The Importance of Attractiveness Varies Between Urban and Rural Areas
importance of attractiveness is not universal; rather, it is determined by where we live.

It has been scientifically proven that people are more inclined to attractive individuals, and therefore attractive people benefit because of their good looks. It may seem stereotypical, but it’s been shown through numerous studies over decades that good-looking people have an increased psychological well-being, because they are engaged in more social relationships than others. This may also be one of the key reasons why people spend thousands of dollars each year to make themselves more attractive, in hopes of having a better sense of well-being.

Though this fact is commonly known throughout the Communications and Psychology communities, a new study has been found to alter some of the variables of this attractiveness theory.

A team of researchers from University of Georgia and University of Kansas published a study in December’s issue of Personal Relationships that states that the importance of attractiveness is not universal; rather, it is determined by where we live.

This study found that the importance of attractiveness of a person to our social lives and psychological well-being is much more important in urban areas; however in rural areas physical attractiveness is not as great of a concern.

In urban areas, individuals exhibit a great amount of social choice; they have a vast amount of people to choose from to have interpersonal relationships with, and thus, the choice of associating with attractive people is a part of that. For women, this knowledge seems to determine a psychological sense of well-being, because the more attractive they are, the more they are chosen to be involved in social relationships. This is why the counterpart (being not as attractive) leads to a lesser sense of well-being.

However, in rural areas, a person’s attractiveness seems not to matter as much because for people in these areas the amount of surrounding people is considerably less and so relationships are less about choice and more about who is already living in the community. This shows that the choice of social interaction with people is no longer about physical beauty, therefore, the level of attractiveness of a person doesn’t link as strongly with feeling good about oneself.

Dr. Victoria C. Plaut and her team studied women on data related to their well being, social connectedness, and their body attractiveness (assessed by calculation of waist-to-hip ratio). Plaut says, “In the field of Psychology, research results are generally seen as having a natural and universal applicability. This research suggests that this is far from being the case. Rather, the importance of attractiveness varies with certain socio-cultural environments, and, if you think about it, urban environments are actually a relatively recent addition to human life.”

Kathryne McCoach
Staff Reporter
AskMyObgyn.com
KMccoach@askmyobgyn.com

January 13, 2010