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The Face of Beauty
Learn about the secret about success…sixth feet man can earn more than...
We may pretend that beauty is only skin deep, but Aristotle was right when he observed “ beauty is a far greater recommendation than any letter of introduction.” The sad truth is that attractive people do better in school, where they receive more help, better grades, and less punishment; at work, where they are rewarded with higher pay, more prestigious jobs, and faster promotions and make most of the decisions; and among total strangers, who assume them to be interesting, honest, virtuous, and successful.
In fairy tales, the first stories most of us hear, the heroes are handsome, the heroines are beautiful, and the wicked are ugly. Children learn implicitly that good people are beautiful and bad people are ugly, and society restates that message in many subtle ways as they grow older. So perhaps it's not surprising that handsome cadets at West Point achieve a higher rank by the time they graduate, or that a judge is more likely to give an attractive criminal a shorter sentence.
In a 1968 study conducted in the New York City prison system, men with scars, deformities, and other physical defects were divided into three groups. The first group received cosmetic surgey, the second intensive counseling and therapy, and the third no treatment at all. A year after their release from prison, when the researchers checked to see how the men are doing, they discovered that those who had received cosmetic surgey had adjusted the best and were less likely to return to prison. In experiments conducted by corporations, when different photos were attached to the same resume, the more attractive person was hired. Prettier babies are treated better than homelier ones, not just by strangers but by the baby's parents as well. Mothers snuggle, kiss, talk to, play more with their baby if it's cute; and fathers of cute babies are also more involved with them.
Attractive children get higher grades on their achievement tests, probably because their good looks win praise, attention, and encouragement from adults. In a 1975 study, teachers were asked to evaluate the records of an eight-year-old who had a low IQ and poor grades. Every teacher saw the same records, but the photo of a pretty child was attached to some, and to others that of a homely child. The teachers were more likely to recommend that the homely child be sent to a class for slow learners. The beauty of another can be a valuable accessory. One particularly interesting study asked people to look at a photo of a man and a woman, and to evaluate only the man. As it turns out, if the woman on the man's arm was pretty, the man was thought to be more intellingent and successful than if the woman was unattractive.
Shocking as the results of these and similar experiments might be, they confirm what we've know for ages: Like it or not, a woman's face has always been to some extent a commodity. Historically, a beautiful woman was often able to marry her way out of a lower class and poverty. We remember legendary beauties like Cleopatra and Helen of Troy as symbols of how beauty can be powerful enough to cause the downfall of great leaders and change the course of empires. For men, beauty can also be a powerful asset, but the real commodity is height. One study followed the professional lives of 17,000 men. Those who were at least six feet tall did muh better, received more money, were promoted faster, and rose to more prestigious positions. Perhaps tall men tigger childhood memories of looking up to authority only our parents and other adults were tall, and they had all the power to punish or protect, to give absolute love, set our wishes in motion, or block our hopes.
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