Self-perceived physical attractiveness linked to stronger materialistic values

A study conducted in China has found that individuals who perceive themselves as physically attractive tend to be more materialistic—both explicitly and implicitly. The study’s authors suggest this occurs because people who believe they are attractive are more likely to compare themselves with others in terms of abilities, opinions, and social status, which in turn increases their materialistic tendencies. The research was published in Personality and Individual Differences.

Materialism is a value orientation that emphasizes the importance of acquiring and possessing material goods. These possessions are often viewed as essential to achieving happiness, success, and social standing. Materialism can be categorized as either explicit or implicit. Explicit materialism refers to consciously held beliefs and values about the significance of wealth and possessions. Individuals high in explicit materialism openly endorse the idea that money and material items bring satisfaction and define personal worth. Implicit materialism, on the other hand, reflects automatic or unconscious associations between material objects and a positive self-image or emotional reward.

Research has shown that implicit and explicit materialism can predict different types of behavior. For example, implicit materialism may influence impulsive or spontaneous spending, whereas explicit materialism is more strongly related to long-term financial goals. Although cultural factors can reinforce materialistic values, excessive materialism has been linked to lower well-being and weaker interpersonal relationships.

Study authors Xiaoyue Zhao and Baoyan Yang sought to explore the relationship between materialism and self-perceived physical attractiveness. They hypothesized that individuals who view themselves as more attractive would also tend to be more materialistic. More specifically, they proposed that those who perceive themselves as attractive are more inclined to engage in social comparison—evaluating themselves against others in terms of abilities, opinions, and status—which contributes to greater materialism. They also predicted that self-affirmation might buffer this relationship. The researchers conducted two separate studies to test their hypotheses.

The first study included 260 college students from three universities in Shandong Province, China. About 44% of the participants were male, and the average age was 20 years. Participants were divided into two groups based on their self-rated physical attractiveness. To reinforce these perceptions, the high-attractiveness group was asked to write about a time when they felt especially attractive, while the low-attractiveness group recalled an event when they felt unattractive.

All participants then completed a series of assessments, including the Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (to measure mood), the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Scale (to assess social comparison orientation), and two measures of materialism: the Materialism Values Scale and a collage-based technique.

The second study aimed to test whether self-affirmation could weaken the relationship between self-perceived attractiveness and materialism by reducing social comparison orientation. This study involved 820 college students from six universities in the Chinese provinces of Shandong, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Sichuan. Sixty-three percent of participants were female.

From this group, the researchers selected the 27% of participants who rated themselves as the most attractive for further analysis. These individuals were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. One group underwent a self-affirmation exercise: they selected their most important personal value from a list and wrote three reasons why it was important to them. The other group completed a devaluation task: they chose their least important value and wrote about why it was unimportant, followed by rating the significance of that value.

Results from the first study showed that individuals who perceived themselves as more attractive were more materialistic and had a stronger orientation toward social comparison. Further analysis suggested that self-perceived physical attractiveness may lead to greater materialism by increasing the tendency to compare oneself with others.

Findings from the second study confirmed that self-affirmation could indeed buffer this effect. In the group where self-affirmation was undermined, social comparison orientation was positively associated with both explicit and implicit materialism—indicating that those prone to comparing themselves to others were also more materialistic. However, in the group where self-affirmation was supported, higher levels of social comparison were actually linked to lower levels of materialism.

“The results indicate that: (1) Self-perceived physical attractiveness significantly and positively predicts both explicit and implicit materialism; (2) Social comparison orientation mediates the impact of self-perceived physical attractiveness on explicit and implicit materialism; (3) Self-affirmation buffers the mediating process through which high self-perceived physical attractiveness influences explicit and implicit materialism via social comparison orientation,” the study authors concluded.

The findings shed light on how self-perceptions of physical attractiveness may influence materialistic values, particularly through the psychological mechanism of social comparison. However, it is important to note that both studies were conducted among Chinese college students. The results may not generalize to other age groups, cultural contexts, or populations.

The paper, “Beauty and riches: People who think they are attractive are more materialistic, the mediating role of social comparison orientation and the buffering role of self-affirmation,” was authored by Xiaoyue Zhao and Baoyan Yang.