Abstract
Male and female judges were given photographs, previously scaled as high, moderate, or low in physical attractiveness, and were asked to record their impressions of the stimulus persons on an adjective checklist. The results showed high attractiveness to be associated with positive traits, the reverse holding for low attractiveness. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that, in a first-impression situation, a person’s level of attractiveness may evoke in a perceiver a consistent set of expectancies by a process of trait inference. This kind of process accords well with previous research relating physical attractiveness to interpersonal processes.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
ARONSON, E., & COPE, V. My enemy’s enemy is my friend. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 1968, 8, 8–12.
BRUNER, J. S., SHAPIRO, D., & TAGIURI, R. The meaning of traits in isolation and in combination. In R. Tagiuri and L. Petrullo (Eds.), Person perception and interpersonal behavior. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1958. Pp. 276–288.
BYRNE, D., CLORE, G. L., JR., & GRIFFITT, W. Response discrepancy versus attitude similarity-dissimilarity as determinants of attraction. Psychonomic Science, 1967, 7, 397–398.
BYRNE, D., LONDON, O., & REEVES, K. The effects of physical attractiveness, sex, and attitude similarity on interpersonal attraction. Journal of Personality, 1968, 36, 259–271.
JACKSON, D. N., & MINTON, H. L. A forced-choice adjective preference scale for personality assessment. Psychological Reports, 1963, 12, 515–520.
MILLER, A. G. Social perception of internal-external control. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 1970, 30, 103–109.
MILLS, J., & ARONSON, E. Opinion change as a function of the communicator’s attractiveness and desire to influence. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 1965, 1, 173–177.
NEWCOMB, T. M. The acquaintance process. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1961.
ROTTER, J. B. Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 1966, 80, 1 (Whole No. 609).
SIGALL, H., & ARONSON, E. Liking for an evaluator as a function of her physical attractiveness and nature of the evaluations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1969, 5, 93–100.
WALSTER, E., ARONSON, V., ABRAHAMS, D., & ROTTMANN, L. Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 1966, 4, 508–516.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The writer would like to thank Wesley Penn and Betty Jerger for their assistance and David Probert of the Miami University Computing Center.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, A.G. Role of physical attractiveness in impression formation. Psychon Sci 19, 241–243 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328797
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328797