Chapter 1. Warm Glow Heuristic
1.1 Introduction
Warm Glow Heuristic
Scientists have been interested in identifying an objective way to quantify and describe attractiveness. However, the objectivity has eluded them. The purpose of this study is to examine how memory heuristics may influence perceived attractiveness.
1.2 Experiment Setup
1.3 Instructions
Instructions
You will need to press the space bar to start the experiment. A series of faces will appear in the center of the screen, one face at a time. There will be 40 faces presented for 7 seconds each; there will be a 3-second pause between presentations. Your task is to supply a rating for each face on a scale from 0 to 10. A 0 denotes a face that is not at all [attractive, familiar] and 10 denotes a face that is extremely [attractive, familiar]. The next face will be presented after you supply a rating.
Keyboard Responses
| Key | What Response Means |
|---|---|
| 0 | Not at all attractive (or familiar) |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Extremely attractive (or familiar) |
1.4 Experiment
Begin Experiment
1.5 Results
Results
1.6 Debriefing
Debriefing
This experiment is a replication of a study by Monin (2003) that provided a conclusive measure of the relationship between familiarity and attractiveness. The results of this study demonstrate that familiarity is a driving force in our perception of attractiveness. Monin described this bias as the warm glow heuristic. This heuristic is similar to an effect found by Zajonc (1968) in his “mere exposure paradigm,” which demonstrated that previous experience with a face or object leads to higher average attractiveness ratings. The warm glow finding mirrors anecdotal evidence that suggests that we find faces of attractive people to be familiar in some way. The underlying mechanisms of both phenomena are still debated; however, it may reflect some sort of evolutionary adaptation.
References:
Monin, B. (2003) The warm glow heuristic: when liking leads to familiarity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 85(6), 1035-1048.
Zajonc, R. B. (2001). Mere exposure: a gateway to the subliminal. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 224-228.
Zajonc, R. B. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 1-27.
1.7 Quiz
Quiz