Perceived Physical Attractiveness in Married Partners of Long and Short Duration

A self-rating scale of physical attractiveness (SRPA) was administered to 10 couples of long marriage duration and 10 couples of short marriage duration. The SRPA provided Ss with the opportunity to make physical attractiveness attributions to self, spouse, ideal spouse, and the expected rating of self by the spouse. Perceived attractiveness similarity was nonsignificant across all groups, while the spouse-ideal spouse congruency was highly significant across all groups. While husbands did not evidence a need for self-concept support, wives in both long and short marriage durations appeared to be concerned that the husband agree with their own self-view of physical attractiveness. Accuracy in estimating the spouse’s physical attractiveness characterized short marriage groups, but not long marriage groups