Social Behavior and Personality 2001 29 (3), 277-288

The Effects of Male Age and Physical Appearance on Evaluations of Attractiveness, Social Desirability and Resourcefulness.*

By Arthur H. Perlini, Angela Marcello, Samantha D. Hansen, Ward Pudney (Algoma University College, Laurentian University, Canada, Laurentian University, Canada, and University of Waterloo, Canada, Raytheon Industries Inc, Waterloo, Canada)

Younger women are perceived as possessing a host of socially desirable attributes, some of which are the same traits attributed to attractive women (Perlini, Bertolissi, & Lind, 1999). Evolutionary hypotheses would not predict similar patterns of trait ascriptions for males who differ in age and attractiveness, since neither youth nor beauty is a successful strategy for mate selection amongst females. To test this hypothesis, young and elderly females rated the traits of attractiveness, social desirability and resourcefulness in 1 of 4 target males who varied in age and attractiveness. The results indicated that neither the age nor the attractiveness of the male target influenced ascriptions of socially desirable traits. Young, compared to elderly, judges ascribed more resourcefulness to the male targets. Regardless of the target age, the younger

* Reproduced with permission of Robert A. C. Stewart Editor of Social Behav and Personality