Regan, P. C. (2011). Cinderella revisited: Women's appearance modification as a function of target audience sex and attractiveness. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 39(4), 563-576.
The article explains the procedure and findings of a study conducted to investigate the role physical attractiveness plays in the general judgment of a person’s character or personality. In fairytales, the protagonist is typically a physically attractive person who endures trials throughout the stories only to be rewarded with desirable things like true love and everlasting happiness. The antagonist is usually physically repulsive, and in the end, they are punished with death or curses. Such is the format of the famous Cinderella story where the beautiful Cinderella ends up with the prince while the ugly stepsisters end up with bleeding feet. Regan conducts the study because she believes the current social structure is based on the same ideology, although not as clearly defined as in fairytales. She conducts an experiment with young women as the primary subjects. The test is to see whether they will adjust their physical appearance by applying makeup depending on the sex and physical attractiveness of the person they are supposed to interact with. At the end of the study, Regan found that the subject women applied more makeup when they were due to meet an attractive woman more than they did when they were due to meet an attractive man. The subjects applied less makeup than usual when they were due to meet an unattractive woman and even less when they were due to meet an unattractive man. Further, the subjects associated physically attractive people with qualities like strong and warm based only on seeing their headshots. In conclusion, a person's sex and physical attractiveness affect the motivation and effort other people put into their own physical appearance.
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Questions
What physical appearance elements do men alter depending on the physical attractiveness of a date?
What could be the reason behind the subject women applying less makeup when due to meet an unattractive man?
Does the article imply that physically unattractive people have a harder time in society than their attractive counterparts?
Reference
Regan, P. C. (2011). Cinderella revisited: Women's appearance modification as a function of
target audience sex and attractiveness. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 39(4), 563-576.
