Physical appearance and control beliefs in young, middle-aged, and older adults

Abstract

The authors investigated whether general and domain-specific control beliefs were related to stigmatizing physical appearance qualities in young, middle-aged, and older adults. Being babyfaced, unattractive, or short was associated with diminished control beliefs in young and middle adulthood, whereas being overweight was not. Those who were less attractive, more babyfaced, shorter, or heavier sometimes perceived more rather than less control than their more favored peers, suggesting that individuals whose appearance creates social barriers may compensate with greater efforts to control their social environment. One notable age difference was that high babyfaceness was associated with diminished control beliefs at younger ages but with higher control beliefs in older adulthood.