Mulford et al conclude that attractive people ‘have more opportunities for social exchange, but those opportunities are with others who are relatively inclined to cooperate.’ (1998, 1585). Significantly, the same researchers also identify subjects’ perceptions of their own attractiveness as important determinants of behaviour. It is important to recognise the emotional aspect of beauty. Kirwan considers ‘not the objective qualities of the beautiful, but rather the dynamics of the event of beauty, the perception of beauty that is the mental state which issues in the feeling that a thing is beautiful’. (Kirwan 1999, 4). In a.
