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

Is beauty only skin deep? 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.”

Biology and attractiveness Evolutionary selection: Faces and bodies are perceived as signs of mate quality. facial attractiveness affects mate selection and the likelihood of reproductive success.

Is beauty culturally universal? 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 more attractive (Cunningham et al. 1995; Langlois et al. 2000; Perrett et al. 1994)

Looking up to leaders Since 1900, the taller presidential candidate has won 19 of 28 elections Obama 6’2”, McCain 5’9” Only 3 of 43 American presidents were 5’7” or shorter James Madison Benjamin Harrison Martin Van Buren

Size matters 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. A male 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, but the disparity in income was not as great as for men. In a British study, taller women were perceived, by both sexes, as more intelligent, assertive, independent and ambitious.

The “Beauty is good” stereotype 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

A double standard for attractiveness? Are older men perceived as more attractive than older women? As men age they may perceived as more distinguished The older, rich, ugly guy with a beautiful young girl stereotype. As women age they tend to be judged by the same standards of beauty slim curvy wrinkle-free no grey hair Susan Sontag (1979) throughout the lifespan women are judged more by physical appearance than are men, so the diminishing of physical beauty is more painful for women.

Facial symmetry Facial symmetry signifies biological quality People prefer others with symmetrical and proportional faces Bilateral symmetry: left and right sides of the face are mirror images Proportionality: equally sized features The more symmetrical an organism is (low FA), the better is the rest of its phenotype. Symmetry is shown to have strong positive associations with immune strength and resistance to parasites (Møller 2006), ability to escape predators, speed, strength, mental acuity and ability to cope with a wide range of stressors (Polak 2003; Møller 2006; Thoma et al. 2006).

Asymmetrical faces

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

Sexual dimorphism Dimorphism: how biologically distinct females and males of the same species are from one another For human faces dimorphism refers to how masculine or feminine a face is. Greater dimorphism (feminization) is preferred for female faces 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.”