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EFFECTS OF BEAUTY FOUND TO RUN SURPRISINGLY DEEP
By JANE E. BRODY
Published: September 1, 1981
MINNEAPOLIS STUDIES of physical attractiveness show that people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover, often with dramatic effects on those being judged. The findings suggest that expectations based on physical attractiveness can become self-fulfilling prophecies that may strongly influence the course of a person's life.
The studies show that people known (or supposed) to be physically attractive are invested by others with a host of desirable characteristics, such as warmth, poise, sensitivity, kindness, sincerity and the potential for social, marital and occupational success. And according to Dr. Ellen Berscheid, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, these beliefs about physically attractive people, and the preferential treatment that grows out of them, can have lasting effects on an individual's personality, social life, and educational and career opportunities.
Dr. Berscheid said the importance of physical attractiveness is growing and will continue to grow as increases in geographic mobility, frequent job changes and divorce subject more people to ''onetime'' or ''few-time'' interactions with others, in which they are judged on the basis of first impressions.
The psychologist, who has been studying the effects of physical attractiveness for the last 15 years, said the findings ''give new dimensions to Freud's statement that 'Anatomy is destiny.' '' (Freud's proposition referred originally only to physical differences between men and women.) Contrary to democratic notions that ''all men are created equal,'' the findings imply that a person's physical appearance can make a profound difference in his or her life.
''It is clearly a myth that 'Beauty is only skin deep,' '' Dr. Berscheid said, adding that both the lay public and American psychologists have long resisted the idea that attractive people are favored. ''That our physical appearance should make an important difference in our lives is not a fact that makes most of us very comfortable,'' she observed.
''Genetic determinism is anathema to Americans, who want to believe everyone is born equal, with an equal chance for a happy life,'' Dr. Berscheid remarked in an interview here. ''It's simply not so. The most important factors governing success in life are genetically determined: appearance, intelligence, sex and height.'' She cited a continuing study at the University of Minnesota of identical twins who had been reared apart. The study, she says, is showing that ''genetically identical children turn out to be very similar even though they grow up in very different environments.''
The preferential treatment of physically attractive people starts right after birth, Dr. Berscheid noted, and continues throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. These are among the more telling research findings, all of which involved normal-looking people of varying degrees of attractiveness:
Newborn infants who are independently rated as attractive tend to be held, cuddled and kissed more than unattractive babies, according to preliminary findings by Dr. Judith Langlois of the University of Texas at Austin. On the other hand, mothers of unattractive babies tend to offer them more frequent and varied stimulation, perhaps helping their mental development.
Nursery school children who were rated by adults as physically attractive were found to be more popular with their school friends, in a study by Karen Dion at the University of Minnesota.
College students paired as dates at a ''computer dance'' preferred others who were physically attractive; the partners' intelligence, social skills and personality had little to do with the students' reaction to their dates, a Minnesota study by Elaine Hatfield Walster and her associates showed. ''These results gave the lie to what people had said was important to them in previous studies,'' the researchers concluded.
Another study at Western Illinois University of paired college students who agreed to complete five dates revealed, contrary to expectation, that as the number of dates increased, attractiveness became a more important factor in determining if the partner was liked.
Young adults asked to describe the personalities of people depicted in head-and-shoulder photographs said that those who were physically attractive would be ''more sensitive, kind, interesting, strong, poised, modest, sociable, outgoing, exciting and sexually warm and responsive persons,'' according to Dr. Dion, who is now at the University of Toronto. The attractive people were also thought to ''capture better jobs, have more successful marriages and experience happier and more fulfilling lives'' than the less attractive. On only one measure, being a better parent, were the attractive not rated as superior.
In a study at the University of Minnesota, men and women whose telephone conversations were recorded were informed that they were talking either to a physically attractive person or to someone who was not attractive. The taped conversations were later evaluated by judges who were unaware of the setup.
''A woman who was talking to a man who believed that she was physically attractive was judged, on the basis of her verbal behavior alone, to be more poised, more sociable, more vivacious, than was a woman who was talking to a man who believed her to be physically unattractive,'' Dr. Berscheid reported. And the men who thought they were talking to a physically attractive woman were judged by outside observers, again on the basis of their conversations only, to be more sociable, sexually warm, interesting, independent, bold, outgoing, humorous and socially adept.
As women become more independent socially and economically, Dr. Berscheid sees them placing a greater emphasis on the attractiveness of men, ''who are now in the 'meat market' just like women have always been.'' She cited the recent advent of male centerfolds and male nude dancers as examples of women's interests in how men look.
Another factor has been the importance women today place on love as a criterion for choosing a mate. In 1967 only 24 percent of women questioned said they would marry only if they were in love, but a decade later 80 percent said ''being in love'' was a necessary condition for marriage.
''When romantic love becomes an important factor in social choice, physical attractiveness becomes important also,'' Dr. Berscheid told a symposium on the psychological aspects of facial form last year. The symposium brought together plastic surgeons, dentists and others who produce facial changes that often affect patients more powerfully than the functional defects they correct.
Sometimes patients react badly -''with pain and bewilderment'' - to significant improvements in their appearance, Dr. Berscheid told the meeting at the University of Michigan. This reaction could result from the realization that we are not just loved for ourselves but for what we look like, she suggested.
Dr. Berscheid believes there is a hazard inherent in denying the impact of physical attractiveness: ''Unattractive children who are unpopular may wrongly attribute their lack of popularity to some flaw in their character or personality,'' she says. Such an error, she believes, could result in lasting and painful scars.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/01/science/effects-of-beauty-found-to-run-surprisingly-deep.html?pagewanted=1
100% true for those PUA zealots.
By JANE E. BRODY
Published: September 1, 1981
MINNEAPOLIS STUDIES of physical attractiveness show that people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover, often with dramatic effects on those being judged. The findings suggest that expectations based on physical attractiveness can become self-fulfilling prophecies that may strongly influence the course of a person's life.
The studies show that people known (or supposed) to be physically attractive are invested by others with a host of desirable characteristics, such as warmth, poise, sensitivity, kindness, sincerity and the potential for social, marital and occupational success. And according to Dr. Ellen Berscheid, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, these beliefs about physically attractive people, and the preferential treatment that grows out of them, can have lasting effects on an individual's personality, social life, and educational and career opportunities.
Dr. Berscheid said the importance of physical attractiveness is growing and will continue to grow as increases in geographic mobility, frequent job changes and divorce subject more people to ''onetime'' or ''few-time'' interactions with others, in which they are judged on the basis of first impressions.
The psychologist, who has been studying the effects of physical attractiveness for the last 15 years, said the findings ''give new dimensions to Freud's statement that 'Anatomy is destiny.' '' (Freud's proposition referred originally only to physical differences between men and women.) Contrary to democratic notions that ''all men are created equal,'' the findings imply that a person's physical appearance can make a profound difference in his or her life.
''It is clearly a myth that 'Beauty is only skin deep,' '' Dr. Berscheid said, adding that both the lay public and American psychologists have long resisted the idea that attractive people are favored. ''That our physical appearance should make an important difference in our lives is not a fact that makes most of us very comfortable,'' she observed.
''Genetic determinism is anathema to Americans, who want to believe everyone is born equal, with an equal chance for a happy life,'' Dr. Berscheid remarked in an interview here. ''It's simply not so. The most important factors governing success in life are genetically determined: appearance, intelligence, sex and height.'' She cited a continuing study at the University of Minnesota of identical twins who had been reared apart. The study, she says, is showing that ''genetically identical children turn out to be very similar even though they grow up in very different environments.''
The preferential treatment of physically attractive people starts right after birth, Dr. Berscheid noted, and continues throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. These are among the more telling research findings, all of which involved normal-looking people of varying degrees of attractiveness:
Newborn infants who are independently rated as attractive tend to be held, cuddled and kissed more than unattractive babies, according to preliminary findings by Dr. Judith Langlois of the University of Texas at Austin. On the other hand, mothers of unattractive babies tend to offer them more frequent and varied stimulation, perhaps helping their mental development.
Nursery school children who were rated by adults as physically attractive were found to be more popular with their school friends, in a study by Karen Dion at the University of Minnesota.
College students paired as dates at a ''computer dance'' preferred others who were physically attractive; the partners' intelligence, social skills and personality had little to do with the students' reaction to their dates, a Minnesota study by Elaine Hatfield Walster and her associates showed. ''These results gave the lie to what people had said was important to them in previous studies,'' the researchers concluded.
Another study at Western Illinois University of paired college students who agreed to complete five dates revealed, contrary to expectation, that as the number of dates increased, attractiveness became a more important factor in determining if the partner was liked.
Young adults asked to describe the personalities of people depicted in head-and-shoulder photographs said that those who were physically attractive would be ''more sensitive, kind, interesting, strong, poised, modest, sociable, outgoing, exciting and sexually warm and responsive persons,'' according to Dr. Dion, who is now at the University of Toronto. The attractive people were also thought to ''capture better jobs, have more successful marriages and experience happier and more fulfilling lives'' than the less attractive. On only one measure, being a better parent, were the attractive not rated as superior.
In a study at the University of Minnesota, men and women whose telephone conversations were recorded were informed that they were talking either to a physically attractive person or to someone who was not attractive. The taped conversations were later evaluated by judges who were unaware of the setup.
''A woman who was talking to a man who believed that she was physically attractive was judged, on the basis of her verbal behavior alone, to be more poised, more sociable, more vivacious, than was a woman who was talking to a man who believed her to be physically unattractive,'' Dr. Berscheid reported. And the men who thought they were talking to a physically attractive woman were judged by outside observers, again on the basis of their conversations only, to be more sociable, sexually warm, interesting, independent, bold, outgoing, humorous and socially adept.
As women become more independent socially and economically, Dr. Berscheid sees them placing a greater emphasis on the attractiveness of men, ''who are now in the 'meat market' just like women have always been.'' She cited the recent advent of male centerfolds and male nude dancers as examples of women's interests in how men look.
Another factor has been the importance women today place on love as a criterion for choosing a mate. In 1967 only 24 percent of women questioned said they would marry only if they were in love, but a decade later 80 percent said ''being in love'' was a necessary condition for marriage.
''When romantic love becomes an important factor in social choice, physical attractiveness becomes important also,'' Dr. Berscheid told a symposium on the psychological aspects of facial form last year. The symposium brought together plastic surgeons, dentists and others who produce facial changes that often affect patients more powerfully than the functional defects they correct.
Sometimes patients react badly -''with pain and bewilderment'' - to significant improvements in their appearance, Dr. Berscheid told the meeting at the University of Michigan. This reaction could result from the realization that we are not just loved for ourselves but for what we look like, she suggested.
Dr. Berscheid believes there is a hazard inherent in denying the impact of physical attractiveness: ''Unattractive children who are unpopular may wrongly attribute their lack of popularity to some flaw in their character or personality,'' she says. Such an error, she believes, could result in lasting and painful scars.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/01/science/effects-of-beauty-found-to-run-surprisingly-deep.html?pagewanted=1
100% true for those PUA zealots.
