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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
Description
In today’s society we see a strong encouragement of those who put effort into various aspects of their life. Additionally, we also see a strong push towards making oneself more attractive to reap social benefits. However, a paradox exists between effort and attractiveness. In a society that values both effort and attractiveness, why do we see negative reactions to those who put effort into their appearance, and can we make these effects go away? How can cosmetic companies alter those reactions to suit their advertising needs? Through a pretest and a main study we show how consumers react to differing amounts of perceived effort in a cosmetic product, and how we can alter the effect that effort has by priming consumers with the idea of their ‘natural self’ vs. their ‘ideal’ self.
ContributorsDaniels, Michelle Elizabeth (Author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Montoya, Detra (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study investigated the potential influence of scent on women's mood and perceptions of men's attractiveness. Participants were 58 heterosexual female college students between the ages of 18-35 who were in decent health, did not smoke, and were not pregnant or nursing. They were asked to rate the physical attractiveness, datability, likability, sexual desirability, and perceived age of men in photographs. Photographs were taken from two online databases. During the ratings, the participants were exposed to either a pleasant scent with the putative human pheromone androstadienone or to the same pleasant scent without the pheromone (between subjects design). Analysis of covariance was used to compare effects of pheromone on ratings and pheromone on mood. Although there was a pheromone effect, it was not in the predicted direction. Participants gave higher ratings on datability when smelling the fragrance without the pheromone, suggesting the pheromone actually seemed to cause lower ratings of this quality. On the other hand, the scent with the pheromone may have reduced an increase in negative moods from pre- to post-task. Scent pleasantness was discovered to be an important predictor of both photo ratings and changes in mood during the photo rating session. Although the current study did not provide further evidence that androstadienone is associated with higher attractiveness ratings, it did support the idea that the pheromone may influence mood.
ContributorsDuncan, Cayla Jessica (Author) / Burleson, Mary (Thesis director) / Roberts, Nicole (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Testosterone (T) is a steroid hormone that affects behavior and reproductive traits (e.g. spermatogenesis and ornamentation) in vertebrates. In addition to long-term influences, T can rapidly increase in males following aggressive male-male encounters. Less is known how females directly influence male T and behavior, though research with humans suggests that sexually attractive females elicit a greater increase in male T and reproductive behavior than unattractive females. In birds, the influence of female attractiveness on male T and behavior is currently untested. We hypothesized that T and courtship behavior in male zebra finches would correlate with female attractiveness. We used red leg bands to make females "attractive" and green bands to make them "unattractive" (unbanded females were controls) as previous research suggests that zebra finches prefer red colors over green in mating contexts. We collected blood from males before and after "speed-dating" trials to measure changes in plasma T and analyzed male courtship behaviors from trial video recordings. The likelihood of plasma T increasing after a trial was significantly greater in males who were with red-banded females compared to control females, suggesting males may find them more attractive than green or control females. Additionally, independent of band color, males who exhibited greater T differences initiated courtship sooner and spent more time closest to females. However, courtship initiation and time spent near females were not correlated with band color. Overall, our results suggest that female attractiveness can influence male reproductive physiology, but the presence of a female may trigger male courtship behavior.
ContributorsBero-Buell, Brianna Danielle (Author) / McGraw, Kevin (Thesis director) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Ligon, Russell (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Humans are intrigued, drawn to, inspired by beautiful things. Various philosophers and
social commentators have contributed to this essential inquiry: what is Beauty? And
furthermore, are there objective patterns within what different people consider beautiful? I will
explore this through both the lenses of physical beauty and character beauty. In faces, there is the study of physical attractiveness - is it evolutionary, personal preference, or something more universal?
By using the four concepts of judgement of beauty laid out by Kant, supplemented with psychological research on humans' attractiveness ratings of faces, we will be able to get closer to the idea of a truly beautiful face. This face, striking in nature, is not simply attractive, but more. It is a face that is, using Kant's framework, disinterested, universal, purposive without purpose, and necessary.
social commentators have contributed to this essential inquiry: what is Beauty? And
furthermore, are there objective patterns within what different people consider beautiful? I will
explore this through both the lenses of physical beauty and character beauty. In faces, there is the study of physical attractiveness - is it evolutionary, personal preference, or something more universal?
By using the four concepts of judgement of beauty laid out by Kant, supplemented with psychological research on humans' attractiveness ratings of faces, we will be able to get closer to the idea of a truly beautiful face. This face, striking in nature, is not simply attractive, but more. It is a face that is, using Kant's framework, disinterested, universal, purposive without purpose, and necessary.
ContributorsGarland, Sabrina Michelle (Author) / de Alcantara, Christiane Fontinha (Thesis director) / Fette, Donald (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
There are many standards set forth in the workplace to mitigate bias when hiring for jobs. Effects of beauty may result in punishments that are difficult to preempt. Attractiveness, although subjective, has an effect on how people are treated. There is research to support both a positive and negative side of attractiveness in relation to how one is treated. My research is aimed at providing more insight into such treatment and identifying when attractiveness is viewed favorably versus unfavorably in the marketplace. I hypothesized that in the professional workplace, there is an attractiveness punishment. My research is on testing the disparity between how men and women are treated with respect to hiring decisions based on whether or not they are deemed attractive. In order to test if this theory is true, I conducted a study (N=145) in which participants were given images of attractive and unattractive candidates, and were asked to make hiring decisions across multiple domains (e.g., restaurants, accountants). The results were consistent with an attractiveness punishment: participants preferred the less attractive candidate, but participants also were more likely to favor the more attractive candidate if they perceived said candidate to be much more attractive than the alternative.
ContributorsMersky, Jordan (Author) / Weingarten, Evan (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2022-05