Running Head: COMMUNICATION AND ATTRACTIVNESS 1

Communication and Attractiveness

Julia Gleason
Family Relations
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Communication and Attractiveness

Introduction

This study tested the hypothesis that a person could be viewed as more or less physically

attractive after one 3-minute communication. Studies have shown that a variety of things can

make a person be viewed as attractive. One factor is the symmetry of the face. If a person’s face

is more symmetrical, they are viewed as more attractive. While it was originally believed that

men put more emphasis on desiring a mate to be attractive, this study points out recent data to

prove that now men and women put similar emphasis on attractiveness. This study was

preformed to see if: 1. A single interpersonal communication could improve or decrease

attractiveness, 2. Men and women are affected more or less by this communication (Dix, 2013).

Method

The experimenters gathered 104 students from a southeastern university for this study. There

were 53 women and 51 men with a mean age of 20.97. They then trained some in randomly

assigned roles of either positive or negative communications. The rest were oblivious to the

experiment. Then, nine separate times with different participants, a speed-dating activity was

held. They separated the males and females into rooms, and, without making it obvious, had

some if the trained students in the mix. Then, they showed pictures of those participating of the

opposite sex in the rooms and had them rate them on f McCroskey and McCain’s physical

attraction scale (with 7 ratings from 1-7). After that the speed dating begun in intervals of 3

minutes. Those students who were trained then engaged in positive or negative communications;

such as compliments or sitting facing away from the other person, respectively. Then, all

subjects were asked to return to the separate room and shown the previous pictures and rate them

on the 7-point scale once again. They were then told of the experiment (Dix, 2013).
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Results

The results were actually somewhat surprising. Those expressing positive communication’s pre-

test mean was 4.757, and the post mean was 4.943. Those expressing negative communication’s

pre-test mean was 5.015 and the post mean was 4.731. The difference in physical attraction was

not much, but slightly more for those with negative communication. It is also noted that females

seem to have more of an effect with communication than do men (Dix, 2013).

Discussion

The hypothesis that one 3-minute communication can affect a person’s perceived physical

attraction was slightly supported. While the difference was not much, it is unsure whether more

time spent together would continue to cause a difference in attraction. It is noted that perhaps the

reason that males are more affected by the positive, flirty communication is because those that go

to speed dating may be looking more for a one-night, while the females may be looking for a

relationship, and so may not appreciate the forwardness of the other person. Further studies may

include the use of short, subtle, physical touch, or more than heterosexual participants (Dix,

2013).
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References

Dix, A. (2013). A New Era of Courtship. Interpersona,7(2), 246-259. doi:10.5964/ijpr.v7i2.132