The Effect of Context on Ratings of Attractiveness of Photographs

Summary Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that context effects on social stimuli depend on associations between the context and the target stimuli. Sixty male and female college students participated in the first experiment, and 80 in the second. All viewed and rated photographs of college-age females in the context of attractive and unattractive others. Results from the first experiment, where the context and targets were not linked, showed a significant (p < .01) context effect. Neutral pictures appeared more attractive in a negative than in a positive context. These results were confirmed for the general context in the second experiment. However, the results were reversed when the context and target were linked as friends, thus demonstrating, for the general context, that the effects of context depend on the association between the target and the context.