Physical attractiveness in preschoolers: Relationships with power, status, aggression and social skills

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Abstract

Several lines of theory and research suggest that power (e.g., social dominance) and status (e.g., social prominence and positive peer regard) are enjoyed by those blessed with good looks. The present work addresses the relations among physical attractiveness, power, status, and aggression from a resource control theoretic perspective that suggests that group members find power holders physically attractive, even if they are aggressive. Teacher ratings of physical attractiveness, social dominance, peer reception, aggression, and social skills were collected on 153 preschoolers (3–6 years) from a Midwestern city. Positive peer regard was derived via sociometric nominations. Raters unfamiliar with the children assessed their physical attractiveness from photographs. Results show that teachers' perceptions of physical attractiveness are a function of power, status, and social skills. Additionally, teachers rated aggressive children who employ both prosocial and coercive strategies of resource control (bistrategic controllers) to be among the most physically attractive. These relations did not emerge for raters unbiased by children's behavior. Results suggest social dominance achieved via prosocial means begets attractiveness ratings, even if accompanied by high levels of aggression. The implications for intervention are discussed.

Section snippets

Power and status

Power has been differentially defined depending on the domain of inquiry. Social psychologists have defined power as the capacity to influence the states and behaviors of others by virtue of the control of social (friendship, ostracism) and material resources (economic, entertainment; Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003). With this conceptualization in mind, the closest instantiation of the power concept in the developmental domain is social dominance from a resource control theoretic

Power, status and aggressive self-expression

Aggression is of central interest when it comes to power (social dominance) and status (social preference, social prominence) in children. Aggression appears to have differential relations to these concepts; namely, aggression appears to be one of a number of strategies to achieve social dominance (via resource control) in preschoolers (Hawley, 2003a, Ostrov and Keating, 2004) as well as an effective way to achieve and maintain social prominence in adolescents (Adler and Adler, 1998, Cillessen

Resolving the paradox: Variable-centered vs. person-centered approaches

Both of these views – though on the surface appear diametrically opposed – have tremendous face validity. Both the aggressive-rejected child and the aggressive-popular are familiar to developmentalists and the lay population alike. Resolution to the quandary is gained by inspecting the different methods used in these bodies of work. Presently dominant in psychological and developmental literatures is what has been referred to as a variable-centered approach (e.g., Laursen & Hoff, 2006). These

Aggression and physical attractiveness

Variable- and person-centered approaches to aggression can be seen as giving rise to two distinct hypotheses regarding the relationship between aggression and physical attractiveness. If one's physical attractiveness is believed by the beholder to index one's competencies (as is typically believed), then we might reasonably expect aggressive individuals to be rated as physically unattractive because aggression is associated with qualities that conflict with the positive outcomes and skills

Resource control theory and social dominance (power)

The present resource control theoretic approach asserts that a subgroup of aggressive social dominants will be viewed favorably by others, and furthermore suggests that these favorable views will be reflected in physical attractiveness ratings. The roots of the present theoretical approach are evolutionary, but the details of this aspect of the theory need not be explored here.2

Questions of the present study

The opening quote by Charles Reade (a 19th century English novelist) suggests to us what has long been implied in the field of psychology; namely, that certain social and material benefits are granted to those blessed with good looks. Reade suggests that power over others is one of these benefits. But we wonder whether his implied causal direction is the only correct one. That is, could it be that those who wield power ‘with a smile' (e.g., prosocial and bistrategic controllers, both of whom

Participants

Participants included 153 children recruited from 3 preschools in a small Midwestern city. Approximately 77.8% of the sample was European-American, 8.5% African or African-American,< 2% Hispanic, 10.46% Asian or Asian-American, and < 2% Native American. The average age of these children was 4.85 years (SD = 0.86). Seventy nine of the children were girls (51.63% of the sample) and 74 were boys (48.37% of the sample). Written parental consent was obtained for all participating children according to

Results

Before addressing our person- and variable-centered hypotheses, we will first explore the correlational relationships among the key constructs central to the study.

Discussion

We opened this paper citing the literature that has clearly conveyed that physical attractiveness is a social asset that bolsters ones ability to attract and wield power over others. Our results certainly speak to these issues. Before discussing the role of physical attractiveness, however, it is useful to first explore the ways the present work replicates and adds to the literature on social status and aggression as one of the strategies to attain it. Then, the profiles of the resource control

Conclusions

This study, though not definitive, suggests that it is not necessarily beauty that wins power unidirectionally, but also it is the wielding of power (i.e., via effective resource control) together with prosociality (in a unique combination) that is socially appealing and therefore deemed as physically attractive. In many ways, bistrategic controllers (and prosocial controllers) have qualities of good leaders in that they are extraverted, confident, and socially central (e.g., Stogdill, 1974).

Acknowledgement

Patricia H. Hawley, Department of Psychology, University of Kansas. The authors would like to thank our tireless preschool research team (D. Armer, S. Cotter, J. Gaunt, E. Gutierrez, T. Hamilton, D. Hammond, K. Heil, L. Huber, K. Kaal, V. Koop, S. Lazorow, J. Schurman, S. Snapp, R. Talley, J. Talley, and C. Tickle-Kelly), and our participating preschool directors, teachers, and families.

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