Do Looks Matter in Today's Society? You Bet They Do!

There's plenty of evidence to suggest looks matter in many things we do. Whether you're seeking new employment or maybe trying to get a date, we as a society are naturally drawn to those fortunately blessed with good looks. As it turns out, beauty may not be in the eye of the beholder, after all.

Looks Matter in the Workplace

Those blessed with good looks tend to earn more than those who are less attractive. A study completed by economists, Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle, appears to prove the numbers. The goal of the study was to determine if there is a correlation between physical appearance and salary. The study asked interviewers to rate the physical appearance of candidates as below average, average, or above average. The study determined that below average looks tended to earn 9% less per hour. Correspondingly, a rating of an above average person tended to earn 5% more than an average person.

Looks Matter in Hiring

Better looking people seem to get the nod over other less attractive colleagues when it comes to landing a new job. Patrick Hicks, an attorney in the Las Vegas office of national employment law firm Littler Mendelson stated in, Should looks count? Are you discriminating against employees because of their appearance?, "everything else being equal, certain businesses--retail is the best example--would prefer people who are physically attractive."

According to Associate Professor of Psychology, Comila Shahani-Denning,

There is considerable empirical evidence that physical attractiveness
impacts employment decision making, with the result that the more
attractive an individual, the greater the likelihood that person will
be hired.

The conventional wisdom is that an attractive person represents a good face for a company in terms of drawing business and developing interaction with clients.

Looks Matter in Politics

Looks matter in politics, too. According to The Political Gender Gap: Gender Bias in Facial Inferences that Predict Voting Behavior, male and female voters were asked to judge prospective candidates for President of the United States based on facial expressions. The exercise aimed to determine whether facial expressions can predict voting behaviors. As it turned out, yes they do. Men were more likely to vote for attractive female candidates while women were more likely to vote for the most approachable male candidates.

Further Studies about Why Looks Matter

Two compelling studies were done in order to determine the nature of good looks and offer proof why looks matter.

The Infants Study

Dr. Alan Slater, a psychologist, conducted research on infants' reactions to photographs of female faces. The infants were shown pictures of 30 female faces, comprised of both models and non-models. The experiment revealed that infants spent 60-65% of the time looking at the attractive faces as opposed to the unattractive faces. The infants seem to be drawn toward the eyes, nose, and mouth. Dr. Slater concluded that infants come into this world with an innate representation of the human face that is oriented in the correct position. The bottom line - perception of good looks is innate, not a learned process.

The Human Face Study

Dr. Stephen Marquardt, a facial surgeon, conducted research on human beauty, which became a documentary in 2001 entitled, The Human Face. Eighteen photographs of women, ages 14-30, were shown to people from all over the world. The study asked the evaluators to rank the women from most attractive to least attractive. An astounding 97% ranked the females exactly the same. It didn't matter the age or background of the evaluators, the results were consistent. The bottom line - there seems to be a universal ideal on what faces are considered good looks.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/02/28/cb.pretty/index.html

genie.co.uk/Career_Tips/53170/do_your_looks_matter_at_work.html

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-786975/Should-looks-count-Are-you.html

http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/orsp_shahani-denning_spring03.pdf

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003666

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20050828/ai_n14909663/

http://jezebel.com/374873/beauty-is-not-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder