Cash, T.F. & Janda, L.H. (1984, December). The eye of the beholder. Psychology Today.

OVERVIEW

The current obsession with body image, so conspicuous in advertising and the media, is producing a new set of ideals, expectations, and pressures upon people to maximize their personal appearance. It affects everyone from young children and teens to "yuppies" and the "greying" segment of America. These physical expectations are pushing people to exercise, wear special clothing, undergo cosmetic surgery, and fall victim to anorexia. Some of the young seem even use punk styles in reaction to this pressure. The extent of these reactions pleads for special studies.

PURPOSE

This study attempts to explore the role appearance plays in judging people.

DESIGN

This research continues the 1974 study of Ellen Berscherd of the University of Minnesota and Elaine Walster of the University of Wisconsin which showed that the more attractive a person is, the more often are desirable characteristics attributed to him or her by others.

Cash and Janda developed the Winstead-Cash Body Self-Relations Questionnaire. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted in the research labs of cosmetic and plastic surgeons, in psychiatrists’ offices, and in classrooms. A survey of the perceived characteristics of a person based on physical appearance was conducted among seventy-two personnel consultants. These consultants worked with packets of pictures and resumes. In each case the resumes were the same but the pictures were different.

RESULTS

Attractive women were perceived as more feminine. A common response was "What is beautiful is sex typed." Attractive men were favored over less attractive men in competition for all jobs. For non-feminine jobs, less attractive women were favored. Feminine grooming was perceived as less managerial, less financially responsible, sexier, more helpless, and less self-confident than grooming in a less sex-typed style.

Less attractive people tend to respond to the phrase "What is beautiful is good" with the statement "What is beautiful is self-centered." Marital break-ups were said to occur more commonly between those mismatched in terms of attractiveness. But how people view their own level of attractiveness has very little correlation to how others view them.

CONCLUSION

There are definite stereotypes regarding physical attractiveness and perceived attributes identified with beauty. Definitely, attractive people are preferred for dates, jobs, friendships, and marriage. But there are also "thorns on the rose of beauty."

IMPLICATIONS

1. People are insecure in their basic sense of identity in a modern, secular, technological society because their identity is based on comparisons made with negative reference points. The tyranny of the media imposes a physical self-consciousness on those who view it, and some are much more vulnerable to personal self-criticism than others. Consequently, each person in our society must fight to discover and maintain a healthy sense of his or her own personal identity and self-image. Parents should watch the development of each child’s self-image.
2. Teachers need to help students critique the media and society’s superficial stereotypes. Students also need the sensitivity and affirmation of teachers in their own development.
3. Youth workers have an opportunity to provide kids a message that cuts across the insidious values of society.