Nice Guys Finish Last
Showing a happy face is considered essential to any friendly social interaction, including those involving sexual attraction. Yet few studies have examined whether a happy expression is, in fact, attractive. Are women interested in men who smile, or do they prefer men who appear confident? Do men seek happy women, or are they more drawn to those who are demure, averting their gaze and showing shame? Given that most social interactions entail the spontaneous display of emotion expressions, and are, to some extent, guided by judgments of attractiveness, it is likely that emotion expressions have some impact on attractiveness. Furthermore, although emotion expressions tend to be fleeting, they are often perceived as indicators of the expresser’s dispositional qualities, and some have argued that they evolved in part to serve this broader communicative function. Yet, previous research has not systematically addressed the question of how distinct emotion expressions influence sexual attractiveness.
The present research examined whether three emotion expressions known to be cross culturally recognized and to communicate information relevant to an individual’s mate value (i.e., information that should influence attractiveness) have reliable effects on the perceived sexual attractiveness of targets showing them. Specifically, we compared attractiveness judgments made for individuals displaying expressions of happiness, pride, and shame, as well as a neutral control. All three of these expressions show evidence of cross-cultural universality, suggesting evolutionary origins, and convey important social information relevant to mating and romantic relationships.
Pride signals the expresser’s high status; studies have shown that individuals displaying pride are automatically perceived as higher status than individuals showing a range of other emotions (including shame, happiness, and neutral), and this signaling function generalizes across cultures.
Shame, an appeasement display, signals both the expresser’s low status and his/her awareness that he/she has violated a social norm; the adaptive benefit of this message may lie in its communication of the expresser’s regret and implied submission to social norms.
Happiness communicates the expresser’s friendliness and approachability; happy displays tend to elicit trust and approach-oriented behaviors in onlookers.
All of these messages may influence attractiveness, but, given evidence for gender-specific mating strategies, they may do so in different ways for male and female expressers.
Tracy JL, Beall A. Nice guys finish last: The impact of emotion expressions on sexual attraction. Emotion (in press). http://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Happy-Guys...in-pres-Emotion.pdf
This research examined the relative sexual attractiveness of individuals showing emotion expressions of happiness, pride, and shame, compared with a neutral control. Across two studies using different images and samples ranging broadly in age (total N = 1041), a large gender difference emerged in the sexual attractiveness of happy displays: happiness was the most attractive female emotion expression, and one of the least attractive in males. In contrast, pride showed the reverse pattern; it was the most attractive male expression, and one of the least attractive in women. Shame displays were relatively attractive in both genders, and, among younger adults, male shame was more attractive than male happiness, and not substantially less than male pride. Effects were largely consistent with evolutionary and socio-cultural-norm accounts. Overall, this research provides the first evidence that distinct emotion expressions have divergent effects on sexual attractiveness, which vary by gender but largely hold across age.
Showing a happy face is considered essential to any friendly social interaction, including those involving sexual attraction. Yet few studies have examined whether a happy expression is, in fact, attractive. Are women interested in men who smile, or do they prefer men who appear confident? Do men seek happy women, or are they more drawn to those who are demure, averting their gaze and showing shame? Given that most social interactions entail the spontaneous display of emotion expressions, and are, to some extent, guided by judgments of attractiveness, it is likely that emotion expressions have some impact on attractiveness. Furthermore, although emotion expressions tend to be fleeting, they are often perceived as indicators of the expresser’s dispositional qualities, and some have argued that they evolved in part to serve this broader communicative function. Yet, previous research has not systematically addressed the question of how distinct emotion expressions influence sexual attractiveness.
The present research examined whether three emotion expressions known to be cross culturally recognized and to communicate information relevant to an individual’s mate value (i.e., information that should influence attractiveness) have reliable effects on the perceived sexual attractiveness of targets showing them. Specifically, we compared attractiveness judgments made for individuals displaying expressions of happiness, pride, and shame, as well as a neutral control. All three of these expressions show evidence of cross-cultural universality, suggesting evolutionary origins, and convey important social information relevant to mating and romantic relationships.
Pride signals the expresser’s high status; studies have shown that individuals displaying pride are automatically perceived as higher status than individuals showing a range of other emotions (including shame, happiness, and neutral), and this signaling function generalizes across cultures.
Shame, an appeasement display, signals both the expresser’s low status and his/her awareness that he/she has violated a social norm; the adaptive benefit of this message may lie in its communication of the expresser’s regret and implied submission to social norms.
Happiness communicates the expresser’s friendliness and approachability; happy displays tend to elicit trust and approach-oriented behaviors in onlookers.
All of these messages may influence attractiveness, but, given evidence for gender-specific mating strategies, they may do so in different ways for male and female expressers.
Tracy JL, Beall A. Nice guys finish last: The impact of emotion expressions on sexual attraction. Emotion (in press). http://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Happy-Guys...in-pres-Emotion.pdf
This research examined the relative sexual attractiveness of individuals showing emotion expressions of happiness, pride, and shame, compared with a neutral control. Across two studies using different images and samples ranging broadly in age (total N = 1041), a large gender difference emerged in the sexual attractiveness of happy displays: happiness was the most attractive female emotion expression, and one of the least attractive in males. In contrast, pride showed the reverse pattern; it was the most attractive male expression, and one of the least attractive in women. Shame displays were relatively attractive in both genders, and, among younger adults, male shame was more attractive than male happiness, and not substantially less than male pride. Effects were largely consistent with evolutionary and socio-cultural-norm accounts. Overall, this research provides the first evidence that distinct emotion expressions have divergent effects on sexual attractiveness, which vary by gender but largely hold across age.