Influence of Clothing and Physical Attractiveness in Person Perception

Abstract

Using a semantic differential to assess person perception, a non-random sample of 30 female university students recorded their impressions of a number of pictures of female stimulus persons. The pictures represented a systematic pairing of faces of varying levels of attractiveness, and clothed bodies of varying levels of attractiveness. The results of a 3 × 3 Latin square analysis of variance showed facial attractiveness to be a significant factor in the perception of physical attractiveness of the total unit, social and professional happiness, and social desirability. Attractiveness of the clothed body exerted a significant effect in the perception of bourgeois orientation. Pearson productmoment correlation results indicated that as level of perceived physical attractiveness increased, so did the perception of social and professional happiness and social desirability.