The Physical Attractiveness of One's Rival: A Self- Evaluation Maintenance Perspective

The present experiment examined women's state body images and reactions of jealousy based on reading scenarios describing a party. The scenario described the woman watching her partner engaging in conversation with either a physically attractive or unattractive woman. Ninety heterosexual female college students completed a pretest packet containing measures that assessed body image evaluation and investment. After a week, they read one of the two scenarios and completed the state body image measure, experiential sampling assessment, jealousy questionnaire„manipulation check, and postexperimental inquiry. As expected, there was more jealousy toward the attractive woman, and more jealousy expressed by those dysfunctionafiy invested in appearance and by those with negative views of attractive women. The interaction between condition and thinness investment approached significance. This indicated more jealousy expressed by those high in thinness investment than those low in investment within the attractive woman scenario. As predicted, participants who were highly invested in their appearance had poorer body images than those low in investment. Consistent with hypotheses, women reported more negative emotions upon reading the attractive woman scenario. Those more dysfunctionally invested in appearance reported more negative emotions than those low in investment. Significant interactions were found between condition and thinness investment and condition and negative views of attractive women. This indicated that within the attractive woman condition„ those more invested and those with more negative attitudes toward attractive women expressed more negative emotions than their low counterparts. These same groups (high investment and high negative attitudes) experienced more negative emotions in the attractive woman condition than the unattractive woman condition. Also as expected, women who were highly invested in appearance and those who have more negative views of attractive women mentioned the appearance of the other woman more frequently. These same groups of women were also more likely to behave in maladaptive fashions in reaction to the party situation. Theoretical and social implications of the findings are discussed.