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Attractiveness- Appraised in Only One Glance?

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Attractiveness- Appraised in Only One Glance?
Research Paper
Attractiveness- Appraised in Only One Glance?

Abstract
There are several factors that influence us in our judgment of who we find attractive. Regarding the physical attractiveness, men and women both pay most attention to the face. Above that, men also take into account a woman´s waist-to-hip-ratio. Interestingly, researchers have found that for men, physical attractiveness has a greater impact on their partner choice than for women. Females are putting more emphasis on other factors such as reliability and socio-economic status. Yet, both genders benefit equally from one phenomenon: Attractive people receive more favorable treatment in hiring and promotion and are rated as smarter, more extroverted and as more socially skilled.
Besides these aspects of physical attractiveness that influence us in our behavior towards other people , there are reasons beyond which need to be considered in order to comprehend decision making in partner choice and attractiveness judgment. Three aspects of interpersonal attractiveness will be discussed in this research paper. Propinquity, similarity, and reciprocal liking are part of the field of interpersonal attractiveness, which is thematically integrated in social psychology. According to these three interpersonal effects, we tend to prefer a mate who lives in a close distance, with whom we are sharing the most important opinions and traits and who we know to like us.

Contents 1. Physical Attractiveness 3
1.1 Attractiveness of faces 3
1.2 The waist-to-hip ratio 6
1.3 Manipulation of attractiveness 9
1.4 Halo-Effect 11
1.5 A newborn´s reaction to physical attractiveness 11

2. Interpersonal Attractiveness 12
2.1 The person next door: Propinquity Effect……………………………………………13
2.2 Similarity Effect 13
2.3 Reciprocal Liking 15

3. Résumé 17

4. Bibliographical References 18

1. Physical Attractiveness

There have been numerous moments in which we have fallen victim to



References: Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D. & Akert, R. M. (2005). Social Psychology (5th ed.). New Jer sey: Pearson. Ebner, T., Gathmann, S. & Wiedermann, A. (2002). Schönheit und der Haloeffekt. In A. Hergovich (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 186-202). Wien: Facultas. Grammer, K. (1993). Die Evolution der Liebe. Hamburg: Hoffman & Campe. Langlois, J. H. & Roggman, L. A. (1990). Attractive faces are only average. Psycholo gical Science, (1st ed., pp. 115-121). Luczak, H Müller, I. & Schuster, S. (2002). Was zeichnet ein schönes Gesicht aus? In A. In Her govich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 205-213). Wien: Facultas. Myers, D. G. (2004). Psychologie. Heidelberg: Springer-Medizin. Pils, A., Stocker, G. & Wrba, P. (2002). Die Bedeutung des Hüften-Taillenverhältnis für die Beurteilung der Attraktivität. In A. Hergovich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 255-271). Wien: Facultas. Pökl, M. & Schafler, H. (2002). Ist ein schönes Gesicht Indikator für Gesundheit und Fruchtbarkeit? In A. Hergovich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 229- 251). Wien: Facultas. Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness. Role of Waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (65th ed., pp. 293-307). Singh, D. (1995). Female Judgement of Male Attractiveness and Desirability for Rela tionship: Role of Waist-to-Hip ratio and Financial Status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (69th ed., pp. 1089-110). Sinzinger, A. (2002). Die Reaktion von Kindern auf physische Attraktivität. In A. Hergo vich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit (pp. 177-185). Wien: Facultas. Sponsel, R. (26.05.2005). Attraktiv und Attraktivität. Psychologie, Sozialpsychologie, Psychopathologie, Soziologie. aus allgemeiner und integrativer Sicht. Available at: http://www.sgipt.org/gipt/sozpsy/attrak0.htm [08/26/2009]. Thornhill, R Waschina, T. (2002). Lässt sich die physische Attraktivität verändern? In A. Hergovich, (publ.). Psychologie der Schönheit . pp. 115 - 128. Wien: Facultas.

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