Contrast Effects and Judgments of Physical Attractiveness: When Beauty Becomes a Social Problem

Three studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that judgments of average females' attractiveness or dating desirability will be adversely affected by exposing judges to extremely attractive prior stimuli (i.e., judgments will show a "contrast effect"). Study 1 was a field study in which male dormitory residents watching a popular TV show, whose main characters are three strikingly attractive females, were asked to rate a photo of an average female (described as a potential blind date for another dorm resident). These subjects rated the target female as significantly less attractive than did a comparable control group. Two other studies demonstrated analogous effects in a more controlled laboratory setting. In addition, the third study indicated a direct effect of informational social influence on physical attractiveness judgments. Implications are discussed, with particular attention to mass media impact.