THE LOOKS-PERSONALITY RELATIONSHIP - GLOBAL SELF-ORIENTATIONS AS SHARED PRECURSORS OF SUBJECTIVE PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS AND SELF-ASCRIBED TRAITS

A global self-orientations model of the relationship between subjectiv e physical attractiveness and personality is described and tested. Thi s model, which proposes that self-esteem and two types of social desir ability (self-presentation and self-deception) are causal antecedents in the self-rated looks-personality link, was supported in two studies . In Studies 1 (n = 243 females) and 2 (n = 160 males), self-esteem an d social desirability independently had an impact on self-judgments of both physical attractiveness and personality, and statistically contr olling for the impact of the global self-orientations substantially re duced the covariation between subjective attractiveness and personalit y scores. In addition, consistent with previous research, self-rated a ttractiveness was found to be significantly correlated with a wider ra nge of personality attributes than was objective attractiveness.