The Effect of Modesty and Gender on the Perception of Attractive and Unattractive Individuals
Abstract
Beauty and attractiveness play an important role in how individuals are perceived. Additionally, the personality trait of modesty has been examined and found to have an impact on perceptions of people. Although there has been a great deal of separate research conducted on attractiveness and modesty, there has not yet been any research conducted on the effects on person-perception. The present study was designed to examine the effects of level of modesty and gender on the perception of attractive and unattractive individuals. Participants were asked to rate their perceived perceptions of personality traits of either an attractive or unattractive individual based on a photograph and a personal statement. The results were analyzed and it was found that modesty has a significant impact on perceptions of people and there are interactions between gender and modesty for unattractive individuals for some perceptions of personality traits.