Liking for an evaluator as a function of her physical attractiveness and nature of the evaluations

Abstract The relationship between physical attractiveness and liking was investigated in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The physical attractiveness (attractive versus unattractive) of an evaluator and the nature of her evaluation (positive versus negative) were manipulated, and the effects of these manipulations examined. We found, as predicted, a significant interaction: the attractive evaluator who was positive was liked most, while the attractive evaluator who presented a negative evaluation was liked least. Between these two extremes, liking was greater for the unattractive-positive evaluator than the unattractive-negative evaluator.