Contrast effects and judgments of physical attractiveness: When beauty becomes a social problem.

Kenrick, Douglas T.; Gutierres, Sara E.

doi:10.1037/0022-3514.38.1.131

Cited by 328 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…Richins (1991) shows that after viewing attractive models, subjects rated average women as less attractive because their comparison standards changed. This is consistent with prior research (Kenrick and Gutierres 1980;Kenrick et al 1989;Wedell et al 1987) showing that images of highly attractive individuals can cause viewers to rate the attractiveness of more ordinary others lower than they would otherwise. Research on children shows inconsistent results.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Assessing the What Is Beautiful Is Good Stereotype and the Influence of Moderately Attractive and Less Attractive Advertising Models on Self-Perception, Ad Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of 8–13-Year-Old Children

Vermeir

Sompel

2013

J Consum Policy

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This paper investigates (1) whether the physical attractiveness stereotype applies to children, (2) whether children's self-perception is influenced by the attractiveness of an advertising model, (3) whether children's attitudes towards an ad and buying intentions for a non-beauty related product are influenced by the attractiveness of an advertising model, and (4) whether age affects (1), (2) and (3). Results of two experimental studies with respectively 8-9 year old (N = 75) and 12-13 year old (N = 57) girls and boys confirm the presence of the physical attractiveness stereotype in children. The presence of a moderately attractive (versus less attractive) model has a negative influence on general self-worth for 8-9 year old boys, but not for girls, nor for 12-13 year old children. Exposure to a moderately attractive (versus less attractive) model also has a positive influence on perceived physical appearance of 8-9 year old girls, but this effect does not occur for boys, nor for 12-13 year olds. The studies also show that moderately attractive (versus less attractive) models increase attitudes and buying intentions for 8-9 year olds, but not for 12-13 year old boys and girls.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Assessing the What Is Beautiful Is Good Stereotype and the Influence of Moderately Attractive and Less Attractive Advertising Models on Self-Perception, Ad Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of 8–13-Year-Old Children

Vermeir

Sompel

2013

J Consum Policy

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“…On the other hand, contrast effects have been found to generalize to open-ended written descriptions (Simpson & Ostrom, 1976), cross-modality matching procedures (Manis, 1967), and even physiological measures, such as skin conductance as a measure of anxiety (Krupat, 1974). Additional evidence that contrast effects may not be tied to the response stage of information processing is that contrast is typically observed even when no overt judgments of contextual stimuli are made (Kenrick & Gutierres, 1980;Smith, Diener, & Wedell, 1989; although see Pepitone & DiNubile, 1976, for an exception). Finally, one may question the logic of the argument that the dependency of context effects on response constraints implies that contextual processes occur at the response stage of processing.…”

Section: Evidence For Early and Late Occurrence Of Contextual Contrastmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contrast refers to the displacement of judgments away from the values of contextual stimuli. For example, Kenrick and Gutierres (1980) found that photographs of faces were rated much less attractive when preceded by exposure to a very attractive face. Assimilation, on the other hand, refers to the displacement of judgments toward the contextual standard.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual contrast in evaluative judgments: A test of pre- versus postintegration models of contrast.

Wedell¹

1994

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Two experiments examined at what stage contrast effects occur within the impression-formation process. University students rated the likability of persons described by 5 trait adjectives, with the distribution of trait adjectives manipulated between Ss. Theoretically, contextual stimuli may affect the valuation of component traits before integration, a preintegration model, or they may affect the valuation of the composite impression after the components have been integrated, a postintegration model. Context was manipulated so that the preintegration model predicted an interaction between context and target, but the postintegration model did not. The predicted interaction was replicated several times, supporting preintegration processing of contextual information. However, when subjects were divided into fast and slow judges (on the basis of judgment latencies), the pattern of results supported preintegration contrast for fast judges and postintegration contrast for slow judges. These results support the conclusion that contrast effects may operate at different levels in impression formation.

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“…The two studies conducted by Kenrick and Gutierres (1980) provide the first evidence that exposure to attractive faces alters ratings of average faces. The authors suggest that exposure to mass media may present men with a biased view of the range of attractive others.…”

Section: Contrast Effects In Other-perceptions: Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Media exposure produces contrast effects such that, for example, a man's judgment of the attractiveness and desirability of an average woman declines. Kenrick and Gutierres (1980) conducted a field study in which they found that men who viewed a portion of an episode of the TV program Charlie's Angels (featuring three highly attractive female stars) rated an average female as less attractive than men who watched other programs or who did not watch TV immediately before rating the attractiveness of an average female. Kenrick and Gutierres (1980) also identified a similar contrast effect in a laboratory setting.…”

Section: Contrast Effects In Other-perceptions: Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of an Applied Evolutionary Psychology for Human Partnerships

Roberts

Miner

Shackelford

2010

Review of General Psychology

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There has been significant recent progress in our understanding of human mate choice. We outline several frontiers of rapid cultural change which may increasingly directly affect individual self-evaluation in the mating market, formation and maintenance of long-term partnerships, and potentially reproductive outcome and child health. Specifically, we review evidence for the effects of (1) increasing exposure to mass media, (2) the advent of novel ways to meet potential partners, and (3) cultural influences which may disrupt or alter the expression of evolved mate preferences. We comment on the potential for these effects to influence self-perception and partner-perception, with downstream effects on relationship satisfaction and stability. A common theme emerges, which is that these effects may contribute to relationship dissatisfaction and dissolution, with negative implications for societal change. We then address how we envisage evolutionary psychology research may focus on and offer informed approaches to ameliorate these effects in the future. We picture the development of a field of applied evolutionary psychology, and we suggest that this will increasingly become a central focus for many researchers.

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Contrast effects and judgments of physical attractiveness: When beauty becomes a social problem.

Cited by 328 publications

References 37 publications

Assessing the What Is Beautiful Is Good Stereotype and the Influence of Moderately Attractive and Less Attractive Advertising Models on Self-Perception, Ad Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of 8–13-Year-Old Children

Assessing the What Is Beautiful Is Good Stereotype and the Influence of Moderately Attractive and Less Attractive Advertising Models on Self-Perception, Ad Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of 8–13-Year-Old Children

Contextual contrast in evaluative judgments: A test of pre- versus postintegration models of contrast.

The Future of an Applied Evolutionary Psychology for Human Partnerships

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