The Effect of Information about Appearance Preference , and Personality Traits on Children's Attraction to Unacquainted Peers
Seon Kyung Lee
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of information of appearance, peer preference, and personality traits on children`s attraction to unacquainted same sex peers, and to determine the relative importance of the three types of information for the selection of a friend. The subjects of this study were 160 (80 boys and 80 girls) second grade children in Seoul. A Preference Questionnaire was administered in Session I to determine the likes of each subjects. The modified Preference Questionnaire (Reaves, 1981) was used. The subjects were then randomly assigned to one of eight experimental conditions. In Session II, subjects were shown pictures of attractive and unattractive children, described as having a positive or negative character, with preference similar or dissimilar to their own. Then they were administered the Interpersonal Attraction Scale (Reaves, 1981). The data were analyzed by three-way ANOVA, Scheffe′ test, and X². The results of this study were as a follows: The physically attractive stimulus child was preferred to the physically unattractive stimulus child. The stimulus child with preferences similar to the subjects` was preferred to the stimulus with dissimilar preferences. The stimulus with positive personality traits was preferred to the stimulus child with a negative personality. A difference in order of importance among the variables with regard to their influence on attraction ratings was found. Personality had stronger influence on attraction ratings than appearance or preference.
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