beauty in social psycology

8/4/2019 Beauty in Social Psycology

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Audrea Straub

Does being attractive really pay off?

We encounter beauty in everyday life, with the aesthetics of scenery,

artwork, humans and so on. Everyone has been subject to imagining themselves

more beautiful, whether its losing that weight, changing the color of your hair,

having perfect skin, or getting that boob job. We have this idea that altering our

appearance will help make all of our problems go away and life will then just fall

into place. This myth haunts the minds of practically every individual out there,

but does it really affect our perception of others that much?

Yes, our society in this day and age can be very superficial, but we also

have nobody to blame but ourselves. The media is constantly spewing over

celebrities and how so and so has gained 10 pounds over their vacation in the

Bahamas. We are constantly obsessing over the upper-class individuals in the

medias spotlight, who can afford to have personal shoppers, hair and makeup

artists, and anyone else to make them look perfect. But this connotation is taking

its toll on the rest of us, who have to work with what we have.

Aside from the infamous celebrities that can acquire whatever their heart

desires, we cant help but wonder if average people who happened to be born

into natural beauty also get some special treatment. The truth is they do; Charles

Feng (2002), a human biologist from Stanford University says, An alternative

explanation for attractive people achieving more in life is that we automatically

categorize others before having an opportunity to evaluate their personalities,


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based on cultural stereotypes which say attractive people must be intrinsically

good, and ugly people must be inherently bad. The unconscious assumptions in

our minds of the ugly man or women being the bad guy, and the hero being

exceptionally striking comes as an example that has affected our actual way of

thinking with real people.

This notion can be experimented on and observed in many ways, with

differences varying in each of the opposite sexes. One study showed the effects

of beauty in a job interviewing process. Sam Sommers (2011), a professor at

Tufts University states, whether consciously or not, respondents would be more

positively inclined toward the attractive candidates. And indeed, when evaluating

an opposite-sex candidate, that's exactly what researchers found. But what

about the interviewing of a same sex applicant? -- The opposite pattern

emerged for evaluations of same-sex candidates. Both male and female

respondents gave lower ratings for the attractive same-sex applicant than they

did for the less-attractive applicant, even though their qualifications were exactly

the same.

Another example of empowering beauty is seen in politics all over the

world. Election campaigns are the time to sell yourself to the people, and what

better way to do that than look your best. We can only hope that the majority of

the people are paying attention to the views that the politician holds, and are not

wooed by their snazzy suit and smile. Urs Geiser (2011) informs us that looks do

have influence, In actual fact there are very simple factors such as

attractiveness or position on the ballot sheet which influence a voters choice.


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These are not very rational criteria and they show how quickly choices about

candidates are made. Geiser also reassures us that good looks are not

decisive. But it shows that choosing a candidate is no different from picking a

product from a shelf.

On a more local level, Leslie Cochran is an Austin celebrity who has run

for mayor three different times. He is a homeless, cross-dressing man who has

won this citys heart, but cant seem to win the votes. Although Austinites are set

on keeping our city weird, Leslie still seems to be too weird to be in office. Rick

Perry on the other hand, has been governor of Texas for over ten years. His

recent candidacy for president in 2012 has caused the people of the nation to

start coming up with witty nicknames. Governor Perry is lucky enough to get the

nickname, Governor Good-Hair, with claimers saying that his hair has been in

mint condition since he started governing Texas. Even if Rick Perrys ego is as

big as his hair, this proves that the public is partial to beautiful people in the spot

light.

Although first impressions might give beautiful people the advantage,

there is still a price to pay in the eyes of the rest of the population. When we see

a man like Hugh Hefner with a much younger and more attractive woman on his

arm, we usually have our doubts about the true love shared in that relationship.

We have a connotation beautiful people are using their looks to achieve other

personal motives like wealth, position, power, and status Having more than a

fair share of money has corrupted most of society with being able to acquire

wants, not needs. These are usually luxury items, which promote your image of


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prosperity, whether you spend it on your home, your spouse, your kids, or

yourself.

Unfortunately, not only has money tainted our attitude on life, but it can

also alter the way others see us. The rich are able to buy beauty, and the rest of

the middle to lower class can recognize that. We can tell a difference between

designer and knock-off goods, even if it is only a slight difference. Whether we

buy these opulent goods out of envy or out of goodwill, we are subconsciously

trying to conform as an aesthetic society. Our image is important to us because it

truly is the first thing people see.

I enjoy fashion so much because it really can change your whole look.

Even though you werent blessed with a Victorias Secret model body, you can

still emphasize your bodys assets with the use of clothing. Knowing your body

type, and how to dress it is a sure way to becoming more attractive. I love the

quote, When you look good, you feel good, because it is so true! With a fresh

new look and a great outlook on yourself to match, you just went from a 2 to a

10!

There is more good news in the form of having positive self-esteem. Feng

(2002) also states that based on the self-fulfilling prophecy that people who

feel they are attractive - though not necessarily rated as such - are just as

successful as their counterparts who are judged to be good-looking. In this day

and age, our world is so over populated that we use stereotypes and schemas

subconsciously in our everyday lives. Confidence always seems to shine through

whether youre pretty or not. So if you portray yourself the way you want to be


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seen, with poise and self-assurance, whos to say you cant get what you want in

life?

References:


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Feng, C. (2002, December). Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology ofBeauty. Jyi.org, issue 6. Retrieved August 9, 2011, fromhttp://www.jyi.org/volumes/volume6/issue6/features/feng.htmlSommers, S. (2011, August 3). STUDY: When Being Beautiful Backfires.Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 9, 2011, fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sommers/beauty-advantage-study_b_906392.htmlGeiser, U. (2011, July 27). How far do looks go in Swiss politics? Swissinfo.ch.Retrieved August 2, 2011, fromhttp://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/How_far_do_good_looks_go_in_Swiss_politics.html?cid=30744822
http://www.jyi.org/volumes/volume6/issue6/features/feng.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sommers/beauty-advantage-study_b_906392.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sommers/beauty-advantage-study_b_906392.htmlhttp://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/How_far_do_good_looks_go_in_Swiss_politics.html?cid=30744822http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/How_far_do_good_looks_go_in_Swiss_politics.html?cid=30744822http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/How_far_do_good_looks_go_in_Swiss_politics.html?cid=30744822http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/How_far_do_good_looks_go_in_Swiss_politics.html?cid=30744822http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sommers/beauty-advantage-study_b_906392.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sommers/beauty-advantage-study_b_906392.htmlhttp://www.jyi.org/volumes/volume6/issue6/features/feng.html

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