Beauty and attractiveness are some of the essential life’s components that determine those that one ends up having as life partners or close friends. The following paper seeks to discuss three articles which include “Why I hate beauty” by Michael Levine and Hara Estroff Marano, “What is beautiful is good” by Karen Dion Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster, and “ The ability to judge the romantic interest of others” by Skyler S. Place, Peter M. Todd, Lars Penke, and Jens B. Asendorpf. The paper wishes to posit that both men and women live in fantasies by being deceived by what they consider as attractive.
Summary of the Three Articles and Comparison
Why I hate beauty, by Michael Levine with Hara Estroff Marano
According to Michael Levine and Hara Estroff Marano, who have authored the article, “Why I hate beauty”, men are excited with images that show extraordinary beauty of women in the media who are surprisingly unobtainable (Levine & Marano, 2001) . In this way, it is challenging and arduous for men to desire what is considered as the natural beauty of women.
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In the introductory sections of the article, the two authors note that beauty has led to hyped feelings and conflicts among men and that women do what it takes to become beautiful. At the same time, scholars have tried their best to deconstruct people’s impulse to obtain beauty (Levine & Marano, 2001) . According to the author, although human beings have gone extra miles to show his attachment to natural and artificial beauty, “he hates beauty”.
At a personal level, the author argues that he has had the privilege to not only live in what is likely to be the most beautiful capital of the world but also has had the enviable opportunity to work alongside beautiful women (Levine & Marano, 2001) . The women show their attractiveness and youthfulness in their supple waists and smooth bodies. The author observes that women, and more so their beauty are not only the exemplars of the design of nature in detonating desire that is hidden in men, but they also trigger yearnings for companionship that can be traced back to ancestral mating dances.
However, it is surprising that after narrating the value of women’s beauty, the author notes that the same beauty has been driving him nuts (Levine & Marano, 2001) . According to the author, although he is successful in life, divorce has made him alone and single.
Based on the above observation, the author wishes to draw the science of “contrast effect” in relation to beauty. The author notes that he does not become happier or restful that the contrast effect of attractiveness is also affecting others in the society. The author observes that as a writer on marketing issues, he has been able to know the contrast of effect as a principle of perception where there is an exaggeration of differences found in two things based on the order that is used in presenting the same things (Levine & Marano, 2001). In giving an example of this explanation, the author notes that if one were to lift a light object first before lifting a heavier one, there would be a high possibility that the second object will be judged heavier than when one had lifted it solo or first (Levine & Marano, 2001). According to the psychologists Douglas Kenrick, Ph.D. and Sara Gutierres, Ph.D. from the Arizona State University, the principle of contrast effect also works on the issue of person-to-person attraction. Based on the studies carried out by the two psychologists for two decades, they have indicated that human beings can suspect judgments of the attractiveness of themselves and others depending on the prevailing situations that they find themselves in. The author has given an example that an averagely attractive woman may be seen to be less attractive if the person viewing her has previously seen a highly attractive woman (Levine & Marano, 2001). At the same time, the contrast effect can also work in reverse such that a woman who is averagely attractive may be seen to be more attractive than she is after she gets into a place that has unattractive women. In this way, the author argues that it is prudent also to consider the context when understanding the contrast of effect.
Further, the author has explained the contrast effect from the studies by both Gutierres and Kenrick who intended to show the exact impact of the principle on both women and men. Based on the studies conducted by the two psychologists, researchers have found that the contrast effect not only influences people’s evaluations of strangers but also their perspective on their mates (Levine & Marano, 2001). At the same time, the contrast effect also sways self-evaluations of attractiveness. The psychologists found that women who are surrounded by more attractive women either in real life or movies and photos are likely to consider themselves as less beautiful and less desirable as marriage partners.
In light of the above reality, the author has noted that although very attractive women surround him as the head of a public relations firm, such exposure has made him unable to love those women who are ordinarily beautiful in the real world (Levine & Marano, 2001). Surprisingly, the author has noted that the ordinarily beautiful women are the ones who are likely to meet his needs of deep partnership with the soul and connection. The study by the psychologists indicates that the contrast effect also affects the men’s feelings towards their partners after they (men) are exposed to more attractive women.
The author emphasizes that beauty triggers emotional connection, but unfortunately it is one of the causes of increased rates of divorces and separations (Levine & Marano, 2001). Men and women spend a lot of time in their homes as single and lonely as they expect to find partners who are as beautiful and handsome as what they see in films, photos or even as they go along the streets. Consequently, it is this reality that makes the author says that “he hates beauty”, but at the same time, he loves it.
"What is Beautiful is Good" by Karen Dion, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster
As is the case with the argument made by the authors of the article, “Why I hate beauty”, Karen Dion, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster , who are the authors of "What is Beautiful is Good" argue that although verbal descriptions can influence first impressions, visual appearance tend to dominate the first impressions among human beings who are basically visual creatures. In the article “ Why I hate beauty”, the author has emphasized on the role that perception play in the contrast effect whereby men and women base their love to each other on what they see. In this way, the authors of the two articles are in agreement that since humans are visual in nature, what they see affects their interpretations and their daily lives. On this end, it is not surprising that Dr . Ellen Berscheid, who is a University of Minnesota’s Professor of Psychology found powerful effects of physical attractiveness or beauty in almost every conceivable type of social interaction that he studied for over two decades.
On the other hand, while the author of “ Why I hate beauty” has discussed the contrast of effect, the authors of "What is Beautiful is good" have introduced the “halo effect” to the readers. According to these authors, beauty and attractiveness play a pivotal role in creating this effect. The authors have noted that the halo effect is the positive assessment that makes observers think well of everything that is connected to them. The authors of the article, Dion, Berscheid, and Walster summarized their findings based on the people attitudes. In the study, the subjects were given people’s photographs in which they were to be rated based on three variables; good, bad, or neutral. After that, the subjects were required to evaluate the photographs on other variables or dimensions.
The findings were not only consistent but also clear. In relation to the unattractive people, the physically attractive ones were rated by the subjects as being more intelligent, sociable, healthier, as well as morally upright. Some other variables used included how altruistic, exciting, genuine, sensitive, outgoing, poised, bold or sincere people would be. The results showed that attractive people scored highly compared to the unattractive ones (Dion, Berscheid & Walster, 1972).
The main difference between the two articles is that in the “Why I hate beauty” the author only focused on the impact of contrast effect on the relationship between men and women while the authors of the "What is Beautiful is Good” focused on the impact of halo effect on how people judge others based on different dimensions. However, the titles of the two articles cannot be taken to mean just as they appear. In this regard, it is clear that in the first article the author does not hate beauty while in the second article the author stresses that what is beautiful may not necessarily be good in reality.
“ The ability to judge the romantic interest of others”, by Skyler S. Place, Peter M. Todd, Lars Penke, and Jens B. Asendorpf
The article, “ The ability to judge the romantic interest of others”, by Skyler S. Place, Peter M. Todd, Lars Penke, and Jens B. Asendorpf emphasize that the knack of judging others’ romantic level of interest both towards others and oneself is one of the adaptively valuable skills when people are choosing suitable mates to pursue. The authors of this article tested the abilities of people through the use of individuals’ videos on speed dates as stimuli. In the study, both female and male observers were seen to be scoring the same in terms of predicting the levels of interest. However, both genders were found to be more accurate when deducing the interest of males whereby the female interest predictions were only above chance. The researchers discovered that the subjects were able to correctly predict interest using stimuli that were as short as 10 seconds. At the same time, the observers would be found performing at their best levels when they were watching clips of the end or middle of the speed date.
According to the results and findings, there was considerable variability existing between daters, whereby some were apparently masking their real intentions, but others were very easy to read. In addition, researchers found that there was variability among observers. Based on the results, the authors concluded that the findings showed the ability to read nonverbal behaviors quickly in choosing mates is present in not only those in the realm of interaction but also for the third party observers (Place et al., 2009).
Apparently, there are several differences and similarities between this article and the previous ones. First, the authors have conducted their research and findings unlike in the previous two articles. Secondly, the authors have focused on nonverbal behavior in choosing partners but not physical appearance. One of the similarities is that all articles have concentrated on the effectiveness of both male and females in interpreting what they see.
Discussion
The above articles are instrumental in explaining the effect of what both women and men see and consider as appealing in their own judgment. The critical aspect of all the three articles is that they help in showing how false or correct judgments among men and women affects the lives in terms of those that they end up having as partners.
As can be deduced from the three articles, the authors are in agreement that observers or people are deceived in most cases by what they see. In this case, most men and women live in a world of fantasies thus wasting a lot of their precious time as loners.
Conclusion
Based on the above articles, it is clear that both men and women live in fantasies by being deceived by what they consider as attractive. In this case, individuals need to scrutinize what they see and make well-informed decisions closely. The fact is that people should not take what they see in photos, films, TVs or magazine as the reality.
References
Dion, K., Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1972). What is beautiful is good. Journal of personality and social psychology , 24 (3), 285.
Levine, M., & Marano, H. E. (2001). WHY I HATE BEAUTY. Psychology Today , 34 (4), 38.
Place, S. S., Todd, P. M., Penke, L., & Asendorpf, J. B. (2009). The ability to judge the romantic interest of others. Psychological Science , 20 (1), 22-26.
