Exploiting the beauty in the eye of the beholder: The use of physical attractiveness as a persuasive tactic

It is commonly perceived that women have greater success than men in using their physical attractiveness to persuade members of the opposite-sex to do favors. The current study is the first to empirically test this notion. One hundred and ninety men and women reported their experiences with the use of physical attractiveness as a persuasive tactic between themselves and members of the opposite-sex. Among the results, women reported more frequently having success with the tactic than did men and men reported more frequently having been successfully persuaded by the tactic than did women. Discussion argues that as women age beyond their 20s, they are increasingly less likely to have success with the tactic. Also discussed is how individuals’ attempts to reduce cognitive dissonance associated with use of the tactic may affect their reporting and use of it. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In an episode of the situation-comedy Seinfeld, Jerry’s attractive girlfriend persuades a male manager at a movie theater to sell them tickets for a movie that is already sold out. She also dissuades a male traffic patrolman from writing a ticket after he stops Jerry for speeding. Similarly, in a recent British reality TV show, simply by being friendly, four attractive young women were able to persuade three young men, whom they had met briefly the day before, to carry out heavy construction work under the sub-tropical sun at the women’s villa. The men even assented to the women’s requests to refill their drinks as they lay sunbathing beside the pool. These snippets from popular culture illustrate a notion prevalent in the popular imagination. This is that, without engaging in sexual relations, women more than men are able to successfully use their physical attractiveness to persuade opposite-sex individuals to do favors involving the provision of services or economic resources. Implicit in the notion is that, unlike individuals using their physical attractiveness to secure mates, individuals using their physical attractiveness as a persuasive tactic give the impression that they are sexually attracted to the persuadees when, in fact, they are not attracted to them. Moreover, as the examples indicate, the notion is most closely associated with favors done between individuals who are relative strangers or who do not know each other well. The notion is further expressed in the archetypical female figures of the ‘‘gold digger,” who uses her beauty to extract cash or gifts from men without necessarily engaging in sexual relations, and the ‘‘femme fatale,” who uses her sexual allure to entice men into compromising situations. It is also illustrated in the beliefs that attractive women have little trouble getting men to give them a ride when they are hitchhiking or help them change a flat tyre. The perception is supported by the prevalence of gentlemen’s clubs, in which ‘‘exotic dancers” are able to extract substantial sums of money from men without engaging in sexual relations with them. The use of physical attractiveness as a persuasive tactic may involve enhancing one’s appearance through personal grooming and highlighting one’s bodily features by wearing tight or revealing clothing (e.g., Tooke & Camire, 1991). Moreover, as it is designed to evoke romantic or sexual interest, it may be considered synonymous with flirting and behaviors such as smiling, touching, and sustaining eye contact (e.g., Moore, 1985). As studies indicate that both men and women value physical attractiveness in a mate (e.g., Hill, 1945; Li, Bailey, Kenrick, & Linsenmeier, 2002), it is expected that both women and men use it as a tactic to persuade opposite-sex individuals. To the best of our knowledge, the only empirical findings concerning the degree to which men and women use physical attractiveness as a persuasive tactic have been secured from investigations into negotiations between individuals of unequal power or status. For instance, Salter, Grammer, and Rikowski (2005) investigated whether subordinate men and women use different tactics when attempting to obtain concessions from powerful males. Salter et al. found that for female but not male patrons 0191-8869/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.016 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 561 809 2814; fax: +1 954 236 1099. E-mail address: [email protected] (A.P.C. Davies). Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 302–306