How Physical Attractiveness Can Lead to Self-Deception and Economic Inequality

Physically attractive people have many advantages in life, as I describe in detail in my article, “Does Physical Attractiveness Give You an Advantage?”. I argue, “Across cultures, what is beautiful is considered good; attractive people are assumed to be more extroverted, popular, and happy. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy, as, from a young age, attractive people receive more attention that helps them develop these characteristics.”

?Recent research has uncovered a fascinating link between self-perceived physical attractiveness and social status. A series of studies published in Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology reveals that people who consider themselves physically attractive are likelier to believe they have a higher social standing.

?The concept of "beautism" - the societal tendency to value physical beauty - has long been recognized. Attractive individuals enjoy advantages, including better leadership opportunities, higher incomes, and superior job performance ratings. They're also viewed more positively regarding trustworthiness, intelligence, competence, and health.

?While previous studies have focused on how others perceive attractive people, this new research, led by Lynn K.L. Tan and colleagues, explored whether attractive individuals believe their beauty elevates their social status. The team conducted three studies to investigate this hypothesis.

?The first two studies involved surveys of participants recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and Prolific. These individuals rated their own attractiveness, social status, and likability. The third study was an experiment that manipulated participants' perceptions of their own attractiveness through essay-writing exercises before asking them to rate their attractiveness and socioeconomic status.

?Results consistently showed that those who rated themselves as more attractive also tended to perceive their social status as higher. The second study suggested that this relationship might be partially mediated by self-perceived social likability, though this factor didn't fully explain the connection.

?The experimental study provided particularly compelling evidence. Participants who wrote about times they felt more attractive than others subsequently rated both their attractiveness and socioeconomic status higher compared to other groups.

?The researchers concluded: "Our work provides complementary evidence for our main hypothesis that self-rated physical attractiveness causally increases first-person perceptions of status inferences. This finding has important implications for status navigation behaviors because of the lability of self-rated physical attractiveness in the modern world."

?Attractiveness and Economic Inequality

?Recent research has uncovered a surprising connection between how attractive people perceive themselves and their views on social and economic inequality. This study, conducted by Dr. Margaret Neale, a professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, and Peter Belmi, a graduate student in organizational behavior, suggests that the quest for beauty may have deeper societal implications than previously thought.

?The Premise

The researchers observed that Americans consistently invest heavily in their appearance, regardless of economic conditions. This led them to hypothesize that the pursuit of attractiveness might be more than just a cultural fixation. They noted that societal beauty standards often align with wealth:

• In societies with food scarcity, having "a little more meat on your bones" is considered attractive.
• In affluent societies, slimmer figures are typically viewed as more desirable.

?Historically, appearance has been a marker of social status. For instance, pale skin was once considered not only beautiful but also indicative of higher social class, as it suggested one didn't need to work outdoors. In contrast, those who worked in the sun developed what we now colloquially term a "redneck," signifying lower status.

?Neale and Belmi aimed to investigate how these societal beauty standards might influence individuals' perceptions of themselves and their place in society.

?Research Methodology

The study comprised five smaller studies, each examining different aspects of how perceived attractiveness affected participants' views on societal status. The researchers employed various methods:

1. Participants rated their own attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 7.
2. In some cases, participants were primed to consider themselves attractive or unattractive through a writing exercise, recalling times they felt particularly attractive or unattractive.
3. Participants responded to statements about group dominance in society, such as "Some groups of people are simply inferior to other groups" and "Lower wages for women and ethnic minorities simply reflect lower education and skill level."
4. They were asked about their views on inequality, responding to statements like "Some people are just more deserving than others."
5. The study also measured participants' self-esteem and their perceptions of their own power and status.

?Key Findings

The research yielded several significant findings:

1. Self-Perceived Attractiveness and Social Status: Participants who viewed themselves as attractive were more likely to believe they belonged to a higher social class.
2. Group Dominance Beliefs: Those who perceived themselves as attractive were more inclined to believe in group dominance – the idea that some groups are inherently superior to others.
3. Legitimization of Status: Self-perceived attractive individuals were more likely to support ideas that justified their perceived higher status, such as the notion that all Americans have equal opportunities for success.
4. Views on Inequality: People who thought they were more attractive tended to attribute growing inequality to individual characteristics like talent and hard work. In contrast, those who perceived themselves as less attractive were more likely to cite external factors such as discrimination and political power as causes of inequality.
5. Reaction to Inequality: When given the opportunity to donate to the Occupy Movement, "people who thought of themselves as better-looking donated less, while people who perceived themselves as less attractive donated more."
6. Acceptance of Inequality: Self-perceived attractive individuals were more likely to agree with statements like, "It is not a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others."
7. Causal Factors: The researchers found that perceived attractiveness was the only tested trait that significantly influenced these views. Other factors like power, self-esteem, and perceived status did not account for the changes in participants' views or actions.

?Implications

The study suggests that the pursuit of attractiveness goes beyond mere vanity. The researchers propose that feeling attractive might make people feel "higher on the ladder, and even more deserving of being high on that ladder."

The Study’s Conclusions

This study sheds light on the complex relationship between self-image, social perceptions, and views on inequality. It suggests that our efforts to enhance our appearance might be driven not just by cultural pressures, but also by a subconscious desire to elevate our social status and justify existing social hierarchies. As society continues to grapple with issues of inequality, understanding these psychological factors could be crucial in addressing and potentially mitigating these disparities.

?Final Thoughts

Whether we like it or not, and whether it’s less a case of cause and effect than correlation, in Western culture, which is highly influenced by media and advertising, research shows physical attractiveness matters; it pervades our society and how we choose our leaders, our loved ones and friends, bosses and co-workers. On the other hand, making judgments and decisions about people in terms of relationships, hiring, promotion and compensation solely based upon physical attractiveness — or even being influenced by it — is clearly discriminatory and ultimately harmful. Finally, as the research has shown, physically attractiveness can lead to an inflated sense of worth and actually contribute to the growing economic inequality.