and bodily attractiveness were predictive of overall attractiveness, but the face was a slightly more powerful predictor. Results are discussed with respect to the stability of physical attractiveness, and alternative explanations of the mental-illness/physical-unattractiveness relation are proposed. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived attractiveness as a function of support for the feminist movement: Not necessarily a put-down of women.

Conducted 2 studies to replicate and extend the findings of P. A. Goldberg et al (see record 1975-27508-001) that Ss identified photos of unattractive women significantly more frequently than those of attractive women as being supporters of the women's liberation movement. In Study 1, photos were taken of 30 undergraduate women between the ages of 18 and 22 yrs and of 30 nonstudent women over the age of 25 yrs; these women were identified as supporters or nonsupporters of the feminist movement according to their scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. Ratings of the physical attractiveness of the photographed women were made by 40 university students and by 40 nonstudents over age 25 yrs. Results show that such ratings were not related to the attitude scores of the photographed women. In Study 2, 40 additional college students and 40 additional nonstudents were given the same task with similar stimuli. Results show no significant difference between the mean attractiveness score of those women selected as supporters and those selected as nonsupporters, thus failing to replicate the findings of Goldberg et al. Male undergraduates, however, did choose photographs of less attractive women as members of the feminist movement, whereas female undergraduates chose photos of more attractive women. Neither male nor female nonstudents chose differently than chance. (French summary) (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The siren's call: Terror management and the threat of men's sexual attraction to women.

Why do sexually appealing women often attract derogation and aggression? According to terror management theory, women's sexual allure threatens to increase men's awareness of their corporeality and thus mortality. Accordingly, in Study 1 a subliminal mortality prime decreased men's but not women's attractiveness ratings of alluring women. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) led men to downplay their sexual intent toward a sexy woman. In Study 3, MS decreased men's interest in a seductive but not a wholesome woman. In Study 4, MS decreased men's but not women's attraction to a sexy opposite-sex target. In Study 5, MS and a corporeal lust prime increased men's tolerance of aggression toward women. Discussion focuses on mortality concerns and male sexual ambivalence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical appearance and personal adjustment counseling.

75 male and 80 female undergraduates were seen by 11 male and 4 female counselors for personal problems at a university counseling center. Counselor's retrospective attractiveness ratings were related to interview performance, initial clinical status, final clinical status, and prognosis. Counselor and receptionist ratings for attractiveness correlated positively only for women. Regardless of sex of counselor or client, attractiveness ratings by counselors were significantly related to prognosis. Sex differences in other correlates were found. Social and developmental implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex similarities and differences in preferences for short-term mates: What, whether, and why.

Are there sex differences in criteria for sexual relationships? The answer depends on what question a researcher asks. Data suggest that, whereas the sexes differ in whether they will enter short-term sexual relationships, they are more similar in what they prioritize in partners for such relationships. However, additional data and context of other findings and theory suggest different underlying reasons. In Studies 1 and 2, men and women were given varying "mate budgets" to design short-term mates and were asked whether they would actually mate with constructed partners. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm. Whereas women have been found to prioritize status in long-term mates, they instead (like men) prioritize physical attractiveness much like an economic necessity in short-term mates. Both sexes also show evidence of favoring well-rounded long- and short-term mates when given the chance. In Studies 4 and 5, participants report reasons for having casual sex and what they find physically attractive. For women, results generally support a good genes account of short-term mating, as per strategic pluralism theory (S. W. Gangestad & J. A. Simpson, 2000). Discussion addresses broader theoretical implications for mate preference, and the link between method and theory in examining social decision processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal effects of experimenter attractiveness, attire, and gender.

Investigated the effects of experimenter physical attractiveness and attire in same- and mixed-sex dyads. Six male and 6 female experimenters interacted with 30 male and 30 female undergraduate Ss. Each experimenter saw 1 male and 1 female while well-dressed and 1 male and 1 female while casually dressed. A vocabulary test and a photo-rating task were administered to Ss by experimenters in each meeting. Later, Ss completed the Adjective Check List (ACL) to indicate how they perceived the experimenter. Results show that experimenters in opposite-sex dyads received higher positivity ratings on the ACL; these ratings were also differentially affected by experimenters' sex and physical attractiveness, although no main effect for experimenter physical attractiveness was significant. Findings suggest the need for a more integrated, multivariable approach to interpersonal behavior. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Belief in a just world and physical attractiveness stereotyping.

Just-world theory provides a possible explanation of physical attractiveness stereotyping, in that believing in a just world should lead to a positive bias toward "winners," such as the physically attractive. Several hypotheses derived from this premise were tested by having adults complete the Just World Scale and rate the personality traits and expected life outcomes of an attractive or unattractive stimulus person. Predictions for the personality trait ratings were borne out for male but not for female stimulus persons: (a) Believers in a just world perceived the personalities of attractive, male stimulus persons as more socially desirable than nonbelievers and also attributed more socially desirable personalities to male stimulus persons who were attractive rather than unattractive; and (b) no effects were found for female stimulus persons. Predictions for the life-outcome ratings and differences in correlations between personality and life-outcome ratings as a function of belief in a just world were clearly supported. Implications for just-world theory, status-characteristics theory, and physical attractiveness stereotyping are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dominance, prosocial orientation, and female preferences: Do nice guys really finish last?

Three multimethod studies (total N?=?348) probed the hypothesis that women's attraction to men would be influenced by male prosocial orientation. In Study 1, prosocial men were rated as more physically and sexually attractive, socially desirable, and desirable as dates than were nonprosocial men. Dominant men were no more attractive than low-dominance men, and male dominance did not interact with male prosocial orientation in eliciting attraction from women. In Study 2, prosocial orientation was manipulated to avoid "personalism," but still affected attraction. Across all measures attraction was an interactive function of dominance and prosocial tendencies. Dominance alone did not increase any form of attraction measured. In Study 3, male prosocial tendencies and dominance interacted to affect women's attraction to men. Results are discussed in terms of the place of altruism and dominance in evolutionary approaches to human interpersonal attraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A direct test of and an alternative explanation for judgments of attractiveness of supporters of the women's movement.

Previous studies investigated the possible bias against women who support the women's movement, using a paradigm requiring Ss to sort photographs into 2 categories. Based on these sortings, differential judgments of physical attractiveness were inferred without having the Ss who performed the sorting actually rate the photos. To provide increased confidence in the previous findings, the present authors asked 91 female and 69 male undergraduates to rate photos thought to depict persons with varying positions toward the movement. Additionally, correlational data were gathered to test the explanation of an attitude similarity mediated error that can subsume the previous mixed findings. The results replicated the earlier findings, indicating no general bias against supporters. There were no differences between male and female Ss on their mean ratings of either male or female photographs and no attribution of profeminist attitudes to lower attractiveness ratings for either male or female Ss. However, attractiveness ratings were related to Ss' attitudes. It is concluded that persons erroneously perceive similar others to be more attractive than dissimilar others, rather than perceiving supporters in general to be less attractive. (French abstract) (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and menstrual cycle differences in the subjective effects from smoked cocaine in humans.

To investigate sex and menstrual cycle effects in response to cocaine administration, data from existing studies were analyzed. First, responses to a single delivery of 0.4 mg/kg smoked cocaine were investigated. Women reported lower ratings for measures of paranoid/suspicious and heart racing/pounding than did men. In addition, women in the luteal phase reported diminished ratings for a measure of feel high than did both women in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and men. Second, responses to up to 6 deliveries of 0.4 mg/kg smoked cocaine were investigated. Women, compared with men, had lower ratings on feel high, heart racing/pounding, and feel stimulated. Results suggest that there are significant sex and menstrual phase differences in the subjective effects of cocaine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment center correlates of women's advancement into middle management: A 7-year longitudinal analysis.

Assessment center predictions of the potential of 1,097 women managers were found to be significantly related to career progress 7 yrs later. In addition, comparisons of specific dimension ratings made in the assessment center and those made by D. W. Bray et al (1974) for men in the Management Progress Study were conducted. Similar rating distributions of potential for men and women were noted. Substantial similarities were also found in the relationships between specific dimension ratings and the progress of men and women. It appears that differences in management potential are far more attributable to individual rather than sex differences. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective responses to intravenous nicotine: Greater sensitivity in women than in men.

Although approximately 45% of smokers in the United States are women, the influence of sex on nicotine dependence remains incompletely understood. Evidence from preclinical and clinical studies has indicated that there are significant sex differences in nicotine's effects. The authors' goal in this report was to determine whether men and women differ in their acute response to intravenous nicotine, which has not been examined in previous studies. Twelve male and 12 female smokers received saline followed by 0.5 mg/70 kg and 1.0 mg /70 kg nicotine intravenously. In response to nicotine, women, as compared with men, had enhanced ratings for drug strength, head rush, and bad effects. Women and men experienced similar suppression of smoking urges by nicotine as assessed by the Brief Questionnaire on Smoking Urges. Nicotine-induced heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure increases were also similar in magnitude in men and women. The findings, consistent with those of several previous studies, support greater sensitivity of female smokers to some but not all of the subjective effects of nicotine. Further studies are warranted to examine the role of this differential nicotine sensitivity to development of nicotine dependence and response to nicotine replacement treatments in men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring and the self-attribution of positive emotions.

This analysis of self-monitoring (SM) focuses on emotional self-regulation. Individuals temperamentally disposed to emotional reactivity and who experience inconsistent social outcomes for emotional expression may develop systems to separate their affective states from their behaviors. These systems produce high SM persons who are less responsive to their own immediate emotional reactions and more responsive to situational cues in guiding evaluation of emotion. Consequently, SM may be related positively to reliance on external cues in the self-attribution of emotion. Study 1 used the Valins heart-rate feedback paradigm and found that men's attraction to women was enhanced by increased bogus heart-rate feedback. Attraction was moderated by the men's SM. Study 2 used the Olson humor paradigm and found that ratings were affected by manipulating explanations of the effects of laugh tracks on humor. The effect was moderated in both men and women by SM. Results were discussed in terms of the emotional processes underlying SM and the self-evaluation of emotional experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impressions of counselors as a function of counselor physical attractiveness.

Assessed the effects of counselor physical attractiveness and interactions between attractiveness and counselor and S sex. 40 male and 40 female undergraduates rated their 1st impressions of a counselor and their expectations for counseling outcome on the basis of a photograph of either an attractive or an unattractive person and a brief, audiotaped self-introduction by either a male or a female counseling psychologist. Attractiveness did not show main effects but did interact with sex variables, which did show several main effects. Female counselors, particularly in the attractive condition, received higher ratings than male counselors on several impression variables, and female Ss gave higher ratings on impression variables than did male Ss. Both attractive and unattractive counselors were within the normal range of attractiveness, however. It is suggested that within the natural setting, sex of counselor and client may play a more important role independently and in conjunction with attractiveness than does attractiveness alone in influencing impressions and expectations. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender, language, and influence.

Mixed- and same-sex dyads were observed to examine effects of gender composition on language and of language on gender differences in influence. Ss discussed a topic on which they disagreed. Women were more tentative than men, but only in mixed sex dyads. Women who spoke tentatively were more influential with men and less influential with women. Language had no effect on how influential men were. In a 2nd study, 120 Ss listened to an audiotape of identical persuasive messages presented either by a man or a woman, half of whom spoke tentatively. Female speakers who spoke tentatively were more influential with male Ss and less influential with female Ss than those who spoke assertively. Male speakers were equally influential in each condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of sex, gender roles, and attraction in predicting emergent leaders.

Examined the influence of sex, gender role characteristics, and interpersonal attractiveness on the selection of emergent leaders. Data were collected on 2 occasions from 122 subjects in 28 task groups performing "sex neutral" tasks for valued rewards over many weeks of interaction. Results showed no significant difference in the proportion of men and women to emerge as leaders through intragroup sociometric choice. Regardless of sex, group members with masculine gender role characteristics emerged as leaders significantly more than those with feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated gender role characteristics. Emergent leaders received significantly higher interpersonal attractiveness ratings than nonleaders within groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)