Attention Sometimes Goes to the Most Attractive People in a Group [research study]
Hints that beauty can sway judgment
"Attention is drawn to the most attractive people in the group," concludes this study. Possibly that idea will attract surprise:
"Group's Physical Attractiveness Is Greater Than the Average Attractiveness of Its Members: The Group Attractiveness Effect," Yvette van Osch, Irene Blanken, Maartje H.J. Meijs, and Job van Wolferen, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 41, no. 4, 2015, pp. 559-574.
The authors, at Tilburg University, The Netherlands, explain:
"We tested whether the perceived physical attractiveness of a group is greater than the average attractiveness of its members. In nine studies, we find evidence for the so-called group attractiveness effect (GA-effect), using female, male, and mixed-gender groups, indicating that group impressions of physical attractiveness are more positive than the average ratings of the group members.... The results of our studies are in favor of the selective attention account: People selectively attend to the most attractive members of a group and their attractiveness has a greater influence on the evaluation of the group."
The study speaks not a word about the effects, if any, of group members who are repulsive.
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