Cited by 2,429Evolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorPersonality Traits and PsychologyAesthetic Perception and Analysis

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 299 of the 299 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review

Langlois, Judith H., Kalakanis, Lisa, Rubenstein, Adam J., Larson, Andrea, Hallam, Monica, Smoot, Monica·2000·Psychological Bulletin

DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.390

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Common maxims about beauty suggest that attractiveness is not important in life. In contrast, both fitness-related evolutionary theory and socialization theory suggest that attractiveness influences development and interaction. In 11 meta-analyses, the authors evaluate these contradictory claims, demonstrating that (a) raters agree about who is and is not attractive, both within and across cultures; (b) attractive children and adults are judged more positively than unattractive children and adults, even by those who know them; (c) attractive children and adults are treated more positively than unattractive children and adults, even by those who know them; and (d) attractive children and adults exhibit more positive behaviors and traits than unattractive children and adults. Results are used to evaluate social and fitness-related evolutionary theories and the veracity of maxims about beauty.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.390

Cites

299 of 299 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.1080/00401706.1989.10488618 · Cited by 99,167
Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
(1990) · Computers, Environment and Urban Systems · doi:10.1016/0198-9715(90)90050-4 · Cited by 65,269
Advances In Experimental Social Psychology
(2022) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(22)x0002-6 · Cited by 22,259
The descent of man and selection in relation to sex
(1907) · The Journal of the Anthropological Society of Tokyo · doi:10.1537/ase1887.22.495 · Cited by 10,892
Statistical Methods for Meta-Analysis
Wasserman, S., Hedges, L. V., & Olkin, I. (1988) · Journal of Educational Statistics · doi:10.2307/1164953 · Cited by 10,326
Parental Investment and Sexual Selection
(2017) · Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man · doi:10.4324/9781315129266-7 · Cited by 9,510
The file drawer problem and tolerance for null results.
Rosenthal, R. (1979) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.3.638 · Cited by 9,068
Sexual Selection
Andersson, M. (1994) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9780691207278 · Cited by 7,401
Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man: The Darwinian Pivot
(2017) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315129266 · Cited by 7,252
The Adapted mind : evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture
Barkow, J. H., Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1992) · Cited by 5,221

Show all 297 references

Research works printed but not linked: 23

Brunswick, 1945, Social perception of traits from photographs., Psychological Bulletin, 45, 535
10.1037/0022-3514.37.8.1387 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.8.1387 · Paper page
10.1037/0022-3514.41.2.330 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.41.2.330 · Paper page
10.1037/0021-843X.100.2.181 · DOI
10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.925 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.925 · Paper page
10.1037/0022-3514.59.1.61 · DOI
10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.261 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.261 · Paper page
Daly, 1990, Evolutionary theory and parental motives., 25
10.1037/0003-066X.50.3.145 · DOI · Paper page
10.2307/1129726 · doi:10.2307/1129726 · Paper page
Farkas, 1987, Linear proportions in above- and below-average women's faces., 119
10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.125 · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.125 · Paper page
10.1037/0033-2909.111.2.304 · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.111.2.304 · Paper page
10.1037/0022-3514.63.6.947 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.63.6.947 · Paper page
10.1037/0012-1649.31.3.464 · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.3.464 · Paper page
10.1037/0012-1649.27.1.79 · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.27.1.79 · Paper page
10.1037/0012-1649.23.3.363 · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.23.3.363 · Paper page
Mohr, 1932, Beauty as related to intelligence and scholarship., Psychological Bulletin, 29, 564
Nunnally, 1978, Psychometric theory.
10.1037/0022-3514.48.2.456 · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.48.2.456
Thornhill, 1998, Darwinian aesthetics., 543
Waldrop, 1971, Minor physical anomalies and hyperactive behavior in young children., Vol. 2, 343
10.1037/0022-3514.65.1.85 · DOI

Items 801–900 of 1,004

Do Cyclic Changes in Women's Face Preferences Target Cues to Long-term Health?
Koehler, N., Rhodes, G., Simmons, L. W., & Zebrowitz, L. A. (2006) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2006.24.5.641 · Cited by 22
Is there a premium for beauty in sport consumption? Evidence from German TV ratings for tennis matches
Meier, H. E., & Konjer, M. V. (2015) · European Journal for Sport and Society · doi:10.1080/16138171.2015.11687968 · Cited by 24
“Measure of physical attractiveness Research on physical attractiveness has established that people both within and across cultures agree who is and who is not attractive (Langlois et al., 2000).”
BackgroundInfluential
Your Face is Your Fortune: Does Adolescent Attractiveness Predict Intimate Relationships Later in Life?
Karraker, A., Sicinski, K., & Moynihan, D. P. (2015) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbv112 · Cited by 22
“Attractive children and adults are evaluated more favorably by others and are treated better (Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
Blind at First Sight: The Role of Distinctively Accurate and Positive First Impressions in Romantic Interest
Kerr, L. G., Tissera, H., McClure, M. J., Lydon, J. E., Back, M. D., & Human, L. J. (2020) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797620919674 · Cited by 27
The Evolutionary Rationality of Social Learning
McElreath, R. L., Wallin, A., & Fasolo, B. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388435.003.0014 · Cited by 23
Decision making in the pathway from genes to psychiatric and substance use disorders
Kendler, K. S. (2012) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2012.151 · Cited by 22
Cognitive processing about classroom-relevant contexts: Teachers' attention to and utilization of girls' body size, ethnicity, attractiveness, and facial affect.
Wang, S. S., Treat, T. A., & Brownell, K. D. (2008) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.100.2.473 · Cited by 25
“Finally, the majority of the existing work on processing of ethnicity, attractiveness, and body-size information has utilized explicit self-report measures rather than implicit performancebased measures (e.g., D. F. Chang & Sue, 2003; Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
Interest in cosmetic surgery among Iranian women: the role of self-esteem, narcissism, and self-perceived attractiveness
Kalantar-Hormozi, A., Jamali, R., & Atari, M. (2016) · European Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1007/s00238-016-1185-7 · Cited by 22
“Evidence [1, 2] suggests that perception of attractiveness is relatively independent of culture.”
Facial Attractiveness
Little, A. C. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1881-1 · Cited by 22
What is beautiful is still good: the attractiveness halo effect in the era of beauty filters
Gulati, A., Martínez-Garcia, M., Fernández, D., Lozano, M. A., Lepri, B., & Oliver, N. (2024) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.240882 · Cited by 21
“The authors reported that older adults are as vulnerable as young adults to the attractiveness halo effect: they judged more attractive people as more competent and healthy, and less hostile and untrustworthy, corroborating previous research on young adults [11,82].”
The Aesthetic Value of the World
Cochrane, T. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192848819.001.0001 · Cited by 21
Integrating social knowledge and physical cues when judging the attractiveness of potential mates
Quist, M. C., DeBruine, L. M., Little, A. C., & Jones, B. C. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.12.018 · Cited by 21
“Langlois et al. (2000) has previously suggested that stereotypes associated with facial appearance influence attitudes towards individuals even when other information is available for people to base their judgments on.”
Background
The Effects of Attractiveness and Status on Personality Evaluation
Tartaglia, S., & Rollero, C. (2015) · Europe’s Journal of Psychology · doi:10.5964/ejop.v11i4.896 · Cited by 25
“As the social expectations perspective has argued (see Langlois et al., 2000), social stereotypes affect people’s specific expectations about others.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
Attractiveness Compensates for Low Status Background in the Prediction of Educational Attainment
Bauldry, S., Shanahan, M. J., Russo, R., Roberts, B. W., & Damian, R. I. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155313 · Cited by 23
“Despite these differences, however, empirical studies have generally not found that perceived attractiveness has a greater effect for different demographic subgroups [5,13].”
Background
Polar Similars: Using Massive Mobile Dating Data to Predict Synchronization and Similarity in Dating Preferences
Levy, J., Markell, D., & Cerf, M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02010 · Cited by 22
“Given that existing research shows that more beautiful people are more likely to ﬁnd mates (Langlois et al., 2000), we explored this option as well.”
Background
A computational approach to investigating facial attractiveness factors using geometric morphometric analysis and deep learning
Sano, T., & Kawabata, H. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-47084-x · Cited by 25
Facial Affect Differences in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults Across Contexts and Their Relationship to First-Impression Formation
Foster, S. J., Jones, D. R., Pinkham, A. E., & Sasson, N. J. (2024) · Autism in Adulthood · doi:10.1089/aut.2023.0199 · Cited by 25
“17,18 Perceptions of trustworthiness and attractiveness play an important role in evaluations of social desirability, 19 competence, 20 and increase cooperation.”
Children's Attractiveness, Gender, and Race Biases: A Comparison of Their Strength and Generality
Rennels, J. L., & Langlois, J. H. (2014) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12226 · Cited by 21
“In their meta-analyses, Langlois et al. (2000) found that compared to low attractive female and male children, both high attractive female and male children benefited from higher evaluations of competence, more positive and less negative interactions, and more attention.”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citation
Male facial attractiveness and masculinity may provide sex‐ and culture‐independent cues to semen quality
Soler, C., Kekäläinen, J., Núñez, M., Sancho, M., Álvarez, J. G., Núñez, J., Yaber, I. A., & Gutiérrez, R. (2014) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1111/jeb.12446 · Cited by 21
Vital tooth whitening effects on oral health-related quality of life in older adults.
Bruhn, A. M., Darby, M., McCombs, G. B., & Lynch, C. M. (2012) · PubMed · Cited by 21
Asymmetric Effect of Expression Intensity on Evaluations of Facial Attractiveness
Ueda, R., Kuraguchi, K., & Ashida, H. (2016) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/2158244016677569 · Cited by 22
“…stereotype (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972), according to which attractive people are viewed as socially desirable (for a review, see Langlois et al., 2000) or competent (Hamermesh & Parker, 2005) or are more likely to be hired (Marlowe, Schneider, & Nelson, 1996; Watkins &…”
Background
Genome-wide association study reveals sex-specific genetic architecture of facial attractiveness
Hu, B., Shen, N., Li, J. J., Kang, H., Hong, J., Fletcher, J. M., Greenberg, J. S., Seltzer, M. M., & Lu, Q. (2019) · PLoS Genetics · doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1007973 · Cited by 21
Psychosocial Adjustments Among Adolescents With Craniofacial Conditions and the Influence of Social Factors: A Multi-Informant Study
Bous, R. M., Hazen, R. A., Baus, I., Palomo, J. M., Kumar, A., & Valiathan, M. (2019) · The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal · doi:10.1177/1055665619888308 · Cited by 23
“The association between appearance and social stereotyping is well established in social sciences research (Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
The eye wants what the heart wants: Female face preferences are related to partner personality preferences.
Oh, D., Grant-Villegas, N., & Todorov, A. T. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/xhp0000858 · Cited by 20
“…general person impressions (e.g., Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Landy & Sigall, 1974; for reviews, see Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991; Langlois et al., 2000) but also receive favorable treatments in various domains of life; they earn higher salaries (Frieze, Olson, & Russell, 1991),…”
Background
Unattractive people are unaware of their (un)attractiveness
Greitemeyer, T. (2020) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12631 · Cited by 21
“As in previous research (for meta-analyses, Feingold, 1992; Langlois et al., 2000), the experimenters (Studies 1, 3–5), raters of the participant’s photographs (Study 2), and other participants (Study 6) showed high agreement about whether a person is attractive or not.”
Method
Beautification Is More than Mere Mate Attraction: Extending Evolutionary Perspectives on Female Appearance Enhancement
Bradshaw, H. K., & DelPriore, D. J. (2021) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-021-01952-7 · Cited by 20
The Association of Body Mass Index and Externally Perceived Attractiveness Across Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Time
Richmond, T. K., Austin, S. B., Walls, C. E., & Subramanian, S. V. (2011) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.05.007 · Cited by 21
“007 itionally, perceptions by others of one’s attractiveness have een linked to both physical and mental health [4,5].”
Background
Evaluating the Effect of Beauty on Labor Market Outcomes: A Review of the Literature.Preprint
Liu, X., & Sierminska, E. M. (2014) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2613431 · Cited by 21
“24 [47] Judith H Langlois, Lisa Kalakanis, Adam J Rubenstein, Andrea Larson, Monica Hallam, and Monica Smoot.”
Implicit Bias in Judicial Decision Making How It Affects Judgment and What Judges Can Do About ItPreprint
Wistrich, A. J., & Rachlinski, J. J. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2934295 · Cited by 23
Oral Health Related Quality of Life Impact in Dentistry
Alzoubi, E. E. (2017) · Journal of Dental Health Oral Disorders and Therapy · doi:10.15406/jdhodt.2017.06.00221 · Cited by 20
“Another investigation assessed the link between OHRQoL and malocclusion severity among 430 children ages twelve to thirteen who varied in their extent of malocclusion [15].”
Background
The role of sleep in aesthetic perception and empathy: A mediation analysis
Peretti, S., Tempesta, D., Socci, V., Pino, M. C., Mazza, M., Valenti, M., Gennaro, L. D., Dio, C. D., Marchetti, A., & Ferrara, M. (2018) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.12664 · Cited by 20
“Attractive individuals are commonly perceived as possessing a wide range of positive personality attributions (Langlois et al., 2000; Smith, 2005).”
Background
Effects of Male Defendants’ Attractiveness and Trustworthiness on Simulated Judicial Decisions in Two Different Swindles
Yang, Q., Zhu, B. D., Zhang, Q., Wang, Y., Hu, R., Liu, S., & Sun, D. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02160 · Cited by 24
Do looks matter for an academic career in economics?
Hale, G. B., Regev, T., & Yona Rubinstein, Z. (2023) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2023.09.022 · Cited by 23
The need to belong: Subjective experiences of living with craniofacial conditions and undergoing appearance-altering surgery
Myhre, A., Råbu, M., & Feragen, K. B. (2021) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.05.008 · Cited by 21
Who’s Behind the Makeup? The Effects of Varying Levels of Cosmetics Application on Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness, Competence, and Sociosexuality
Aguinaldo, E. R., & Peissig, J. J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661006 · Cited by 25
How We Look At Mature Faces—An Eye-Tracking Investigation Into the Perception of Age
Frank, K., Ehrl, D. C., Bernardini, F. P., Walbrun, A., Moellhoff, N., Alfertshofer, M. G., Davidović, K., Mardini, S., Gotkin, R. H., & Cotofana, S. C. (2022) · Aesthetic Surgery Journal · doi:10.1093/asj/sjac251 · Cited by 20
Influencer-product attractiveness transference in interactive fashion marketing: the moderated moderating effect of speciesism against AI
Cheng, J., & Wang, J. (2024) · Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1108/jrim-06-2024-0299 · Cited by 20
Principles of Integrated Marketing Communications: An Evidence-based Approach
Ang, L. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108628662 · Cited by 21
Facial attractiveness: Ranking of end-of-treatment facial photographs by pairs of Chinese and US orthodontists
Xu, T., Korn, E. L., Liu, Y., Oh, H. S., Lee, K. H., Boyd, R. L., & Baumrind, S. (2008) · American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics · doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2006.08.023 · Cited by 20
Human's Cognitive Ability to Assess Facial Cues from Photographs: A Study of Sexual Selection in the Bolivian Amazon
Undurraga, E. A., Eisenberg, D. T. A., Magvanjav, O., Wang, R., Leonard, W. R., McDade, T. W., Reyes‐García, V., Nyberg, C. H., Tanner, S. N., Huanca, T., et al. (2010) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011027 · Cited by 20
Beauty and intelligence may – or may not – be related
Denny, K. (2008) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2008.01.003 · Cited by 20
“The cited meta-analysis by Langlois et al (2000) also finds much smaller effect sizes”
BackgroundMethod
Facial Disfigurement Stigma: A Study of Victims of Domestic Assaults With Fire in India
Furr, L. A. (2014) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/1077801214543384 · Cited by 25
“Madan (1985), for example, defines purity in terms of the status of objects and persons where purity is seen as the freedom from imperfection.”
Background
Bodily Attractiveness and Egalitarianism are Negatively Related in Males
Price, M. E., Brown, S., Dukes, A., & Kang, J. (2015) · Evolutionary Psychology · doi:10.1177/147470491501300109 · Cited by 20
“To investigate, we created 3D body models of 125 participants to use both as a source of anthropometric measurements and as stimuli to obtain ratings of bodily attractiveness and perceived egalitarianism.”
BackgroundMethod
Esthetic evaluation of lip position in silhouette with respect to profile divergence
Najafi, H. Z., Sabouri, S. A. A., Ebrahimi, E., & Torkan, S. (2016) · American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics · doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2015.11.028 · Cited by 20
Talent alone does not suffice: erotic capital, media visibility and global popularity among professional male and female tennis players
Konjer, M. V., Mutz, M., & Meier, H. E. (2017) · Journal of Gender Studies · doi:10.1080/09589236.2017.1365696 · Cited by 21
Effects of physical attractiveness on political beliefs
Peterson, R. D., & Palmer, C. L. (2017) · Politics and the Life Sciences · doi:10.1017/pls.2017.18 · Cited by 20
Comparing implicit and explicit attitudes of gay, straight, and non-monosexual groups toward transmen and transwomen
Wang-Jones, T. S., Hauson, A. O., Ferdman, B. M., Hattrup, K., & Lowman, R. L. (2018) · International Journal of Transgenderism · doi:10.1080/15532739.2018.1428138 · Cited by 20
“Those who do not possess these features are judged and treated more negatively (Fink & Penton-Voak, 2002; Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
She Always Steps in the Same River: Similarity Among Long-Term Partners in Their Demographic, Physical, and Personality Characteristics
Štěrbová, Z., Tureček, P., & Kleisner, K. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00052 · Cited by 22
If you work it, flaunt it: Conspicuous displays of exercise efforts increase mate value
Vandenbroele, J., Kerckhove, A. V., & Geuens, M. (2019) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.030 · Cited by 21
In the eye of the beholder? The returns to beauty and IQ for the self‐employed
Patel, P. C., & Wolfe, M. T. (2019) · Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal · doi:10.1002/sej.1323 · Cited by 20
A negative halo effect for stuttering? The consequences of stuttering for romantic desirability are mediated by perceptions of personality traits, self-esteem, and intelligence
Zeigler‐Hill, V., Besser, Y., & Avi Besser, A. (2019) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2019.1645729 · Cited by 24
“…Buss, 1985; Zebrowitz, Hall, Murphy, & Rhodes, 2002) as well as the fact that individuals who perform better on intelligence tests tend to be more physically attractive than other individuals (e.g., Jackson, Hunter, & Hodge, 1995; Kanazawa, 2011; Langlois et al., 2000; Zebrowitz et al., 2002).”
Background
Beauty perks: Physical appearance, earnings, and fringe benefits
Dilmaghani, M. (2020) · Economics & Human Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100889 · Cited by 22
Unconscious Personnel Selection
Messner, C., Wänke, M., & Weibel, C. (2011) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2011.29.6.699 · Cited by 22
“Perceivers tend to attribute positive qualities to attractive people and negative qualities to less attractive people (Dion, 1973; Dion, Walster, & Berscheid, 1972; Langlois, Kalakanis, Rubenstein, Larson, Hallam, & Smoot, 2000); as a result, they form more positive first impressions of attractive compared to less att…”
Background
Male Facial Anthropometry and Attractiveness
Soler, C., Kekäläinen, J., Núñez, M., Sancho, M., Núñez, J., Yaber, I. A., & Gutiérrez, R. Y. (2012) · Perception · doi:10.1068/p7214 · Cited by 20
Looks That Matter: The Effect of Physical Attractiveness in Low- and High-Information Elections
Lev‐On, A., & Waismel-Manor, I. (2016) · American Behavioral Scientist · doi:10.1177/0002764216676249 · Cited by 22
“…a variety of traits from candidate images, from competence and dominance to warmth and even health (e.g., Funk, 1999; Hall, Goren, Chaiken, & Todorov, 2009; Langlois et al., 2000; Little, Burriss, Jones, & Roberts, 2007; Olivola & Todorov, 2010; Todorov, 2008; White, Kenrick, & Neuberg, 2013).”
Background
Virtually Naked: Virtual Environment Reveals Sex-Dependent Nature of Skin Disclosure
Lomanowska, A. M., & Guitton, M. J. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051921 · Cited by 20
“Overall, human visual body presentation plays an important role in the way that individuals are perceived by others [7,38].”
Background
A First Look at User Activity on Tinder
Gareth Tyson, A., Perta, V, Haddadi, H., Seto, M., & (ASONAM), 8. I. I. C. O. A. I. S. N. A. A. M. (2016) · Queen Mary Research Online (Queen Mary University of London) · Cited by 19
Physical attractiveness and criminal justice processing: results from a longitudinal sample of youth and young adults
Beaver, K. M., Boccio, C. M., Smith, S., & Ferguson, C. J. (2019) · Psychiatry Psychology and Law · doi:10.1080/13218719.2019.1618750 · Cited by 22
“The results generated from these studies have consistently shown that attractive people are perceived as being more intelligent, more socially competent, more mentally stable and more trustworthy (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991; Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
Discrepancies between explicit and implicit evaluation of aesthetic perception ability in individuals with autism: a potential way to improve social functioning
Mazza, M., Pino, M. C., Vagnetti, R., Peretti, S., Valenti, M., Marchetti, A., & Dio, C. D. (2020) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-020-00437-x · Cited by 19
“Ultimately, they may also affect the ability to experience pleasure, which plays an important role in social interactions [10, 11].”
Background
Turning the other cheek: Facial orientation influences both model attractiveness and product evaluation
Park, J., Spence, C. J., Ishii, H., & Togawa, T. (2020) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21398 · Cited by 22
Intelligence can be detected but is not found attractive in videos and live interactions
Driebe, J. C., Sidari, M. J., Dufner, M., von der Heiden, J. M., Bürkner, P., Penke, L., Zietsch, B. P., & Arslan, R. C. (2021) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.05.002 · Cited by 20
3D surface imaging technology for objective automated assessment of facial interventions: A systematic review
Nguyen, C. H., Nicolai, E. S. J., He, J. J., Roshchupkin, G. V., & Corten, E. M. L. (2022) · Journal of Plastic Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2022.06.086 · Cited by 20
Trust-Your-Doctor: A Simple Heuristic in Need of a Proper Social Environment
Wegwarth, O., & Gigerenzer, G. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388435.003.0003 · Cited by 20
First Impressions and the Reference Encounter: The Influence of Affect and Clothing on Librarian Approachability
Bonnet, J., & McAlexander, B. (2013) · The Journal of Academic Librarianship · doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2012.11.025 · Cited by 20
“With attractiveness and approachability being correlated (Li, Halterman, Cason, Knight, & Maner, 2008; Langlois et al., 2000), we hypothesize that red clothing will confer higher approachability ratings to hypothetical librarians versus white clothing.”
Adaptation Effects to Attractiveness of Face Photographs and Art Portraits are Domain-Specific
Hayn-Leichsenring, G. U., Kloth, N., Schweinberger, S. R., & Redies, C. (2013) · i-Perception · doi:10.1068/i0583 · Cited by 22
“However, there is also a large body of evidence showing that attractiveness ratings are remarkably consistent across observers and even cultures (Cunningham, Roberts, Barbee, Druen, & Wu, 1995; Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991; Feingold, 1992a, 1992b; Langlois et al., 2000; Rhodes et al., 2001a).”
Background
Age, puberty and attractiveness judgments in adolescents
Saxton, T. K., Kohoutová, D., Roberts, S. C., Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Havlíček, J. (2010) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.07.016 · Cited by 21
“Much research has demonstrated the importance of physical attractiveness in human behaviour (review in e.g. Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
Headless: The Role of Gender and Self‐Referencing in Consumer Response to Cropped Pictures of Decorative Models
Berg, H. (2015) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.20838 · Cited by 20
MEN AND WOMEN AT WORK: THE EFFECTS OF OBJECTIFICATION ON COMPETENCE, PAY, AND FIT FOR THE JOB
Rollero, C., & Tartaglia, S. (2013) · Studia Psychologica · doi:10.21909/sp.2013.02.631 · Cited by 21
Attitudes Towards Performing and Developing Erotic Capital in Consumer Culture
Sarpila, O. (2013) · European Sociological Review · doi:10.1093/esr/jct037 · Cited by 19
Congruence of Inherent and Acquired Values Facilitates Reward-Based Decision-Making
Chien, S., Wiehler, A., Spezio, M., & Gläscher, J. P. (2016) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3084-15.2016 · Cited by 19
“Attractive faces consistently elicit higher preference ratings (Langlois et al., 2000) and greater motivation (Aha- ron et al., 2001).”
Background
Feminism and Body Image
Smolak, L., & Murnen, S. K. (2007) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9780230596887_12 · Cited by 21
Neural Process of the Preference Cross-category Transfer Effect: Evidence from an Event-related Potential Study
Ma, Q., Zhang, L., Pei, G., & Abdeljelil, H. M. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02795-w · Cited by 19
Attractiveness as a Function of Skin Tone and Facial Features: Evidence from Categorization Studies
Stepanova, E. V., & Strube, M. (2017) · The Journal of General Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221309.2017.1394811 · Cited by 23
“Attractiveness has positive consequences for many life outcomes, including social interactions (for review, see Langlois et al., 2000), health (for review, see Weeden & Sabini, 2005), and employment and income-related outcomes (e.g., Frieze, Olson, & Russell, 1991; for review, see Hosoda,…”
Background
Sex-differentiated effects of physical attractiveness on romantic desire: a highly powered, preregistered study in a photograph evaluation context
Eastwick, P. W., & Smith, L. K. (2018) · Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/23743603.2018.1425089 · Cited by 17
“Physical attractiveness is one of the most extensively studied constructs in social psychology (Langlois et al., 2000), and scientists will surely continue to debate the extent to which the association of physical attractiveness with romantic evaluations is sex differentiated.”
Background
The implications of changing hormonal contraceptive use after relationship formation
French, J. E., & Meltzer, A. L. (2020) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.04.003 · Cited by 19
“Consistent with findings that people within and across cultures show very high agreement regarding who is attractive (Langlois et al., 2000), our coders demonstrated adequate agreement (Study 1: ICC = .”
Result
Self-Perceived Facial Attractiveness, Fluctuating Asymmetry, and Minor Ailments Predict Mental Health Outcomes
Borráz-León, J. I., Rantala, M. J., Luoto, S., Krams, I. A., Contreras-Garduño, J. A., Krama, T., & Cerda‐Molina, A. L. (2021) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-021-00172-6 · Cited by 19
A Facial Attractiveness Account of Gender Asymmetries in Interracial Marriage
Lewis, M. B. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031703 · Cited by 19
“Studies suggest that there is considerable agreement regarding what makes a face attractive [21].”
Background
Competitive Orientations and Women’s Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery
Thornton, B., Ryckman, R. M., & Gold, J. A. (2013) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2013.41009 · Cited by 21
“may contribute to favorable attitudes and behavior toward cosmetic surgery, Menzel et al. (2011) noted the need to identify such characteristics so that clinicians and surgeons might take them into account when determining the suitability of those seeking to undergo such procedures.”
Background
Mein(schöner)Prof.de: Die physische Attraktivität des akademischen Lehrpersonals und ihr Einfluss auf die Ergebnisse studentischer Lehrevaluationen
Rosar, U., & Klein, M. (2009) · KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie · doi:10.1007/s11577-009-0086-1 · Cited by 22
Unattractive infant faces elicit negative affect from adults
Schein, S. S., & Langlois, J. H. (2015) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2014.12.009 · Cited by 19
“Adults’ ability to judge the attractiveness of infants is highly reliable and consistent (Hildebrandt, 1983; Langlois et al., 2000), indicating that they are aware of differences in attractiveness.”
BackgroundSelf-citation
Effects of Instructor Attractiveness on Learning
Westfall, R., Millar, M. G., & Walsh, M. (2016) · The Journal of General Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221309.2016.1200529 · Cited by 26
“…skill acquisition MANY STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT PEOPLE tend to attribute positive characteristics to relatively attractive people, an effect known as the attractiveness stereotype (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991; Feingold, 1992; Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
Narcissism, self-esteem, and the phenomenology of autobiographical memories
Jones, L. L., Norville, G. A., & Wright, A. M. (2016) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2016.1223848 · Cited by 24
“For example, given the greater importance of attractiveness in our society for females than for males (Langlois et al., 2000), self-esteem and/or narcissism may be Table 5.”
BackgroundInfluential
Assessing the influence of chin prominence on profile esthetics: A survey study
Pişiren, A. B., Arman‐Özçırpıcı, A., & Tunçer, N. İ. (2018) · Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.jcms.2018.01.004 · Cited by 19
Facial soft tissue growth in identical twins
Hersberger-Zurfluh, M. A., Papageorgiou, S. N., Motro, M., Kantarcı, A., Will, L. A., & Eliades, T. (2018) · American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics · doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2018.01.020 · Cited by 19
Employee emotional displays in the extended service encounter: A happiness-based examination of the impact of employees depicted in service advertising
Söderlund, M., & Berg, H. (2019) · Journal of service management · doi:10.1108/josm-06-2019-0208 · Cited by 20
Simple Heuristics: The Foundations of Adaptive Social Behavior
Hertwig, R., & Hoffrage, U. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388435.003.0001 · Cited by 20
African-American students' early trust beliefs in work-based mentors
Linnehan, F., Weer, C. H., & Uhl, J. (2004) · Journal of Vocational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2004.02.003 · Cited by 19
Embodied Pedagogical Agents: From Visual Impact to Pedagogical Implications
Haake, M. (2009) · Lund University Publications (Lund University) · Cited by 19
The Mathematics of Facial Beauty
Swift, A., & Remington, B. K. (2019) · doi:10.1002/9781119046974.ch2 · Cited by 19
A Review of Attractiveness Preferences in Infancy: From Faces to Objects
Damon, F., Mottier, H., Méary, D., & Pascalis, O. (2017) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-017-0071-2 · Cited by 20
Who Differentiates by Skin Color? Status Attributions and Skin Pigmentation in Chile
Torres, F. C., Salgado, M., Mackenna, B., & Núñez, J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01516 · Cited by 25
The Ginevra de’ Benci Effect: Competence, Morality, and Attractiveness Inferred From Faces Predict Hiring Decisions for Women
Menegatti, M., Pireddu, S., Crocetti, E., Moscatelli, S., & Rubini, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.658424 · Cited by 20
“, 2002), which, in turn, elicited a preferential treatment of attractive people in a variety of domains, including the work context (Langlois et al., 2000; Zebrowitz, 2017).”
Background
Analysis of recurrent esthetic dental proportion of natural maxillary anterior teeth: A systematic review
Ahmed, N., Khalid, S., Vohra, F. A., Halim, M. S., Al-Saleh, S. A., Tulbah, H. I., Al-Qahtani, A. S., & Abduljabbar, T. S. (2022) · Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry · doi:10.1016/j.prosdent.2021.11.035 · Cited by 18
Beauty, Personality, and Affect as Antecedents of Counterproductive Work Behavior Receipt
Scott, B. A., & Judge, T. A. (2013) · Human Performance · doi:10.1080/08959285.2013.765876 · Cited by 21
“Physically attractive people are judged by others as friendlier, more likeable, and more socially appealing than physically unattractive people (for a metaanalysis, see Langlois et al., 2000).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Do the smiles of the world's most influential individuals have common parameters?
Orce‐Romero, A., Iglesias‐Linares, A., Cantillo‐Galindo, M., Yáñez-Vico, R.-M., Mendoza-Mendoza, A., & Solano-Reina, E. (2012) · Journal of Oral Rehabilitation · doi:10.1111/joor.12027 · Cited by 20
The Effects of a Body-Focused Physical and Health Education Module on Self-Objectification and Social Physique Anxiety in Irish Girls
O'Brien, J., Ginis, K. M. M., & Kirk, D. (2008) · Journal of Teaching in Physical Education · doi:10.1123/jtpe.27.1.116 · Cited by 21
“Many studies have shown that people who are more physically attractive derive more favorable social and material outcomes in life than people who are physically unattractive (French, 2002; Langlois et al., 2000).”
Background
Does Offenders’ Facial Attractiveness Affect Police Officers’ Judgment?
Bitton, M. S., & Zvi, L. (2015) · Psychiatry Psychology and Law · doi:10.1080/13218719.2015.1084660 · Cited by 18
“This attraction bias is commonly termed the ‘what is beautiful is good stereotype’ (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Langolis et al., 2000).”
BackgroundInfluential
Attractive rivals may undermine the expectation of career advancement and enhance jealousy. An experimental study
Buunk, A. P., Lloréns, R. Z., Navarro, P. G., & Monzani, L. (2016) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2016.1156085 · Cited by 20
“Thus, women may correctly assume that physical attractiveness is related to occupational success, as found by Langlois et al. (2000), and to the frequency with which one receives promotions, as shown by Morrow, McElroy, Stamper, and Wilson (1990).”
BackgroundInfluential
Prioritized Identification of Attractive and Romantic Partner Faces in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation
Nakamura, K., Arai, S., & Kawabata, H. (2017) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-017-1027-0 · Cited by 17
Facial Trustworthiness is Associated with Heritable Aspects of Face Shape
Lee, A. J., Wright, M. J., Martin, N. G., Keller, M. C., & Zietsch, B. P. (2017) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-017-0073-0 · Cited by 17
“Research on whether attractiveness is associated with perceptions of trustworthiness finds a positive relationship for women (Langlois et al. 2000; Zaidel et al. 2003), and mixed results for men, with some studies finding a positive relationship (Langlois et al. 2000), and others finding no…”
ResultInfluential

Authors: Langlois, J. H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A. J., Larson, A., Hallam, M., & Smoot, M.
Affiliations: The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2000
Volume: 126
Issue: 3
Pages: 390-423
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.390
OpenAlex: W2088165831
Cited by: 2,429
References: 297
Citations by year: 2026: 84 · 2025: 105 · 2024: 111 · 2023: 131 · 2022: 116 · 2021: 148 · 2020: 127 · 2019: 131 · 2018: 132 · 2017: 118 · 2016: 126 · 2015: 135 · 2014: 121 · 2013: 129 · 2012: 138
FWCI: 20.60
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD021332)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Aesthetic Perception and Analysis
Keywords: physical attractiveness, beauty, attractiveness judgments, evolutionary psychology, socialization theory
MeSH terms: Adult, Animals, Beauty, Child, Biological Evolution, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Self Concept, Social Behavior, Social Perception

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.

Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks

Data sources