Introduction

1. Procedure • . • Physical attractiveness of target teenagers was assessed at Times 1 and 2 using a naïve coding system. • . • At Times 1 and 2, teens’ mothers completed the parent child conflict questionnaire (a modification of the original Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992), indicating who typically makes the final decision when an argument arises between them and their teenage son or daughter. • At Time 3, target teenagers completed a personality inventory (from the International Personality Item Pool), which measured their characteristic agreeableness (Goldberg et al, 2006) Introduction Physical attractiveness has been associated with preferential treatment across the lifespan. Beginning in elementary school, teachers have reported having higher expectations of attractive children (Clifford & Walster, 1973). In adulthood, research indicates that jurors will give more attractive defendants less severe sentences (Ahola, Helltrom, & Christianson, 2010). Furthermore, more physically attractive individuals receive higher salaries (Hudosa, Stone-Romero & Coats, 2003). What is less clear is how more subtle preferential treatment, for instance decisions made between mothers and their adolescents, may be affected by physical attractiveness. Although this attractiveness bias can have serious consequences on your life (e.g., jail time, job salary, etc), little research has investigated links between physical attractiveness and stable personality characteristics. If physical attractiveness is associated with interpersonal behaviors throughout development, and those interpersonal behaviors are thought to translate into learned patterns of behavior according to social learning theory, then it could be suggested that physical attractiveness may influence personality. This longitudinal, multi-reporter study examines the effects of physical attractiveness on adolescent decision-making habits with mothers and personality characteristics in early adulthood. Hypotheses . Physical Attractiveness will predict increased instances of teens making the final decision in arguments with their mothers. . Physical attractiveness will predict higher levels of the agreeable personality trait in adulthood. . Preferential Treatment and Who you Become: Effects of Physical Attractiveness on Decision Making and Personality.Megan M. Schad, Caroline White, Joseph P. Allen, Joanna M. Chango, & Elie HesselUniversity of Virginia.We would like to thank the National Institute of Child Health & Human Developmentfor funding awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal Investigator, (9 R01 HD058305-A11) for funding to conduct this study as well as for the write-up of this study. Measures . Physical Attractiveness Coding System (Schad & Allen, 2009, unpublished manuscript) Teen’s physical attractiveness was coded at Time 1 using a naïve coding system in which no specific instruction as to what to look for was given - coders personal ideas about physical attractiveness were used as the basis of coding. Both males and females were used on an ethnically diverse coding team (ICC = .89). . Parent Child Conflict Questionnaire (a modification of the original Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992) This questionnaire assesses parent-child conflict in several areas of adolescent behavior. On a seven-point scale, teen participants rate how often they disagree with the target parent on each problem behavior. The participants then indicate who ultimately makes the final decision in each type of disagreement (α=.69). International Personality Item Pool (Goldberg et al, 2006) This abbreviated version of the International Personality Item Pool assesses each participant’s agreeableness using a 10-item scale.  Participants were asked to rate to what extent a series of  statements described their personality.   The scales' reliability was in the excellent range (α=.82). Conclusions Method Results indicate that physical attractiveness is influential in subtle interpersonal processes such as decision making in adolescence. These processes may be important aspects of developing autonomy and learning to make adult decisions in late adolescence.  Developing autonomy is a process in adolescence associated with long term positive outcomes, including lower levels of relational aggression in friendships and romantic relationships, increased peer popularity, better social problem solving, and less peer-rated hostility (Allen et al, 2002; Kuperminc, Allen, & Arthur, 1996; Schad, Szwedo, Antonishak, & Allen, 2008).   Moreover, physical attractiveness is associated with stable personality characteristics. This may imply that physical attractiveness not only influences behavior of others but also how we develop over time.  Implicit personality theory suggests that physical attractiveness is a stimulus value that leads others to believe (initially) that attractive people are more competent and possibly more intelligent (Ashmore, & DelBoca, 1979; Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). Results • Participants • 184 teenagers and their mothers. • 58% Caucasian, 29% African American, and 13% Mixed or Other ethnicity. • Average household income was within the $30,000 to $39,000 range. • Target teen mean age was 15.78 years at Time 1, 18.33 at Time 2, and 23.78 at Time 3. Hierarchical regression analyses show that mothers of teens who are rated by coders as more physically attractive (age 16) report increases in the amount of time their son or daughter makes the final decision when they get into an argument from ages 16 to age 18 (β = .25, p < .01). That is, after controlling for baseline decision making, mothers of more attractive teens reported leaving more decisions up to their teenagers overtime. Furthermore, results also show that teens who are rated by coders as more physically attractive (age 18) report higher levels of trait agreeableness six years later (β = .16, p < .05).