Effects of Self-Esteem Threat on Physical Attractiveness Stereotypes

Certainly one of the first things that we notice when meeting someone new is how physically attractive that they are. Although the vast majority of studies in the literature suggest favoritism for physically attractive humans, some research indicates that negative biases may occur as well. This discrepancy in the literature may simply indicate the failure of differing experimental methods to adequately tap the same construct; however, it is also a likely indicator of moderating factors at work. This study employs an episodic memory task to demonstrate the moderating effects of self-esteem threat on physical attractiveness attributions. Furthermore, results indicate that attractiveness-based stereotypes are susceptible to fluctuations in self-esteem, such that individuals experiencing a threat to self-esteem become more reliant on stereotyping.