The Nature and Function of Self-esteem and Body esteem on the Evaluation of Others Physical Attractiveness

Abstract

Physical attractiveness is how an individual’s physical appearance is assessed in terms of beauty or aesthetic qualities. In socio-psychological literature, it is known that people with low self-esteem tend to evaluate themselves poorly in comparison with others. The goal of the current study is to examine how a person’s self-esteem and body-esteem influences one’s perception of the physical attractiveness of himself/herself and of other people, especially when one’s physical appearance is made salient. A questionnaire was administered to 123 high school students. This was comprised of socio-demographic profile, Rosenberg’s (1965) self-esteem scale, Franzoi and Shield’s (1984) Body-esteem scale, and Measures of Physical Attractiveness. The subjects were then divided into a control and treatment group following a matched-pairs design. They were further divided into The second part is comprised of nine photographs of other people of similar age which the subjects were asked to rate based on perceived attractiveness – with those in the treatment group being asked to rate the photographs while facing a mirror to draw their attention to their own physical features while they evaluate the photographs. The results and their implications are then discussed, as well as recommendations for further study.