Feeling unattractive is a psychological condition

Jan 26, 2007 10:27 GMT  ·  By

Not every man can look like Brad Pitt, nor every woman like Scarlet Johanson.

But a recent study at the University at Buffalo showed that being physically unattractive or at least feeling like that can lead to health and well-being problems.

These people develop an anxiety that they will be rejected by others because of their physical appearance, which - if not mitigated - can lead to mental and physical issues.

Dr. Lora Park, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, UB College of Arts and Sciences, made an appearance-based rejection sensitivity scale (ARS scale) with 242 college students, to assess how people anxiously expected rejection from others due to their physical attractiveness.

Those more worried about their appearance-based rejection were more prone to have low self-esteem, high levels of neuroticism, insecure attachment styles, and to regard themselves as unattractive. The same people displayed higher symptoms of disordered eating. "Both men and women who reported being sensitive to appearance-based rejection were preoccupied with their body and weight in unhealthy ways. They avoided eating when they were hungry, exercised compulsively and engaged in binging and purging," says Park.

These people also had a higher tendency compared to people exhibiting low appearance-based rejection anxiety to make appearance-based comparisons, fact that worsened their feelings. "Some people engage in such behaviors because they are ultimately worried about being rejected by others if they don't measure up to looking a certain way," said Park. "For others, the underlying motivation for such behaviors may be less about interpersonal anxieties and more about maintaining and enhancing personal self-esteem."

In a second investigation, the research team found that these people were much more sensitive about things depicting negative aspects of their appearance than neutral topics (like objects they saw in a room).

The opposite was also valid, individuals with low appearance-based sensitivity were largely indifferent to listings of aspects of their appearance with which they were dissatisfied. "Simply having people list what they didn't like about their appearance, whether it was their weight, their height, having acne or some other facial or body feature, was sufficient for people high in appearance-based rejection sensitivity to feel lonely, rejected, unwanted and isolated," says Park.

The research team put the subjects in a third approach to compose an essay about a negative aspect of their appearance. After that, they were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions: a Self-Affirmation Condition, to list their greatest personal quality; a Secure Attachment Prime Condition, to list the initials of a close, caring relationship partner; or a Neutral Condition, to list an object seen in the room.

The less attractive people showed lower self-esteem and more negative mood, but only when asked to think of an object in the room. "Being reminded of an object in the room did nothing to improve people's self-esteem or mood following the appearance threat."

"However, a reminder of one's strengths or close relationships was enough to reduce the damaging effects of thinking about negative aspects of one's appearance," explains Park. "These findings emphasize the power of self-affirmation and of having close relationships in helping people cope with insecurities regarding their appearance."