Unattractive people are unaware of their (un)attractiveness

Bibliographic Data

ID21391754
AuthorsT Greitemeyer (0000-0002-1351-9210, University of Innsbruck Innsbruck Austria, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume61
Issue4
Pages471-483
Publication date2020-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.12631
PMID32157701
OpenAlexW3012264588
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited50

Past research has shown that how people rate their physical attractiveness is only moderately correlated with how they are rated by others, suggesting that at least some people have little insight into their true level of attractiveness. The present research tests the hypothesis that unattractive people are not aware of their unattractiveness. In fact, six studies (overall N = 1,180) showed that unattractive participants considerably overestimated their attractiveness compared to ratings by strangers. In contrast, attractive participants were more accurate. If anything, they underestimated their attractiveness. It was also examined why unattractive people overestimate their attractiveness. As expected, unattractive participants differentiated less between attractive and unattractive stimulus persons than did attractive participants. They were also more likely than attractive participants to select unattractive stimulus persons to compare themselves to. However, these tendencies did not account for why unattractive participants overestimated their attractiveness, nor did affirming participant’s self‐worth. Limitations and avenues for future research are discussed

Attractiveness · Cognitive psychology · Physical attractiveness · Stimulus (psychology) · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology

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