Beautiful Face?

Dr Felix de Beaumont
Heythrop College
University of London
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‘it is amazing how complete is the delusion that
beauty is goodness’ Leo Tolstoy
• Attribution is the
process by which we
identify knowledge of
other peoples traits and
dispositions
• Looks play a role in
interactions not only
with strangers ( Swami
& Furnham, 2008)
• The external is taken as
a signal of the internal
• ‘What is beautiful is
good’ Dion et al, 1972
• Not just adults
attribution
• The process by which we try to gain
knowledge of the world
• It is flawed – fundamental attribution error
• ‘beautiful is good’ stereo type
• Evaluation of attractive children
• Defendants in court/criminals and jury
decisions
• Kernel of truth hypothesis
Halo effect
• Beauty spreads out into
other assumptions and
attributions
• Better looking= better
person ? Cleverer?
More socially adept?
Nicer? More likely not
to be convicted!
Halo effect
• Impression formation
follows the ‘easiest’
path
• physically attractive
judged higher on life
outcomes, marital
happiness and career
success
• not just about adults !!!
Effects….
• Social skills, grades,
gender typing, and
defendants more likely
to be cleared by jurors
in court! (does depend
on the crime!)
• Higher starting salaries;
judged as more likely to
have a successful life
Forming Impressions
• ” we look at a person and immediately a
certain impression of his character forms
itself. A glance, a few words are enough…”
Soloman Asch , 1946
• Gestalt Theory
• Cognitive approach: source information,
primacy effect, weight of negative info
Impression Management
Dumb Blonde?
No- IQ of 163 !
Impression management
• Self enhancement pays off!
• ‘dress for success’
• Job interviews- attractive applicants & those
dressed in an ‘expected way’ do better
• On trial- stereo types influence trial outcomes.
The effect of the defendants look depends on
the crime
Impression management-job
interviews
• Presentation of self to please others
• People choose dress code to match the
company image Drake & Cox 1985
• Non verbal communication- smiling, leaning
forward, nodding
• Negatives- overweight,gender Pingitore et al
1994
What you wear counts, too
Beauty on trial
• Grading of essays –
Kaplan 1975
• Childrens transgressions
– Dion, 1972
• Real & mock jury
studies
• Judges and sentencing
• Sexual offence cases
Is justice blind?
• Likability factor Alicke 1994
• Stereo types influence outcomes
• Attractiveness can go both ways; the
goodlooking loose their advantage in certain
cases eg. Blackmail, fraud, swindlers
• Women who are attractive and charged with
aggressive crimes treated more harshly
Judges too, not just juries
• Study by Downes & Lyons 1991
• In extremely serious crime cases the looks
factor evaporates
• Victim attractiveness- worrying factor in rape
cases Jacobson & Popovitch 2006
Self centred beauty bias
• Vain & egotistical
• Photos versus actual
person to person
interaction
• Ritchins 1991- women
& self esteem
• rate themselves as less
attractive when in
company of attractive
women
• Festinger’s theory of
social comparison, 1954
• Upward/ downward
comparison
• Looks make us feel bad,
negative assumptions
can make us feel better
again!
Kernel of truth hypothesis
• Kernel of truth hypothesis: concept that there
is somewhat more than a random
correspondence between personality and
visual stereotypes
Why are we biased at all?
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Dion 1986, social learning
Ahsmore, 1986, - stereo types
Kim & Rosenberg, 1989
BUT-Foto versus people= individuating
information
• E.g. glasses & intelligence
• Friends & family = lots of individuating info
Where from?
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1 direct observation
2 cultural representations
3 aesthetically pleasing = mood enhancer
in children- other children, parents, cartoons
& film
• Association of popularity with looks
• CULTURE (Ecco, 2004)
• Cross cultural variation in stereotype content
How far does the halo reach?
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Limitations
‘kernel of truth ‘ hypothesis
Power of expression
Power of other factors such as style, grace,
movement, personality. Social skills
‘Erotic capital’
Some references
• Dion, K. 1972 Physical attractiveness and
evaluation of children’s transgressions
Journal of Personality and social psychology
Ratings of essays by male students- Kaplan 1975
Limits to the halo- Ashmore, Makhijani &
Longo, 1991
Waist to Hip Ratio
Body Mass Index
BMI ideals
Miss America & Co.
• Singh 1995 reports a consistency between
Miss America winners and the body standards
of magazine center folds
• Idealised female shapes have changed from
Edwardian statuesque, through to boyish
1960’s waif
• Miss America’s bust size increase and then her
weight loss in the 60’s
Beauty, self concept, extremes
• Size zero debate- slim is beautiful?
• See Vogue article in the course pack
• Anorexia Nervosa- especially common in
dancers, models & sportspersons
• Disparity between reality and how individuals
see themselves
BMI and curvaceousness
• Swami et al 2009 – cross cultural study
• Voracecek & Fischer 2002 – curvaceousness in
adult media
• WHR increase in popular pin ups and centre
fold models
e.g. ditta von teese, 1950’s stars
One is manipulated to Size Zero!
Beautiful bodies=some issues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BFq49Yc12Y
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Body and personality attributions
Waist hip ratio
Shape more important than the face?
What about movement, presentation, taste?
vary according to culture?
Appearance anxiety
• The greater the mismatch between ideal and
perceived self, the greater the individuals
unhappiness. Like self and ideal self
• Social appearance anxiety scale developed to
measure the level of anxiety about negative
evaluation.
Body /image dissatisfaction
• Biological, psychosocial, cultural factors
involved
• Body dissatisfaction comes in different forms:
distorted body size estimation
• General effect on self esteem through
exposure to manipulated attarctive images in
media
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
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BDD first documented in 1886
A delusional anxiety disorder
Often seek unnecessary surgery
Equally common to both genders
Can lead to self disfigurement and drug or
alcohol problems
• 1 in 4 attempt suicide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUKlLpM
g-eM
• http://www.videojug.com/interview/whatcauses-bdd-2
• living with it in adolescence
• http://www.videojug.com/interview/bodydysmorphic-disorder-in-childhood-2#howdid-bdd-impact-your-childhood
• effects
• http://www.videojug.com/interview/theeffects-of-bdd-2
Core beliefs in BDD
• Core beliefs determine who you ‘think’ you
are or how you perceive yourself to be
• Ritual and safety behaviours we find in Bdd
are distracters from the negative core beliefs
which sufferers hold to be ‘true’• ‘I’m defective’; ‘I’m in danger’; ‘I’m not good
enough’
Cosmetic surgery addiction
Addicted or Bad surgery?
• "Every two weeks, I'll go
see another doctor.
Often I'll walk in, not
even knowing what I
want doing, and say
something like 'what do
you think might be
wrong?' “
• Alicia Duvall, 100
operations
Jenny Lee
• http://www.channel4.com/programmes/theworlds-and-me
Cosmetic surgery
• Serious scientific origins in treatment of
injured soldiers
• So Not necessarily a ‘bad thing’, as can be a
life saving intervention
• However , two thirds of patients are repeat
patients….
• Ethical considerations
Cosmetic surgery addiction
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Many interventions
Obsession with perceived minor defects
Obsessive admiration of others specific attributes
Unrealistic expectations
Refusal to take advice
Jenny Lee ‘Texas Barbie’ C4 documentary
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-worldsand-me/4od#3116324
Symptoms include
• Many various interventions, or repeated ones
on same body part
• Obsession with minor ‘defect’
• ‘defect’ not apparent to others
• Obsession with body or parts of body of
admired role model/celebrity (incl. Barbie)
• Unrealistic expectations
• Refusal to take advice
Looking different
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Psychosocial factorsBeing stared at
Comments
Depression
Frustration in the work place
Importance of self efficacy
Injury/scars
Example: burn injuries
• Sudden life changing event
• Traumatic- post traumatic stress disorder not
uncommon
• Pain
• Repeated surgery, years of treatment, often
successful though
• Obvious – especially if facial
Examples of research
• Swami, jones, Einon, & Furnham ‘men’s
preferences for women’s profile waist to hip
ratio, breast size and ethnic group in Britain
and South Africa British journal of psychology,
2009
• BMI and porn stars – androgenousness and
curvaceousness in adult media
Change in Male ideals
Body & personality judgement
• Endomorphic Body Type:
• love of food
• tolerant
• evenness of emotions
• love of comfort
• sociable
• good humored
• relaxed
• need for affection
Preferred male type
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Mesomorphic Body Type:
hard, muscular body
overly mature appearance
rectangular shaped
upright posture
Associated personality traits:
adventurous
desire for power and dominance
courageous
indifference to what others think or
want
assertive, bold
zest for physical activity
competitive
love of risk and chance
Determinants of modern male attractiveness
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Muscle
Cropped/short hair
Strong bone structures,
Somewhat elongated faces
Above average height
Muscle !!
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFJO5LcW
Gfk
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vVAHfZ_
4C8 (body builder Sagi Kalev -only if you are
not offended by near nudity!)
• Body builders posing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVE6gOm
m0YI&feature=related
Body Building “Adonis complex”
• Exercise, image, bulk
• Can be form of BDD – avoidant behaviour,
substance abuse, compulsive behaviour,
excessive comparison, reassurance seeking,
baggy clothes, mirror gazing
• Private & professional life suffer
Body ideals
Extremes- crossing the line between
addiction and modification
Body building addiction?
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Pressure on men- media?
The gym atmosphere
Pathological pre-occupation
Muscle dysmorphia / Adonis complex, form of
BDD linked to OCD
• Muscle appearance satisfaction scale
GI Joe – then and now
advertising
Symptoms
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Avoiding body exposure
Extreme diet & use of steroids etc
Compulsive weight lifting
Excessive comparison with others
Reassurance seeking from others
Work /private life suffer
Gym sub culture
‘Ken’
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4j1obXY
_2o
• Bigorexia clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnej5HljA
OE
• Body build competitors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btFINUT2
0pQ&feature=related
Male body & sub culture
• Gym culture- comparison, group etc
• Gay muscle culture
• Linked to sense of ‘security ‘and ‘picture of
health’
• Competition
• Social comparison within a specific
group/environment
• Effects of media
.. And women?
Self esteem and viewing attractive images
• Fergusson 1985 believed that women’s magazines
actually change women’s perceptions of themselves
• Dittmar et 2006- Barbie dolls shown to reduce body
esteem in 5-8 yearold british girls
• Kenrick & Gutierres 1999- women rate themselves as
less attractive when surrounded by other womenreal or in print
Self esteem
• Part of self concept. It is variable and can be
manipulated. Comparison to ideal self; or
social comparison
• Festinger’ s theory – up ward and down ward
comparisons
Research example
• Grogan, Williams & Connor, 1996 Effects of
viewing same gender photographic models on
body esteem Psychology of women Quaterly
• At the time women more affected than
males…this may have changed
Summing up
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Humans as hostages to beauty
Re-enforcement by media and economics
‘evolution’
Cultural comparison and study
Future directions- more emphasis on male
psychology
Some references
• Ashmore (1996) Thinking about fashion
models looks; a multidimensional approach
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin vol22
(11) pp1083-104
• Etcoff (2000) Survival of the prettiest
• Hamermesh (2011) Beauty Pays
• Little & Perret (2002) Putting beauty back in
the eye of the beholder The Psychologist, Vol
15 (1)
continued
• Pope, Phillips & Olivardia (2004) The Adonis
complex: the secret crisis of male body
obsession
• Swami & Furnham (2006) The science of
attraction The Psychologist, 19 (6)