Gender-Typed Traits and

Perceived Attractiveness
Jenna Baker, Elizabeth Capper, Hannah Painter, Abby Lundborg
Background Information
Sandra L. Bem: one of the first to research gender-types as constructs and
begin work to break down gender bias (Golden & McHugh,2016)
BSRI (Bem, 1974)
Established that three distinct gender-types exist and can be reliably tested
Research supported connection between appearance and personality
Facial expressions, textures, structures can be perceived as personality clues (Matsumoto,
2016)
Personality of a picture description can cause a Halo effect on the persons attractiveness
(Lammers et. al, 2016)
Research supported connection between gender-type and desirability
The rating of the ideal man or woman aligned with specific gender-typed norms
(McPherson & Spetrino, 1983)
Hypothesis

We predict that there will be a significant difference in the way that males
and females rate the men and women in the picture on attractiveness
depending on either the masculine or feminine description
Method

Convenience sample of 138 people

Class participation
Facebook
Online survey
Stock photo of male or female
Masculine, feminine, or androgynous description
Attractiveness ranking on 5-point scale
Romantic and platonic interest questions
Results
Results
No main effect of gender of person in picture:

F(1,138) = 1.52, p = .220

No main effect of gender-based description:

F(2,138) = .39, p = .676

No interaction:

F(2,138) = 2.26, p = .108

Results
Whether hypothesis supported/explanation of
results
Results=Not statistically significant, do not support the hypothesis that gender
specific descriptions influence an individual's perceived level of attractiveness
when viewing gender specific pictures.

Explanations:
-participants
-personability
-relation of attraction
Implications/Future Research
More realistic circumstances:

-Social media: Facebook and Instagram

-Dating profiles/applications: Tinder, Match.com

-LinkedIn profiles