Positive illusions about one's partner's physical attractiveness

Barelds-Dijkstra, Pieternel; Barelds, Dick P. H.

doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.07.004

Cited by 33 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Murray et al, 2000). The first aim of the present study was to replicate Barelds‐Dijkstra and Barelds's (2008) findings by showing that both partners of couples indeed perceive their partner to be physically more attractive than their partners perceive themselves (Hypothesis 1).…”

Section: Defining Positive Illusionsmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Barelds‐Dijkstra and Barelds (2008) found that individuals also hold positive illusions about their partner's physical attractiveness. Positive illusions about apartner's physical attractiveness may seem trivial in nature but are certainly not.…”

Section: Positive Illusions and Physical Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Recently, Barelds‐Dijkstra and Barelds (2008) showed that partners indeed hold positive illusions about each other's physical attractiveness, in terms of the definition of Murray and colleagues (2000) and Miller and colleagues (2006). These authors asked couples to fill in the Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi & Herzog, 1986; Franzoi & Shields, 1984) for both themselves and their partners and showed that individuals perceived their partner to be physically more attractive than their partners perceived themselves.…”

Section: Defining Positive Illusionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness and relationship quality

Barelds

Dijkstra

2009

Personal Relationships

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The present research examined the existence of positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness and its relations to relationship quality. Positive illusions were assumed to exist when individuals rated their partner as more attractive than their partner rated him or herself. In two Dutch community samples of 117 and 203 married or cohabiting heterosexual couples, both partners rated their own and their partner's facial and bodily attractiveness. In Study 2, both partners completed three measures of relationship quality. Both studies found evidence for the existence of positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness. Moreover, Study 2 found clear positive illusion actor effects for relationship quality. This association differed by age of couples.

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Section: Defining Positive Illusionsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: Positive Illusions and Physical Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Defining Positive Illusionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness and relationship quality

Barelds

Dijkstra

2009

Personal Relationships

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“…In line with earlier studies on positive illusions (Murray & Holmes, 1997), Barelds-Dijkstra and Barelds (2008) and Barelds and Dijkstra (2009) used partners' perceptions of their own attractiveness as a reality benchmark. One might argue, however, that self-perceptions -and therefore a partner's perception of his or her own physical attractiveness -are rarely unbiased.…”

Section: Defining Positive Illusionsmentioning

confidence: 79%

An assessment of positive illusions of the physical attractiveness of romantic partners

Barelds¹,

Dijkstra

Koudenburg³

et al. 2011

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness occur when individuals' ratings of their partner's attractiveness are more positive than more objective ratings. Ratings that may serve as a''reality benchmark' include ratings by the partner him/herself and observer ratings. The present study compared the effects of using different reality benchmarks on the strength of positive partner physical attractiveness illusions (n ¼ 70 couples). Results showed that individuals positively biased both their own and their partner's physical attractiveness. As a consequence, using a partner's self-ratings as a reality benchmark results in an underestimation of positive illusions. Presenting participants with photographs had a small effect on physical attractiveness ratings provided by women, showing that photographs, to some extent, might constrain positive illusions.

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“…Research has demonstrated that individuals in relationships often enhance their partners' attributes (e.g., Flannagan, Marsh, & Fuhrman, 2005;Fletcher et al, 1999;Helgeson, 1994;Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 1996;Murray & Holmes, 1997;Sprecher, 1999), hold unrealistically optimistic views about the future of their relationships, and have an inflated sense of control over their relationships (Helgeson, 1994;Martz et al, 1998;Murray & Holmes, 1997). Murray et al (1996) However, individuals in committed relationships have also been found to enhance their partners' physical attractiveness above their own attractiveness (Dijkstra & Barelds, 2008;Swami & Furnham, 2008;Swami, Stieger, Haubner, Voracek, & Furnham, 2009). This bias-which has been called the love-is-blind bias-is said to be illusory, as it is statistically impossible for more than half of all partners to be more attractive than their spouses.…”

Section: Positive Illusions In Adults With Disabilities Positive Illmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Illusions in Adolescents: The Relationship Between Academic Self-Enhancement and Depressive Symptomatology

Noble

Heath

Toste

2011

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

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Positive illusions are systematically inflated self-perceptions of competence, and are frequently seen in areas of great difficulty. Although these illusions have been extensively documented in children and adults, the developmental trajectory remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between positive illusions and depressive symptomatology and school stress in a sample of 78 typically developing adolescents. Adolescents who were achieving slightly below average in math significantly overestimated their performance, but adolescents did not overestimate their performance in spelling. Positive illusions in math, but not in spelling, were negatively related to depressive symptomatology. This relationship was mediated by school stress caused by parental control.Implications for positive illusion theory and development are discussed.

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Positive illusions about one's partner's physical attractiveness

Cited by 33 publications

References 46 publications

Positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness and relationship quality

Positive illusions about a partner's physical attractiveness and relationship quality

An assessment of positive illusions of the physical attractiveness of romantic partners

Positive Illusions in Adolescents: The Relationship Between Academic Self-Enhancement and Depressive Symptomatology

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