Heroes Not Zombies

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder it’s said, but maybe it’s not just in the eye? This study asked people to rate the attractiveness of others from photos along with short personality descriptions. They found that

individuals – both men and women – who exhibit positive traits, such as honesty and helpfulness, are perceived as better looking. Those who exhibit negative traits, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers.

This reminded me of a study I read ages ago which got students to guesstimate the height of a lecturer who was introduced as either “Mr”, “Dr”, or “Professor”. There was a consistent increase in the perceived height of the lecturer when introduced as “Dr” over “Mr” and “Professor” over “Dr”.

It also brought to mind the effect of pupil size on perceived attractiveness. A study done using actors and actresses with sets of photos before and after having their pupils dilated showed that observers consistently rate the photos where the pupils are larger as being the more attractive.

So I guess there are many influences on our perceptions of the physical – personality traits, status and state of arousal. Are there others you are aware of?