An assessment of positive illusions of the physical attractiveness of romantic partners

Abstract

Positive illusions about a partner’s physical attractiveness occur when individuals’ ratings of their partner’s attractiveness are more positive than more objective ratings. Ratings that may serve as a’’reality benchmark’ include ratings by the partner him/herself and observer ratings. The present study compared the effects of using different reality benchmarks on the strength of positive partner physical attractiveness illusions ( n = 70 couples). Results showed that individuals positively biased both their own and their partner’s physical attractiveness. As a consequence, using a partner’s self-ratings as a reality benchmark results in an underestimation of positive illusions. Presenting participants with photographs had a small effect on physical attractiveness ratings provided by women, showing that photographs, to some extent, might constrain positive illusions.