10 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH Volume 6, Number 1 Submitted: November 25, 2009 Revisions: December 30, 2009 Accepted: January 1, 2010 Publication Date: January 6, 2010 . Determinants of Male Attractiveness: “Hotness” Ratings as a Function of Perceived Resources Gregory A. Shuler and David M. McCord Department of Psychology Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723 mccord@wcu.edu ABSTRACT Evolutionary theories have been used in numerous studies to successfully predict the mate selection preferences of both sexes. These studies have consistently shown that men throughout the world place a greater degree of emphasis on physical beauty while women place greater emphasis on financial prospects. Previous studies have also demonstrated that symbols designating resource accruement can be manipulated experimentally to enhance or diminish the attractiveness of a male in a controlled environment. Our study seeks to build upon this research by seeking to establish a linear, positive relationship between a male’s attractiveness as perceived by the opposite sex and resource accruement. We utilize the popular online dating/rating website HotOrNot.com whereby users rate the “hotness” of strangers. The website offers a platform to obtain high N values from a naturalistic setting that should confer high external reliability. We manipulated the resources of a target male by placing him in an identical position next to three cars of vastly different monetary values that implies ownership of each car. Our results generally support the hypothesis of a positive linear relationship between a male’s attractiveness and the value of his resources.