Draw an Ugly Man: An Inquiry into the Dimensions of Physical Attractiveness

The literature of social and developmental psychology contains a number of studies which show, perhaps not surprisingly, that physically attractive persons are rated more positively in a variety of areas (intelligence, likeableness, achievement, etc.) than less attractive persons.In general, these studies have made use of drawings and photo- graphs of people that have been scaled by a panel of judges to determine physical attractiveness.Although this research confirms that there is considerable agreement between judges, and between judges and subjects, as to what constitutes physical attractiveness, (e.g., Cavior & Lombardi, 1971; Cross & Cross, 1971.; Byrne, London, & Reeves, 1968) there has been no attempt to specify the dimensions of physical attractiveness precisely.