Appearance, Stereotype-Incongruent Behavior, and Social Relationships

Abstract

The relationship of appearance to family and peer relationships was investigated in a sample of delinquent adolescent boys and a matched sample of nondelinquents, controlling for age, IQ, socioeconomic status, and family risk factors. As predicted, the effects of appearance on family relationships varied with the boys’ delinquency status, with more baby faced or more attractive delinquents experiencing more adverse effects and more baby faced or more attractive nondelinquents experiencing more favorable effects. These results were attributed in part to a contrast effect whereby delinquents’ violation of the benign expectations held for baby faced or attractive individuals results in more negative outcomes for those individuals than for their more mature faced or unattractive peers. Consistent with previous research, peer relationships were better for attractive boys, albeit only when they were delinquent. Peer relationships tended to be poorer for baby faced boys regardless of their delinquency status.