This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Dion, K. K. Articles by Dion, K. L. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Stereotyping Physical Attractiveness

A Sociocultural Perspective

University of Toronto

Anita Wan-Ping Pak

University of Toronto

Kenneth L. Dion

University of Toronto

Why does stereotyping based on physical attractiveness occur? We proposed a sociocultural hypothesis that physical attractiveness is less likely to be a salient evaluative cue in cultural contexts where collectivism, rather than individualism, is the basis for the dominant system of values. In collectivist cultures, the group rather than the individual is stressed, suggesting that social judgments, such as first impressions of others, are more likely to be based on group-related attributes (e.g., family, position in a social network), rather than personal or individuating elements, such as physical attractiveness. From this perspective, we predicted that individuals of Chinese ethnicity, who were mostly from Asian Pacific Rim countries and cities and were attending university in Canada, would be less prone to physical attractiveness stereotyping if they reported high involvement in Toronto's Chinese community, rather than low involvement. We suggested that high Chinese community involvement would reinforce and maintain a more collectivist value orientation, which should reduce the likelihood of stereotyping of own-group members based on physical attractiveness for the reasons discussed above. To test this hypothesis, subjects were asked to complete a measure of participation in various aspects of the Chinese community and to rate the personality traits and expected life outcomes of stimulus persons who varied in physical attractiveness. Our sociocultural hypothesis was supported in the case of personality trait ratings (the principal measure in attractiveness stereotyping research), but not on expected life outcome ratings. Implications of these findings for understanding attractiveness stereotyping are discussed.

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 3, 378-398 (1990)
DOI: 10.1177/0022022190213007


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. R. Shaffer, N. Crepaz, and C.-R. Sun Physical Attractiveness Stereotyping in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Similarities and Differences between Americans and Taiwanese Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, September 1, 2000; 31(5): 557 - 582. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Wheeler and Y. Kim What is Beautiful is Culturally Good: The Physical Attractiveness Stereotype has Different Content in Collectivistic Cultures Pers Soc Psychol Bull, August 1, 1997; 23(8): 795 - 800. [Abstract]