Have a look at these fashionable bodies! Do you think women
want to be thin and men want to have six packs if they were not bombarded with thin images of women and muscled images of men, like these, in the media? 6. Physical Atractiveness Stereotype
The physical attractiveness stereotype is a term that psychologists use to refer to the tendency to assume that people who are physically attractive also possess other socially desirable personality traits. Stereotyping is the process by which we draw inferences about others based on knowledge of the categories to which they belong. Many studies (Dion et al., 1972; Miller, 1970) have found that people tend to think that more attractive people are also happier, outgoing, successful, kinder and have many other positive traits. In less-individualistic cultures, beautiful people are assumed to have traits that those cultures value, such as concern for others, loyalty and integrity. (Dion et al., 1972)Wheeler and Kim (1997) found that university students in Korea saw beautiful people as more trustworthy and concerned for others.But they did not share the North American university students' bias towards perceiving beautiful people as more self-assertive and dominant than less attractive people. This can be seen in myths and fairy tales as well as films throughout history. The 'goodies' are young and beautiful whereas the 'baddies' are ugly. Previous studies have found a recognition bias for information consistent with the physical attractiveness stereotype. The stereotype acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy where the perception of attractive people as more valuable members of society leads to their receiving preferential treatment, positive feedback and tangible benefit. Studies have found that attractiveness does correlate positively with some traits such as personal income, social skills and self-confidence. This cognitive bias could be considered to be a specific kind of halo effect. Physical attractiveness can have a significant effect on how people are judged in terms of employment or social opportunities, friendship, sexual behavior, and marriage. In many cases, humans attribute positive characteristics, such as intelligence and honesty, to attractive people without consciously realizing it. Physically attractive individuals are regarded more positively and accurately in first impressions, however the physical attractiveness stereotype will have bias opinions and decisions when comparing people of different attractiveness levels. A study done by Pfeifer noted a positive correlation between physical appearance and wages. More attractive people are, on average, more likely to be employed and have a higher wage than their normal counterpart. According to this study, the estimated effects of the interviewer rating, generally, have a larger impact on men than for on women, while self-ratings (of attractiveness) have a larger effect on women than on men. However, in this study, the rating from others (in this case, the interviewer) have a larger effect than self-rating. "The wage effects of attractiveness are nonlinear for men, which implies that wage punishment for unattractiveness is larger than wage premium for attractiveness, and linear for women." Studies show that teachers perceive attractive children as more intellectual, more engaged in school and more likely to succeed academically than unattractive children. This is because teachers have shown to have more positive interactions with attractive children. In addition other studies show that customers' perceptions of quality of service is boosted by physical attractiveness. Disadvantages Reactions to beauty may lead to interpersonal tension and conflict. For example, individuals who are better-looking people are often at a disadvantage, because people attribute greater negative and egocentric traits to them.Extremely attractive individuals may be refused by their own sex type who are jealous of them. In fact, attractive people are often confused with whether people are attracted to their appearance or their inner qualities. They are also more likely to rely on their looks than on their other attributes. Furthermore, the correlation between physical attractiveness and honesty and concern for others are mostly likely negative Source: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness_stereotype |
![]() Objectives: - Students will understand the meaning of physical attractiveness stereotypes. - Students will use viewing skills to understand and interpret visual media. - Students will use reading skills to understand the physical attractiveness stereotypes and answer comprehension questions. - Students will use speaking skills to discuss the physical attractiveness sterotypes. - Students will interact with their fellow students. ![]() Reflective questions:
1. What do you think is the physical attractiveness stereotype? 2. Do you think that more attractive people are also happier and kinder? (What makes you think so?) 3. How are "good guys" and "bad guys" in movies and fairy tales characterized? 4. Do you trust a physically attractive person more easily? Explain 5. What do you think a halo effect is? 6. Do you think that there are advantages and disadvantages of being physically attractive? What would they be? Discuss with your group. |