Everyone has heard the old adages: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and “Beauty is only skin deep.” As nice as it would be to believe these maxims are true, research demonstrates otherwise. In fact, various studies have shown that good-looking people have a definite edge in many areas of life, including business.
How Beauty Is Defined Across Cultures
According to Sharon S. Brehm, Saul M. Kassin, and Steven Fein, coauthors of Social Psychology (2002), based upon cross-cultural studies, there is evidence to support the proposition that “certain faces are inherently more attractive than others” (p. 308). For example, irrespective of ethnicity, males are considered better looking if they have a broad jaw, and females are thought more attractive if they have large eyes, prominent cheekbones, a small nose, and a wide smile.
Additionally, according to Sheryl Jean, writer for McClatchy Newspapers, researchers at the University of Toronto and University of California found that female faces were deemed most attractive when “the vertical distance between the eyes and mouth was 36 percent of the face’s length and the horizontal distance between the eyes was 46 percent of the facial width” (2011, p. 2D).
Regardless of gender, however, faces are judged more appealing when they’re symmetrical, meaning the two sides share the same composition. As for why this is the case, “. . . some evolutionary psychologists have speculated that symmetry is naturally associated with health, fitness, and fertility—qualities that are highly desirable in a mate” (Brehm, et al, 2002, p. 309).
The Economic Benefits of Beauty
In his latest book, Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful, University of Texas economics professor Daniel S. Hamermesh offers evidence that physically attractive people have financial advantages over those of average or less than average looks. In fact, people who aren’t considered especially attractive are often discriminated against when it comes to employment and business dealings, which is why Hamermesh suggests the creation of government programs to assist the “looks-challenged” (Princeton, 2011, para. 2).
According to Hamermesh, attractive people are more likely to:
- Be employed
- Obtain approvals for loans
- Negotiate loans with lower interest rates
- Work more profitably
- Earn higher salaries (Princeton, 2011)
In fact, when it comes to income, good-looking individuals tend to earn significantly more during their lifetimes than individuals with average or below-average looks. According to Hamermesh, studies have shown that “an American worker who was among the bottom one-seventh in looks, as assessed by randomly chosen observers, earned 10 to 15 percent less per year than a similar worker whose looks were assessed in the top one-third — a lifetime difference, in a typical case, of about $230,000” (para.1)
Good-looking people are also judged to be smarter and better adjusted, as well as more successful, socially skilled, confident, and assertive than less attractive people. Interestingly, though, they’re also considered vainer (Brehm, et al, 2002).
Advantages of Good Looks in the Business World
Jean relates that after an analysis of “photos of 50 male chief executives of large companies and the companies’ return on assets,” Elaine Wong, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee assistant professor of communications, concluded that CEOs with “a higher facial width relative to facial height perform better financially” (p. 2D).
Interestingly, however, as Jean points out, in an earlier study Wong found the higher someone’s facial width-to-height ratio, the more likely it was he or she would engage in unethical or deceitful behaviors, a fact that gives one food-for-thought, wouldn’t you agree?
In summary, regardless of how one defines beauty, the reality is that physically attractive people enjoy distinct advantages, both socially and professionally, over those who are considered average or unattractive. Of course, this reality helps explain why beauty is such a booming business and consumers are willing to spend billions a year on products and procedures to make them better looking, even though studies have shown, according to Hamermesh, that “such refinements make only small differences in our beauty” (2011, para. 4).
Sources:
Brehm, S., Kassin, S. & Fein, S. (2002) Social Psychology: Fifth Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
Hamermesh, D. S. “Ugly? You May Have a Case.” New York Times Sunday Review, August 27, 2011
Jean, S. “Beauty Pays Off, Study Fines.” McClatchy Newspapers; reprinted in The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA. November 11, 2011; p. 1D-2D
Princeton University Press (2011) Review of Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful, retrieved from press.princeton.edu
Carol Rzadkiewicz - Carol Rzadkiewicz has taught college English for over 14 years and is the author of three published novels and numerous short stories.
