Is “beautiful” or
“handsome” synonymous with “good”?

• Is attractiveness a superficial feature?
• The survival of a genetic line hinges on mate selection.
• Like it or not, physical appearance plays a major role in life.
• 82% of males and
93% of females “are actively oriented toward maintaining an attractive appearance.”

• 6 month old infants turn their heads toward attractive faces and away from unattractive faces
(Rubenstein,
Kalakanis, &
Longlois
(1999).
• People in different cultures generally agree on which faces are attractive
(Cunningham et al. 1995;
Langlois et al.
2000; Perrett et al. 1994)

• Since 1900, the taller candidate has won
19 of 28 presidential elections
– Obama 6’2”, McCain
5’9”
– Only 3 of 43
American presidents
-- James Madison,
Benjamin Harrison and Martin Van Buren
-- have been under 5 feet 7 inches

• For Men
• Half of all CEOs are 6’ or more.
• A 2004 study found that every inch of height adds $789 in salary per year.
•
The study controlled for gender, weight and age.
• Someone who is 6’ tall earns $5,525 more annually than someone who is 5’6”.
• For Women
• Taller women earned more as a result of their height, though they gained only twothirds that of the men.
• In a British study, both sexes judged taller women to be more intelligent, assertive, independent and ambitious.

• Dion, Berschied, & Walster
(1972) developed the “beauty is good” stereotype.
– Children’s fairly tales equate beauty with goodness
– Popular TV reality shows emphasize vanity
– Celebutards: Jessica Simpson,
Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan
• Tabloids and women’s magazines focus on looks

• Older male news anchors
– Daine Sawyer = 64
– Wolf Blitzer = 62
– Bill O’Reilly = 61
– Katie Couric = 53
• Older male actors
– Sean Connery,
Harrison Ford, Bruce
Willis
• Heavy set actors vs. actresses
• Men become
“distinguished” with age

• Evolutionary selection:
– facial attractiveness affects mate selection and the likelihood of reproductive success.

• Facial symmetry and proportionality is preferred
– Bilateral symmetry: left and right sides of the face are mirror images
– Proportionality: equally sized features

• faces with average features are preferred
• faces that are closer to average are consistently rated as more attractive

• For female faces, greater feminization is preferred
• For male faces, results are mixed
– More recent studies show a slight preference for feminized male faces
– Women’s preferences shift toward masculine faces during ovulation
– “Men, gay or straight, prefer high sexual dimorphism in the faces of the sex that they are attracted to.

• Examples of masculinized
(right) and feminized (left) versions of a male face.