Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 5 · id influence-c5-01-physical-attractiveness-create
“Physical attractiveness creates a 'halo effect' that causes people to attribute positive traits like intelligence, competence, and trustworthiness to attractive individuals.”
VERIFIEDconfidence: high⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending
Receipts
Dion, Berscheid & Walster (1972), What is Beautiful is Good, JPSP 24(3)DOI registry: valid
Attractive people were rated as more socially desirable, likely to obtain more prestigious jobs, and expected to have more fulfilling lives than unattractive people.
Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani & Longo (1991), What is Beautiful is Good But..., Psychological Bulletin 110(1)DOI registry: valid
Meta-analysis across 76 samples (N=8,208) found r=0.28 for attractiveness-positive trait association. The effect was strongest for social competence and weakest for concern for others and integrity.
Halo Effect in the Era of Beauty Filters (2024), Frontiers in Psychologysource alive
The attractiveness halo effect persists in the digital age, even with beauty filters. However, the effect is selective -- strongest for perceived social competence (r=0.28), weakest for integrity traits.
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