Aim and Hypothesis
The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a significant similarity in the attractiveness of couples that have been together for a period of 18months or more. The results will need to be tested using Spearman’s Rho, in order to gauge the relevance of the theory.
Hypothesis- There will be a clear positive correlation between the attractiveness of one person and their partner. This is a one tailed hypothesis, as there is an expected correlation, and the direction of this correlation is stated.
Null Hypothesis- There will be no correlation between the attractiveness of one person and their partner, and if there is any correlation it will have ocured purely by chance.
Method
There are two main sections to this study, the first being the collection of the photographs of couples, which will later be judged on attractiveness, the second being the actual judging of the photographs. The collection of the photographs was originally going to be performed by using a questionnaire survey in a selected field (Croydon High Street). However, after constructing the survey, and attempting to collect data, it was discovered that this method was very time consuming, with a lot of ethical issues. As we would need to ask for permission for the photographs, and then be willing to give them the results of the judgement of attractiveness. This was also made difficult as I have decided to restrict the age group of all photograph participants to 18-25, as the judge participants are likely to be students from college, and they may see much older people as being less attractive. The results could potentially upset the participant, which would be a difficult issue to address.
So, in light of this, I decided to collect pictures of couples from the Internet. Though I had to ensure that all of the pictures were of roughly the same size, and included the same amount of body in each one. I also had to make sure the couples were separated in the pictures, and that it was not obvious that two pictures could be put together to make one (if I separated one picture to make two). Depending on how difficult it is to collect pictures, I will use either 10 or 15 couples, making a total of 20 or 30 photographs to be judged. The pictures will be arranged onto two computers, one for the males and one for the females, and the judge participant will be able to see only one screen at a time. The photographs will be arranged onto a word document so that all the pictures can be seen at one time, all of the pictures will be the same size, and the participant will be allowed no zooming.
Participants-
14 judges were selected, 7 male and 7 female, from college classrooms. Some other researchers and I asked teachers if we could use a male and a female student from the class in a study for a short period of time. We then asked the class for volunteers, and asked the teacher to select two of the people volunteering. This ensured that the researchers didn’t pick friends, which might have influenced their judging ability.
Procedure-
The judges were shown the whole set of photographs one gender at a time. The photographs were arranged on two separate computer screens, one for males and one for females, in a random order. I then said the following to the judge,
“In front of you are 10 photographs of women, I would like you to take your time and when you are ready, point at each individual in the order of their attractiveness, starting by pointing at the most attractive.”
Then after they had rated the women they were asked,
“could you now do the same for these 10 men, take your time before starting.”
All of the results were recorded by one of the researchers onto a sheet which can be seen in the appendix, with the judge being unable to see any other results until they are debriefed. Also, it was important to ensure that the participants could not see the opposite gender photographs, whilst rating, as the photographs of people had been cut in half to separate the couple, and this might have been noticed, which would invalidate the participants results. The judges were given a full debriefing afterwards, being told the true nature of the study, and answering any other questions. The main requests by participants during debriefing were to see who the couples were, and to see how similar their results were with other participants.
Ethical Considerations-
The judges were selected from classrooms of students, and volunteered to take part in the experiment. They were made aware that if they felt they didn’t want to continue, they could quite easily leave, and the study would not be affected. They were told the nature of the study, so afterwards they were debriefed about it, and any questions were answered. The debriefing was important, as some participants were worried that the study was about themselves, and would in some way reflect badly on them. Once they had been told that this was not the case, no-one had any anxieties. However, it was very common for the participants to ask to see how their own results compared to other peoples, and this was allowed, although the first few participants had little to compare to. Another request was to see who the actual couples were, and to see if there results supported the study, which was allowed.
Another possible ethical issue would be that involved with the obtaining of the photographs. However, it was considered unimportant, as the people in the photographs were unaware of the study, also, the photographs were all obtained from websites which allow you to rate the pictures, very similar to the study. So permission was not asked for the photographs to be used, although they were checked if they were copyrighted before use, in-case of legal issues.
Variables-
The only actual variable is the different ratings given by the judges. However, other variables that may have influenced the ratings have been taken out. Only one participant can judge the photos at any one time, to avoid influence. Also, no help is to be given to the participant in terms of making decisions on the attractiveness, even if it is requested.
Also, as the judges were taken from a closed college environment, the judges were asked prior to the study to vow they would not talk about the study, until it had been announced that the final participants had been seen.
Results
NB: All of the raw results can be found in the appendices
I found the mean average of the ranks for each photograph, and then compiled them into a table, with the corresponding partners result next to it:
As this is quite difficult to get a grasp on, I decided to use these averages to find an overall rank for each photograph, and then compiled them into the same table:
From this it is easier to spot any possible correlation early on, before the spearman’s Rho is implemented. There are some couples, such as couple 4 and couple 7, who seem to not fit entirely in with the theory, however, on the whole they seem to be quite similar in rank.
To present the data in a way more fitting to the study, I will use a line graph, as it will better show any correlation, as well as the direction of the correlation. The first two graphs are graphical representations of the two previous tables:
The second graph will show the overall rank as determined by the mean average rank. This will give a more definite representation of the results, as they have been refined down to fixed positions.
This graph shows that the results have quite a strong correlation, and quite possibly support the theory. However, looking at couples 4 and 7, it is clear that not all of the results were quite as the theory suggested, plotting these same results into a different graph shows the imperfections more accurately:
I have ordered the results so that the males are placed in ascending order of rank, the first being most attractive. This gives a near straight line on which to plot the females results. Each purple dot above or below a blue one is the corresponding result for the males partner. In this view there is a more definite difference in the results.
None of this however, can be given solid belief, without at least, the use of Spearman’s Rho.
rs = 0.666667
When the N for the experiment is 10, and it is a one tailed hypothesis, the chance of the results occurring by chance is around 5/100, which gives a significance level of 0.05. The value of Rho exceeded the critical value of +0.503 (which would indicate a less than 0.05% probability of the results occurring by chance).
Discussion
This study has given evidence to suggest that there is a correlation between the level of two partners attractiveness in a long term heterosexual relationship. The results gave higher value than the critical value, which meant that the hypothesis could be accepted as more than just random chance results acting in favour of the theory. The fact that there was a significant correlation does not mean to say that the human race is “shallow” (at least in terms of merely physical attributes). This theory does not suggest that physical attractiveness is the only important factor for a long-term relationship, so that if couples are evenly matched, they will remain together. It does however show that it is a factor which humans consider.
Relationships in which people are not evenly matched in attractiveness are less likely to work than those that are. However, it could be true that similarly, couples who are evenly matched won’t last together if there are other factors which are not in favour of the relationship. This would be a possible topic for further knowledge. Which factors in a relationship are the most important? Do you need a number of different factors to be correct for a successful relationship? Does the importance of certain factors change over time?
The couples I studied had been together for over 18months, and it may be misinterpreted that in their relationship, it is important that they are physically equal (consciously or unconsciously). It may be true that at one point in the relationship it was important, and because they were happy with the physical attractiveness, they were able to get to know each other, and find out other factors, which then took over in terms of importance. The fact that they were physically equal is what allowed them to stay together for the initial time until new bonding factors were formed.
Equal attractiveness in a relationship could be important for a number of reasons. In a long term relationship, the more attractive of the two may feel disappointed in their partners looks, sub-consciously because they want the best possible genes for their offspring. A more attractive person is able to take a wider choice from the gene pool, so having an attractive partner will mean attractive children, which carries on in a chain. The less attractive partner on the other hand could also start to have problems. They may feel inadequate compared to their partner. This inadequacy could also be an instigator of jealousy. Jealousy in a relationship is not necessarily a bad thing, as it lets the receiver know they are cared for, and it keeps the provider “chasing” the other individual. However, jealousy can get too much for a relationship, and destroy it.
Limitations
The main limitation for this study is the photographs that were used. A persons attractiveness is a difficult thing to assess. It is made even more so when done through photographs, as you can’t see the dimensions of the face, the way it moves. Also, some of the people may have got rankings which weren’t a fair judgement, because the photo was a particularly bad one, or a particularly bad one, this may have made an unrealistic difference/similarity in results for certain couples. However, this is a limitation, which could not realistically be overcome. The only other alternative would be to look at the partners in person, and judge them in that way. They would have to wear the same clothes (to avoid influence). However, this would have massive ethical issues, which would have to be dealt with that were avoided by using photographs.
Another limitation could be the fact that the age of the couples was 18-25, but the participants were aged 16-17. It may give more accurate results if people are asked to judge their own age group. However, this limitation was consistent, so it should not have affected the results, unless certain judges found older people more attractive than the other judges did. This factor could also be present if the judges were ranking people of their own age group. The only way it could be removed would be to ask judges to give an age range for people they would consider as a partner, and then pick judges with the same ages selected.
This study involved participants of different races. It may be that this could affect the results of the experiment. One person may rate 2 individuals as equally attractive, whereas another may not, because they find a certain race unattractive. The photographs were multi-cultural, as were the judges. The same problem would apply if all of the photographs were Caucasian, if the judges were still multicultural. To combat this, it would be necessary to use photographs taken only from one race, and use judges only of one race. This however has ethical issues involving racism, and also removes ecological validity, as we live in a multicultural society in which we can’t just decide to ignore people of a different race.
Further Research
As an extension it would be interesting to expand on the ideas presented by this study.
For instance, it would be good to organise experiments to establish a rank order of the importance of different factors (age, proximity, similar attractiveness, wealth, interest) in terms of sustaining a relationship. In addition this could be further expanded to see whether the value of these factors changes throughout different periods of the relationship. A lot more information could also be obtained from the matching hypothesis study. A record of the differences in the way in which men and women vote could prove interesting, I eliminated the idea of marks out of 10 to prevent these differences affecting my results, but it would be interesting to see if male and female judges consistently gave the same individuals the same ranking.
Conclusion
There is a positive correlation between the attractiveness of 2 individuals in a long-term relationship