Running head: PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS AND SUCCESS 
 
 

**”We affirm that we have adhered to the college’s expectations for integrity in the completion of this paper.” (signature) 
 

Beauty and Success     2

Does Beauty Bring You Farther?: The Connection between Physical 

Attractiveness and Success

     Theories have long supported the notion that what is beautiful is 

good (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972).  In the study entitled “What is 

Beautiful is Good,” Dion et al. (1972) investigates the physical 

attractiveness stereotype in a broad study that looks at how 

attractiveness affects one’s perceived personality traits.  The study also

looks at whether physical attractiveness leads to a better life.  Studies

continue to focus on the question of how physical attractiveness affects

one’s success in life.  Through factors of attractiveness including gender,

body size and age, it is apparent that physical attractiveness affects

success in three areas of life- popularity, perceptions of performance and

social interaction.

     When looking at studies about physical attractiveness, researchers 

often focus on gender, body size and age as three common factors.  We 

will first discuss these three different factors to understand what 

researchers look at when considering physical attractiveness.  Later, we 

will explore the effects that physical attractiveness has on success, 

specifically in three categories of life that were commonly found within 

our eight studies. 

Factors of Attractiveness

     Physical appearance according to Dion et al. (1972) “is the personal

characteristic most obvious and accessible to others in social 

interaction” (p. 285).  Gender, body size, and age are important to focus 

on when studying the most obvious and accessible characteristic that

people see – one’s physical attractiveness. 

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Gender

     Gender is one area often focused on when studying physical 

attractiveness.  In the studies we viewed, the outcomes of males and 

females often differed because of gender.  For example, in Schumaker, 

Krejci, Small and Sargent’s (1985) study of loneliness in obese individuals,

researchers found that the connection between body size and loneliness is

mentioned study, Reis, Wheeler, Spiegel, Kernis, Nezlek and Perri (1982) 

found that male’s beauty is of greater consequence than female’s, at least

as the amount of socialization is concerned.  This reveals that the effects

of physical attractiveness differ between the genders. 

Body Size

     Body size plays a major role in physical attractiveness.  A study 

concerning obese individuals focuses fully on the effect body size has on

feelings of loneliness (Schumaker et al., 1985).  In another study about 

physical attractiveness and sexual experience, Wiederman and Hurst (1985) 

used body size as a main determinant of one’s physical attractiveness. They 

found that body size affected overall sexual experiences including dating 

and intercourse.  From these studies, we conclude that body size is a major

part of physical attractiveness and may affect one’s overall success. 

Age

     In studies summarized in Perlini, Bertolissi and Lind (1999) it is 

apparent that the “What is Beautiful is Good” stereotype plays a large 

role  throughout an individual’s life.  Some studies have suggested that

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slowness, and dependency.  Since age naturally affects physical appearance,

Perlini et al. (1999) suggests that perhaps, “What is aged is less good” 

(p. 343).  Participants in this study viewed pictures of both attractive 

and unattractive older and younger individuals. From these photographs, 

they judged the social desirability of each person.  The study found that 

it was less socially desirable to be younger and unattractive than to be 

older and unattractive.  This shows that physical attractiveness plays a 

larger role in the perception of younger women than in older women.  

Overall age is an important factor of physical attractiveness. 

Effects of Physical Attractiveness

     After looking at the different ways researchers explore the concept of

physical attractiveness, we will now focus on the effects physical 

attractiveness has one’s success.  We were able to distinguish three 

particular areas of life that physical attractiveness affected in various

studies.  These effects include popularity, perception of performance and 

social interaction. 

Popularity

     Physical attractiveness plays a role in defining popularity from 

childhood to adulthood.  In a study by Boyatzis, Baloff and Durieux (1998)

they tested ninth graders to discover whether physical attractiveness or 

academics is more important in deciding popularity.  The researchers gave 

each participant a hypothetical partner that they judged the popularity 

of.  Each hypothetical partner was described as either attractive with high

grades, unattractive with high grades, attractive with low grades or 

unattractive with low grades.  The results showed that attractiveness was 

more important in determining popularity than grades. 

     In relation to the previous study, researchers found that in adult’s 

everyday exchange, physical attractiveness plays an important part in who

people choose to, or would rather interact with (Mulford, Orbell, Shatto &

Stockard, 1998).  In the study, adult participants were recruited to choose

people to work with and cooperate with from a small group of other 

subjects.  At the end of the study, each participant rated the 

attractiveness of the other subjects.  This method is different from many

of the studies we looked at. In most studies, the participants did not 

rate the attractiveness of the other subjects. A panel of judges not involved 

in the study usually did the rating.  The results of this study showed that

subjects were more likely to interact with people they found more 

attractive.  They were also more likely to cooperate with physically

     On the opposite end of the popularity spectrum, Schumaker et al. (1985) 

looked at the connection between loneliness and physical attractiveness.  The

researchers chose a sample of obese and nonobese individuals who rated their

feelings of loneliness through a survey.  They found that obese individuals

were more likely to report feelings of loneliness than nonobese individuals.

Perceptions of Performance

     Several experiments have been done to prove that individuals tend to form

impressions and make judgments about people on the basis of what they look

like (Landy & Sigall, 1974).  In a study by Landy and Sigall (1974), they wanted

to find a direct correlation between physical attractiveness and performance

evaluation. Participants in the study read two different kinds of essays –

poorly written and well written.  In each case, they were led to believe that

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physically unattractive.  The study found that attractiveness did matter in 

judging essays – although the essay content and the way one looks has no 

relation.  If the person’s essay was above average, they were given high 

scores no matter how attractive they were. However, if a person’s essay was 

below average, attractiveness may help to receive a higher rating. 

    In another study that looked at people’s perceptions of performance and 

physical attractiveness, participants watched tapes of Ronald Reagan and 

Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential debate. They judged the two candidates on

physical attractiveness and expressiveness (Patterson, Churchill, Burger &

Powell, 1992). The study found that favorability ratings for Reagan were 

higher than for Mondale. The higher ratings were partly attributed to Reagan’s

higher physical attractiveness.  Overall, the study concluded that it was

likely that a more attractive Mondale could not have beaten Reagan, 

considering he won by so much. However, in closer elections, like Kennedy’s 

success in 1960, physical appearance could make the difference between winning

and losing. 

Social Interaction

    So far, many of the studies in this paper have focused on the first

impressions people have of others.  In contrast with those studies, Reis et

al. (1982) focused specifically on social interactions between people who have

previously met.  Each college student that participated in this study was told

to keep a record of items like the length, intimacy and quality of each

interaction they had.  At the conclusion of the study, pictures of each

participant were taken and judged for attractiveness by unknown students.

Throughout this study, they found that attractive students had higher quality

interactions than unattractive students.  They also discovered that attractive

males had more interactions with females and less with males.  However,

physical attractiveness did not relate to the quantity of interactions that

females had. 

    A study by Wiederman and Hurst (1998) narrows in on one specific aspect of

social interactions: sexual relations.  The female participants filled out a

questionnaire booklet pertaining to relationship status and sexual 

experience.  A male and female judge rated their attractiveness, and their

body size was taken into consideration. Results showed that the participants

currently in a relationship were relatively smaller in size and more 

attractive.  Virgins were heavier and less attractive.  Although physical

attractiveness played a role relationship status and virginity, it was

unrelated to the number of partners nonvirgins had in their lifetime. 

Discussion

    When looking at the studies as a whole, it is clear that physical 

attractiveness usually has an impact on success in one’s life.  At first, we

assumed and had always believed that being physically attractive could only 

bring about positive results for a person.  Although that is true in many 

cases, after reading these studies we discovered that being physically 

     Being physically attractive has many benefits.  This is especially true 

when dealing with perception.  As seen in the studies, if one is physically

attractive, their work may be judged as higher quality (Landy & Sigall, 1974)

and they may be more likely to be trusted as a leader (Patterson et al.

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not be discriminated against.  However, if an attractive person produces any

quality of work, the work will be judged favorably.  Similarly, physical 

attractiveness is a positive factor when dealing with popularity.  Popularity

influences success through peer relations (Boyatzis et al., 1998), makes one

less likely to be lonely (Schumaker et al., 1985), and makes one seem easier

to cooperate with (Mulford et al. 1998). 

    Physical attractiveness does not always bring success with it.  We found

this to be especially true when viewing social interactions.  For example, in

the study dealing with sexual relations, researchers found that the more 

attractive a subject was, the more likely they were to have had sex (Wiederman

& Hurst, 1998). Of course, sexual intercourse is not always a determinant of

your success or happiness in life.  In the study by Reis et al. (1982) we

found that physically attractive males interacted more with females than 

males.  Likewise, this conclusion does not always guarantee success. 

Weaknesses of the Research

    In looking at the quality of the studies, we have come up with a few 

weaknesses.  Many of the studies used college students as participants.  This

is most likely because college students are accessible to researchers.  We 

believe just using college students could pose a problem and might skew the

results of the studies. College students already base many of their opinions

on physical attractiveness, because it is something that is deemed important

to them.  These strong opinions might come out in the studies and make

physical attractiveness seem more important than it is.  The studies could

have been improved if a sample of older people had also been used. 

    Another weakness of these studies is inherent to the topic of physical

attractiveness itself.  What is considered physically attractive widely varies 

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between individuals.  Therefore, it is difficult to find an all encompassing

definition or sample of physical attractiveness.  In the study dealing with

sexual relations (Wiederman & Hurst, 1998) the researchers only used two

individuals to judge the participants attractiveness. Two opinions of physical

attractiveness may not be enough to guarantee an accurate judgment.  To

improve this study, the researchers could have followed the example of other

studies and used a larger panel of judges to consider what truly is and is not

attractive. 

Directions for Future Research

    There are still topics left unanswered that spark our curiosity.  Although

most studies had a broad focus on physical attractiveness, we are interested

to see what physical features impact overall attractiveness the most.  For

example, is body size more influential than facial attractiveness?  We are

also interested to see what skills are judged as less important than physical

attractiveness.  Physical attractiveness outweighed academic skills in the

study by Boyatzis et al. (1998).  We wonder if physical attractiveness might

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References

Boyatzis, C., Baloff, P., & Durieux, C. (1998).  Effects of perceived 

     attractiveness and academic success on early adolescent peer popularity.

     Journal of Genetic Psychology, 159, 337-345. 

Dion, K., Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1972).  What is beautiful is good. 

     Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24, 285-290. 

Landy, D. & Sigall, H. (1974).  Beauty is talent: Task evaluation as a 

     function of the performer’s physical attractiveness. Journal of 

     Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 299-304. 

Mulford, M., Orbell, J., Shatto, C., & Stockard, J. (1998).  Physical

     attractiveness, opportunity, and success in everyday exchange.  The 

     American Journal of Sociology, 103, 1565-1593. 

Patterson, M.  Churchill, M., Burger, G., & Powell, J. (1992).  Verbal and 

     nonverbal modality effects on impressions of political candidates:

     Analysis from the 1984 presidential debates.  Communication Monographs,

     59, 231-242. 

Perlini, A., Bertolissi, S., & Lind, D. (1999).  The effects of women’s age

     and physical appearance on evaluations of attractiveness and social 

     desirability.  The Journal of Social Psychology, 139, 343. 

Reis, H., Wheeler, L., Spiegel, N., Kernis, M., Nezlek, J., & Perri, M. 

     (1982).  Physical attractiveness in social interaction: II. Why does 

     appearance affect social experience?  Journal of Personality and Social 

     Psychology, 43, 979-996. 

Schumaker, J., Krejci, R., Small, L., & Sargent, R. (1985).  Experience of

     loneliness by obese individuals.  Psychological Reports, 57, 1147-1154. 

Wiederman, M., & Hurst, S. (1998).  Body size, physical attractiveness, and

     body image among young adult women: Relationships to sexual experience 

     and sexual esteem.  The Journal of Sex Research, 35, 272-282.