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Does Beauty Bring You Farther?: The Connection between Physical Attractiveness and Success Name Concordia College-Moorhead
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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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Beauty and Success 3 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 ismore apparent in women than in men. Contrary to the previously 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 thatolder people are judged to have unfavorable characteristics like frailty, |
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Beauty and Success 4 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. |
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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 physicallyattractive individuals. 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 thatthe writer of the essay they read was either physically attractive or |
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Beauty and Success 6 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 |
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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 physicallyattractive does not necessarily render success. 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.1992). If one is unattractive and produces stellar work, they probably will |
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Beauty and Success 8 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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Beauty and Success 9 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 mightovercome athletic ability, musical ability or any other talent.
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Beauty and Success 10 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. |
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