Beauty Is Power
Not only are beautiful people perceived to be kinder, but they are also thought of as more successful in other endeavors. For example, in a survey done around the world, people would not be as likely to date someone if they were not physically fit or had good looks. In dating, the more physically attractive person is expected to be better in every way. This has to do with unspoken signals between the brain and the body. If a person is fit and healthy looking, the brain perceives the person as a more suitable mate, and is therefore seen as more attractive (Etcoff, Nancy).
Thus, beautiful people are also expected to be more sexually successful. In a study done with high school males, the more dominant looking (heavy brow ridges, deep set eyes, prominent chins, cheekbones, and muscles), the more sex they had. They also started having sex earlier than less-dominant looking males. Interestingly enough, however, the high school experience for boys is not as accurate towards success in life as it is for girls. This is because it is more likely for boys to acquire other assets that make them more attractive, such as money and a high-ranking job.
Above: Men who are more dominant looking usually start having sex earlier and more often (15).
Beauty in the Workplace
This idea that a beautiful person is innately a better human is termed in social psychology as the “halo effect,” coined in 1920 by Edward Thorndike. The idea speaks about an unconscious cognitive bias where having one positive trait leads to the assumption that the person has many other positive traits (digitalcommons.bucknell.edu). People who have the positive trait of attractiveness are automatically assumed to have other positive traits as well. These traits are usually assumed to be intelligence, wit, and politeness.
This leads to the question of how these automatically assumed traits affect people in the workplace environment. If people who are beautiful are automatically assumed to be better, then how influential are looks on hiring biases and working pay? It seems as though beauty is very influential. In a study done where corporate recruiters were asked to choose between two applicants with the exact same resume, 72% of the recruiters chose the applicant that was taller (one was 6’1 and the other 5’5). Only one of the recruiters chose the shorter one, and the others did not have a preference (Etcoff, Nancy). In another study at the University of Pittsburgh, the average salary was set at $43,000, but males who were above 6 feet were paid $4,000 dollars more than 5’5 males. There were no differences in actual work quality. The reason for this is that height is usually associated with dominance, power, and status. A person who is taller is automatically viewed as more successful.
Interestingly enough, attractive biases are not always applied positively to females in the workplace. In some positions that are typically filled by a male, the more attractive female is actually evaluated less favorably than the less attractive female (Shahani-Denning, Comila). In a study done where people applied for traditionally masculine, feminine, and neutral jobs, the attractive applicants were always preferred, if they were applying for the jobs that fit their gender. However, this study revealed that attractiveness was only consistently helpful for males, and was only advantageous for females applying for a “feminine” job.
Left: Attractive biases in the workplace affect salary, expectations, and hiring chances, particularly for women (16).
It is not difficult to say why beauty is so revered. After all, the face and the body are what the eyes remark first. When the eyes register something, the brain is automatically scanning, probing, and attempting to understand every aspect of the subject. Although many people pride themselves on being able to see through a person’s appearance, the subconscious is always judging, as survival has deemed it necessary for the brain to assess if the subject standing in front of it may be dangerous (Mlodinow, Leonard).
While survival is part of why beauty is so important, evolution is the other key reason. If the brain deems someone attractive, this is because it has analyzed all the aspects of the person’s face and body, and is pleased by it. Thus, the brain, and consequently, the body will react towards that person in a different way than it would with a person who is not so “pleasing”. The human brain has not been wired to distinguish between surface and substance. What the brain sees on the surface is translated into what is expected to be within (Etcoff, Nancy).
Beautiful in Society
So if we know that the brain reacts towards attractive people more positively than towards less attractive people, how does this translate directly into actions towards both of these groups of people? Is beauty truly such an influential factor?
In a study done with 75 college men who were shown photographs of different women, it seems that beauty is extremely influential in the way people act towards others. The men were asked how likely they were to help the women with real life problems, such as helping to change a tire, giving directions, and even giving money. All the men chose the more attractive women to help, and even agreed that they would give them money. When asked why they were so willing to help, the men answered that they seemed nicer and more trustworthy.