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Abstract

To determine the extent to which third- and fourth-grade children relate perceived age and perceived physical attractiveness when performing a ranking task using two sets of photographic facial stimuli, 40 elementary school children, 20 boys (aged 7 to 9 yr., M = 8.4 yr.) and 20 girls (aged 8 to 9 yr., M = 8.6 yr.) were asked to rank male and female photographs according to the dimensions of age and physical attractiveness. The rho of –.94 was negative; as perceived age increased perceived physical attractiveness decreased. This result is consistent with that of a previous study by Korthase and Trenholme in which adults and adolescents performed the same task. The pervasiveness of the stereotypes for age and physical attractiveness is evident. By the time children reach third or fourth grade, they have assimilated these biases.

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Children's Perceptions of Age and Physical Attractiveness

Abstract

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