Effects of the "beauty is good" stereotype on children's information processing

Cephalometric determinants of facial attractiveness: A quadratic correlation study

INTRODUCTION

This research aimed to determine the nonlinear correlation between lateral cephalometric measurements and facial attractiveness, evaluated in the frontal and profile views. A quadratic correlation was studied, in which the vertex of the function indicates the cephalometric value corresponding to the maximum attractiveness.

METHODS

Frontal and profile facial attractiveness of 60 patients with Class I (n = 20), Class II (n = 20), or Class III malocclusion (n = 20) aged 18-35 years without previous orthodontic treatment was evaluated by 14 laypersons (7 men and 7 women) with a visual analog scale. Soft- and hard-tissue measurements were collected on lateral cephalometric radiographs. Pearson and nonlinear quadratic correlations between the attractiveness of the face and cephalometric measurements were calculated. Maximum attractiveness values (MxAt) were determined for the significant cephalometric variables.

RESULTS

Significant quadratic correlations were found between frontal facial attractiveness and the following variables: Ls-SnPog' (r = 0.45; MxAt = 3.1 mm), Li-SnPog' (r = 0.41; MxAt = 3.8 mm), the ANB angle (r = 0.42; MxAt = 0.2°) and MPA (r = 0.51; MxAt = 31.9°). Profile attractiveness correlated nonlinearly with Ls-SnPog' (r = 0.42; MxAt = 3.2 mm), Li-SnPog' (r = 0.41; MxAt = 3.9 mm) and MPA (r = 0.46; MxAt = 32.4°).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant quadratic correlations were found between facial attractiveness and cephalometric measurements, which were stronger than linear correlations. The maximum attractiveness points indicated a tendency for laypeople to consider a more protrusive lower lip and an ANB angle lower than the norm as the most attractive.

Discrepancies between explicit and implicit evaluation of aesthetic perception ability in individuals with autism: a potential way to improve social functioning

Background

The capacity to evaluate beauty plays a crucial role in social behaviour and social relationships. It is known that some characteristics of beauty are important social cues that can induce stereotypes or promote different behavioural expectations. Another crucial capacity for success in social interactions is empathy, i.e. the ability to understand and share others’ mental and emotional states. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have an impairment of empathic ability. We showed in a previous study that empathy and aesthetic perception abilities closely related. Indeed, beauty can affect different aspects of empathic behaviour, and empathy can mediate the aesthetic perception in typically developing (TD) individuals. Thus, this study evaluates the ability of aesthetic perception in ASD individuals compared to TD individuals, using the Golden Beauty behavioural task adapted for eye-tracking in order to acquire both explicit and implicit evidences. In both groups, the relationship between empathic and aesthetic perception abilities was also evaluated.

Methods

Ten ASD individuals (age ± SD:20.7 ± 4.64) and ten TD individuals (age ± SD:20.17 ± 0.98) participated in the study. Participants underwent empathy tasks and then the Golden Beauty task. To assess differences in the participants’ performance, we carried out a repeated measures general linear model.

Results

At the explicit level, our behavioural results show an impairment in aesthetic perception ability in ASD individuals. This inability could have relevance for their ability to experience pleasure during social interactions. However, at the implicit level (eye-tracking results), ASD individuals conserved a good ability to feel aesthetic pleasure during the Golden Beauty task, thus indicating a discrepancy between the explicit and implicit evaluation of the beauty task. Finally, beauty perception appears to be linked to empathy when neither of these capacities is compromised, as demonstrated in the TD group. In contrast, this link is missed in ASD individuals.

Conclusion

Overall, our results clearly show that individuals with autism are not completely blind to aesthetic pleasure: in fact, they retain an implicit ability to experience beauty. These findings could pave the way for the development of new protocols to rehabilitate ASD social functioning, exploiting their conserved implicit aesthetic perception.

Body image and peer relationships: Unique associations of adolescents' social status and competence with peer- and self-reported appearance victimization

Adolescents were asked to nominate peers who experience appearance-related victimization or engage in appearance-related aggression, in order to examine the peer social status and competency correlates of receiving more nominations. Moreover, the correlates of peer-report vs. self-report appearance-related victimization were considered. Participants were 371 young Australian adolescents (55% girls, M_age = 12.0 years) who completed surveys. Results showed that victimized adolescents were rated as less liked, prosocial, popular and good-looking, and perceived themselves to be less attractive, less competent at sport and more teased by peers about appearance. Aggressive adolescents were rated as more popular and better looking, but also less prosocial. Aggressive adolescents also perceived themselves to be less academically but more romantically competent, and reported more appearance anxiety symptoms. Findings from peer-report measures generally support previous research findings using self-report measures, but the significant correlates did appear to differ between peer- and self-report of appearance victimization.

Attentional and affective biases for attractive females emerge early in development

Predominant experience with females early in development results in infants developing an attractive, female-like facial representation that guides children's attention toward and affective preferences for attractive females. When combined with increased interest in the other sex at puberty, these early emerging biases might help explain the robust prosocial and financial biases men exhibit toward attractive women during adulthood.

Systematic Review: Psychosocial Interventions for Children and Young People With Visible Differences Resulting From Appearance Altering Conditions, Injury, or Treatment Effects

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate critically the evidence of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for children/young people (<18 years old) with visible differences in improving self-esteem, social experiences, psychological well-being, and behavioral outcomes.

METHODS

Studies were systematically identified using electronic databases, appraised according to eligibility criteria and evaluated for risk of bias. Findings were reported using the PRISMA checklist.

RESULTS

Studies were identified that evaluated residential social camps, exercise with counseling, social skills training (SIST), behavioral therapy (BT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Risk of bias within studies was high. Camp studies and exercise with counseling showed little or no effect postintervention on self-esteem, social experiences, and psychological well-being. The five studies evaluating SIST, CBT, and BT provided limited support for their effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence base is inconclusive. Further rigorous research using appropriate outcome measures to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for young people with visible differences is required.

Children's beliefs in reciprocation of biases and flexibility

Children display positive and negative biases based on peers' attractiveness, gender, and race, but it is unclear whether children who associate positive attributes with certain peers also believe those peers think positively of them. In each domain (attractiveness, gender, and race), we measured 3- to 11-year-olds' (N = 102) biases and flexibility and their beliefs in reciprocity of bias and flexibility by asking who would think positively of them. Children could choose one of two unfamiliar peers (forced choice assessment) or had the additional options of choosing both peers or neither peer (non-forced choice assessment). We found that children often displayed beliefs in reciprocation, with beliefs in positive bias reciprocation from attractive girls showing the largest effect sizes. These beliefs were significantly correlated with and were predictive of children's positive and negative biases and flexibility. The duality of children's beliefs may contribute to strengthening their biases and segregating social groups.

Children's classification and lexicalization of attractiveness, gender, and race: differential displays of these concepts and relatedness to bias and flexibility

Minimal research has examined children's functional use of attractiveness to classify and label others, an important step in the development of children's biases. This study compared 3- to 11-year-olds' classification, sorting, and labeling of others and themselves based on attractiveness, gender, and race and also investigated whether these abilities and other characteristics predicted children's bias and flexibility. Relative to gender and race, children rarely used attractiveness to spontaneously classify people and were less accurate at sorting and labeling others and themselves by attractiveness, suggesting that they have a less explicit concept of attractiveness. Predictors of bias differed depending on domain and assessment method (forced choice or non-forced choice), showing that children's bias is affected by both individual differences and task characteristics. Predictors of flexibility differed based on whether children were assigning positive or negative traits to target children, demonstrating that the valence of attributes is an important consideration when conceptualizing children's flexibility.

Children's attractiveness, gender, and race biases: a comparison of their strength and generality

Although research suggests that facial attractiveness biases significantly affect social development and interactions, these biases are understudied in the developmental literature and are overlooked when designing interventions relative to gender and race. The authors, therefore, compared how much bias 3- to 11-year-olds (N = 102) displayed in the three domains. They also examined whether bias and flexibility (understanding that different social groups can possess similar attributes) were related across domains. Children's attractiveness biases, particularly for girl targets, were as strong as or stronger than gender or race biases. Flexibility, but not bias, was related across domains. Developmental scientists and policy makers should increase efforts toward understanding development of attractiveness biases and determine which methods of teaching flexibility are most successful at reducing bias across domains.

Children and adults use attractiveness as a social cue in real people and avatars

Observing social interactions between children and adults is a major method in the toolkit of psychologists who examine social development and social relationships. Although this method has revealed many interesting phenomena, it cannot determine the effect of behavior independent of other traits. Research on the role of attractiveness in social development provides an example of this conundrum: Are attractive and unattractive children/adults treated differently because of their attractiveness (independent of their behavior), do they behave differently and thus elicit differential treatment, or both? Virtual world and avatar-based technologies allow researchers to control the social behaviors of targets; however, whether children and adults use the facial attractiveness of avatars as a social cue in the same way as they do with real peers is currently unknown. Using Mii avatars from the popular Nintendo Wii video game console, Study 1 found that the facial attractiveness ratings of real people strongly predicted the attractiveness ratings of avatar faces based on the former group. Study 2 revealed that adults (n=46) and children (n=42) prefer attractive avatars as social partners. The results of this set of methodological studies may help to clarify future research on the relationship between attractiveness and behavior throughout the lifespan. Furthermore, the use of avatars may allow studies to experimentally examine the effects of attractiveness in situations where such research is not ethical (e.g., peer victimization).

ERP differences between processing of physical characteristics and personality attributes

Background

Limited data from behavioral and brain-imaging studies indicate that personality traits and physical characteristics are processed differently by the brain. Additionally, electrophysiological results of studies comparing the processing of positive and negative words have produced mixed results. It is therefore not clear how physical and personality attributes with emotional valence (i.e., positive and negative valence) are processed. Thus, this study aimed to examine the neural activity associated with words describing personality traits and physical characteristics with positive or negative emotional valence using Event Related Potentials (ERPs).

Methods

A sample of 15 healthy adults (7 men, 8 women) participated in a computerized word categorization task. Participants were asked to categorize visual word stimuli as physical characteristics or personality traits, while ERPs were recorded synchronously.

Results

Behavioral reaction times to negative physical stimuli were shorter compared to negative personality words, however reaction times did not significantly differ for positive stimuli. Electrophysiological results showed that personality stimuli elicited larger P2 and LPC (Late Positive Component) amplitudes compared to physical stimuli, regardless of negative or positive valence. Moreover, negative as compared with positive stimuli elicited larger P2 and LPC amplitudes.

Conclusion

Personality and physical stimuli were processed differently regardless of positive or negative valence. These findings suggest that personality traits and physical characteristics are differentially classified and are associated with different motivational significance.

Peer Victimization as a Mediator of the Relation between Facial Attractiveness and Internalizing Problems

This study examined the relations between facial attractiveness, peer victimization, and internalizing problems in early adolescence. We hypothesized that experiences of peer victimization would partially mediate the relationship between attractiveness and internalizing problems. Ratings of attractiveness were obtained from standardized photographs of participants (93 girls, 82 boys). Teachers provided information regarding peer victimization experiences in sixth grade, and seventh grade teachers assessed internalizing problems. Attractiveness was negatively correlated with victimization and internalizing problems. Experiences of peer victimization were positively correlated with internalizing problems. Structural equation modeling provided support for the hypothesized model of peer victimization partially mediating the relationship between attractiveness and internalizing problems. Implications for intervention programs and future research directions are discussed.

The direct effect of thin ideal focused adult television on young girls' ideal body figure

The present study tested the direct effect of watching thin-ideal focused television aimed at (young) adults on body dissatisfaction in preadolescent girls (9-12 years old). A within-subject design was used in which the girls (N=60) were tested three times. They watched three movie clips in random order that were either focused explicitly (thin-ideal program) or indirectly (soap opera) on the thin ideal or were neutral in content. Afterwards, they filled out questionnaires concerning their body dissatisfaction. Only older preadolescent girls (11-12 years old) showed greater body dissatisfaction after watching the thin-ideal focused television clip than after watching the neutral television clip. After watching thin-ideal focused television, they desired a thinner body figure than after watching neutral television. The findings imply that watching (adult) thin-ideal television directly affects the ideal body figure in older preadolescent girls.

Facial attractiveness as a moderator of the association between social and physical aggression and popularity in adolescents

This study examined the relations between facial attractiveness, aggression, and popularity in adolescence to determine whether facial attractiveness would buffer against the negative effects of aggression on popularity. We collected ratings of facial attractiveness from standardized photographs, and teachers provided information on adolescents' social aggression, physical aggression, and popularity for 143 seventh graders (70 girls). Regression analyses indicated that facial attractiveness moderated the relations between both types of aggression and popularity. Aggression was associated with a reduction in popularity for adolescents low on facial attractiveness. However, popularity did not decrease as a function of aggression for adolescents high on facial attractiveness. Aggressors with high facial attractiveness may experience fewer negative consequences to their social standing, thus contributing to higher overall rates of aggression in school settings.

Da imagem visual do rosto humano: simetria, textura e padrão

Desde a idade antiga, a proporção é uma parte importante dos cânones da beleza, ainda que os gregos e os romanos tenham um conceito muito mais amplo sobre o tema do que a civilização contemporânea: a simetria era para eles não apenas o que se entende como simetria especular, senão, também, a proporção correta; e compreendia além do traçado antropométrico, o conjunto visual - com efeito: a textura da pele, o nível de atração do rosto frente aos padrões de beleza desejados - que a aproximava de uma imagem esteticamente bela. O objetivo deste estudo é realizar uma breve discussão a respeito das questões correspondentes à socioantropologia corporal a partir do rosto humano frente aos padrões contemporâneos de imagem e beleza. Em suma, simetria, textura e padrões faciais, além de biológicos, devem ser considerados constructos culturais que apresentam uma grande diversidade de estados e que suscitam imensa gama de atitudes.

Peer acceptance and social behavior during childhood and adolescence: How important are appearance, athleticism, and academic competence?

Efforts to identify factors associated with peer acceptance have historically focused on behavioral and social cognitive processes, whereas less empirical attention has focused on the impact of children's other personal attributes and competencies that are not inherently a component of social competence. The current study examined the association of three such nonsocial attributes — physical attractiveness, athleticism, and academic competence — with peer acceptance and whether these associations vary as a function of gender and development. In addition, we examined the extent to which peer perceptions of these attributes were associated with positive and negative patterns of social behavior and whether child attributes accounted for unique variance in peer acceptance above and beyond indices of social behavior. Use of a large ( N = 3183) sample of students in grades 2—10 allowed examination of whether the associations of child attributes, social behavior, and peer acceptance varied as a function of development or gender. All three attributes consistently accounted for unique variance in social acceptance and behavior, although their relative importance varied. Child gender and grade level were significant, but not universal, moderators of these associations.

The social impact of children's dentofacial appearance

AIM

To assess the influence of dentofacial appearance of 10-year-old children on interpersonal attractiveness.

STUDY DESIGN

Survey.

METHODS

Four sets of photographs were prepared, having as their initial models facial portraits of four boys and four girls. In each set facial portraits were presented in four situations: the original, harmonic face and three versions produced by a graphic computing program, classified as the class II, class III and long face syndromes. These photographs were shown to 802 schoolchildren so that they could choose which one they would most and which one they would least, want to have as a friend. Also they were asked which one they considered the most and the least aggressive, the most and least intelligent and the most and the least good-looking.

RESULTS

The harmonic face was the predominant choice in the friendship dimension (68.9%), as for intelligence (46.8%), and regarding attractiveness for males (55.4%) and females (61.7%); as regards aggressiveness, class III was the predominant choice (57.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

There is an association between harmonic and unharmonic facial appearances and interpersonal attractiveness in 10-year-old Brazilian children.

Origins of a stereotype: categorization of facial attractiveness by 6-month-old infants

Like adults, young infants prefer attractive to unattractive faces (e.g. Langlois, Roggman, Casey, Ritter, Rieser-Danner & Jenkins, 1987; Slater, von der Schulenburg, Brown, Badenoch, Butterworth, Parsons & Samuels, 1998). Older children and adults stereotype based on facial attractiveness (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani & Longo, 1991; Langlois, Kalakanis, Rubenstein, Larson, Hallam & Smooth, 2000). How do preferences for attractive faces develop into stereotypes? Several theories of stereotyping posit that categorization of groups is necessary before positive and negative traits can become linked to the groups (e.g. Taifel, Billig, Bundy & Flament, 1971; Zebrowitz-McArthur, 1982). We investigated whether or not 6-month-old infants can categorize faces as attractive or unattractive. In Experiment 1, we familiarized infants to unattractive female faces; in Experiment 2, we familiarized infants to attractive female faces and tested both groups of infants on novel faces from the familiar or novel attractiveness category. Results showed that 6-month-olds categorized attractive and unattractive female faces into two different groups of faces. Experiments 3 and 4 confirmed that infants could discriminate among the faces used in Experiments 1 and 2, and therefore categorized the faces based on their similarities in attractiveness rather than because they could not differentiate among the faces. These findings suggest that categorization of facial attractiveness may underlie the development of the 'beauty is good' stereotype.