Physical Attractiveness & Job Success Introduction Do perceptions

Physical Attractiveness: The General Literature

According to Sears, Freedman and Peplau (1985), one is said to be physically attractive to the extent that he or she meets cultural criteria for beauty or handsomeness. These criteria can vary both within and among cultures. Berscheid and Walster (1974) report that in the United States, height is an important standard of attractiveness for a man. The authors note that in terms of dating behavior, the selection principle derived from this criterion is that the man should be taller than the woman.

Although many people downplay the impact of physical attractiveness, evidence indicates that it can contribute to success in most areas of life. For example, Dion (1972) observed the effects of physical attractiveness on liking in a study where women (N=243) were required to read descriptions of children who had ostensibly behaved badly. Sometimes the description of a particular child was accompanied by a photograph of an attractive youngster and

. . .
eristics of the defendant, both male and female subjects tended to rate attractive defendants more favorably than unattractive defendants. However, there were some gender differences found; these are described by the authors as follows: ...male subjects rated the attractive plaintiff more sincere than the unattractive plaintiff; female subjects did not. Female subjects rated the plaintiffs, regardless of their attractiveness level, higher on sincerity and warmth than the male subjects did. (Castellow, Wuensch & Moore, 1990, p.547) The contribution of physical attractiveness to impression formation in situations other than court proceedings can be seen in a study conducted by Sigall and Landy (1973) who found that men who were accompanied by an attractive woman made a better impression on observers than did men in the company of an unattractive woman. The authors stated that physical attractiveness influences personal preferences because it is one of the most readily observable characteristics of an given individual. However, because there is little correlation between outer beauty and inner beauty, Sigall and Landy recommend that consciousness-raising efforts be undertaken to help people look beyond the pleasantness of the
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hypothesis Based, Berscheid Walster, Berkowtiz Frodi, Friend Vinson, Landy Sigall, Sigall Landy, Abrahams Rottman, Horvath MacDonald, Goldman Lewis, Wuensch Moore, physical attractiveness, physically attractive, social psychology, attractive people, job performance, effects physical, effects physical attractiveness, personality social, personality social psychology, journal personality social, journal personality, college students, described individual, level physical attractiveness, ___how described individual,
Approximate Word count = 4973
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Physical Attractiveness & Job Success Introduction Do perceptions