A new study finds that pupils who are rated as more
attractive get better ranks and are more likely to go to college.
A study found that pupils
who were rated as more attractive were also given higher ranks by their
teachers.
But pupils only needed to be somewhat above average to see
the advantage. The super-good-looking had no advantage over those who were
above average.
This may be because being more attractive had a negative
side–it was associated with more partying, dating and general social
distractions.
Interestingly, being average in appearance produced no
benefits in GPA scores against those with below average looks.
Why do
looks affect ranks?
This study can’t directly tell us why being attractive is
good for your ranks, but some have suggested that it is because teachers give
higher ranks to attractive pupils.
Studies on children at elementary school, for example, have
found that teachers give higher academic ratings to those who are more
attractive.
But the real story is probably more complicated than that.
Academic outcomes are tied up with social outcomes. Pupils that do well
socially also tend to do well academically:
…visible characteristics like attractiveness, as opposed to
averageness, gave pupils greater entrée and assuredness in initial interactions
and greater forgiveness for foibles and missteps in later interactions,
something particularly valuable in the large impersonal world of high school.
In this context, average-looking youth had relatively few chances for standing
out or opportunities to gain status in a competitive playing field.
Lookism
High school is likely just the first step in discovering how
important looks are.
There are some disadvantages to being very beautiful, such
as the perception that it’s all about the looks and not talent, and women can
face discrimination in some stereotypically masculine professions.
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