Contrast effects in ratings of male desirability: physical attractiveness or status and resources?

Evolutionary theories of mate selection suggest women prefer men who will make good life partners and supporters. Contrast effects in attractiveness occur when exposure to attractive images changes the rated attractiveness of a target. Contrast effects for physical attractiveness have been tested in rating females, but not rating males. The current experiment examines contrast effects for physical attractiveness and status and resources cues of men. I hypothesized that female participants would rate high status/wealth males as more desirable than high attractive males and that contrast effects would occur for both status/wealth and physical attractiveness. In other words, after viewing high attractive males and high status/wealth males, an average target would receive a lower rating. Although no contrast effects were found, participants rated physical attractiveness higher than status and wealth. Possible reasons for these findings and future considerations are discussed.