| An important dimension of forming an impression of someone is what that person looks like. If he or she dresses sloppily, is clumsy, and is physically unattractive, we are inclined to dislike him or her, or in general think negatively about him or her. However, to many people, an attractive person can do no wrong. This is due partly to the halo effect.
Karen Dion (1972) reported that physical attractiveness does indeed influence other people's impressions. She had women read reports of severe classroom disruptions by elementary schoolchildren. In some cases the report was accompanied by a photograph of a very attractive child, while in other cases the photo was of an unattractive boy or girl. The subjects tended to blame the disruptive behavior on the ugly children, saying that it was easy to see that they were "brats." On the other hand, when the photo was of a beautiful child, the women tended to excuse him or her. Do adults make judgments on the basis of attractiveness? They certainly do, according to a study by Dion and her colleagues, Ellen Berscheid and Elaine Walster (1972). They showed college students photographs of attractive students, average students, and unattractive students, and asked them to rate the people in the photos on 27 personality traits. As expected, the attractive people received the most positive ratings. Cunningham (1986) had male college students rate photographs of beauty contest finalists and ordinary-looking college women, and then analyzed the differences in facial features between the two groups. One way that they differed was that the beauty contest women tended to have "widely spaced eyes, small noses, small chins, wide pupils, high eyebrows, and a big smile." These features were associated with positive personality ratings, such as intelligent, sociable, and assertive. Thus, overall, research supports the claim that beautiful people are perceived as having excellent personalities. |
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