Exploiting attractiveness in persuasion: senders' implicit theories about receivers' processing motivation
Tobias Vogel1, Florian Kutzner, Klaus Fiedler
1University of Heidelberg, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. tobias.vogel@psychologie.uni-heidelberg.de
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|May 18, 2010
Summary
Physical attractiveness influences persuasion expectations, but success hinges on receiver processing. Lay theories guide strategic behavior, with individuals exploiting attractiveness when receivers are motivated.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Persuasion Science
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Physical attractiveness is often linked to positive social outcomes, including persuasion.
- However, established persuasion theories suggest attractiveness is not a universal advantage.
- Persuasion success likely depends on receiver factors like motivation and capacity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore lay theories on how physical attractiveness impacts persuasion.
- To investigate if lay beliefs align with scientific models of persuasion.
- To examine how these lay theories influence strategic behavior in persuasion attempts.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.
- Experiments 1 and 2 examined how perceived attractiveness and receiver motivation expectations influence anticipated persuasion success.
- Experiments 3 and 4 investigated whether individuals strategically use attractiveness based on situational and interpersonal factors.
Main Results:
- Anticipated persuasion success was found to depend on the interaction between perceived sender attractiveness and expected receiver processing motivation.
- Laypersons were shown to strategically approach situations and individuals where attractiveness was perceived to enhance persuasion.
- These findings suggest that attractiveness is strategically leveraged in social influence.
Conclusions:
- Lay theories about attractiveness and persuasion align with scientific models by incorporating receiver characteristics.
- Individuals' beliefs about attractiveness's persuasive power guide their strategic behavior.
- Attractiveness is not just passively perceived but actively exploited in social interactions to achieve persuasive goals.
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