The Role of Physical Attractiveness in the Interpretation of Facial Expression Cues

Does the meaning of nonverbal signals depend on the physical attractiveness of the communicator? This study looked at the way positive or neutral facial expression cues by attractive or unattractive female communicators are interpreted. Subjects read detailed descriptions of a female target character accompanied by realistic pictures showing her as physically attractive or unattractive and displaying either a positive (smiling) or a neutral facial expression. Three dimensions of impression formation were assessed: evaluation, self-confidence, and responsibility. Results showed (1) that both physical attractiveness and facial expression had a positive main effect on judgments and (2) that there was a significant and nonobvious interaction on judgments of self-confidence and responsibility. Smiling made attractive targets appear more self-confident, and also more responsible for transgressions, but the same expression had exactly the opposite effect when displayed by unattractive individuals. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for nonverbal communication in real-life situations and in terms of their relevance to current work on physical attractiveness and impression formation