Five Pains and Pleasures of Looking Gorgeous

Gorgeous people are all around us: on billboards, on TV and at the movies, some of them even inhabit our everyday lives.

So what is the psychological effect of beauty and how do other people react to it? In fact being Gorgeous isn’t all good, or so the psychological research suggests. Here are both sides of the coin, first five pleasures and then five pains of being Gorgeous.

Five pleasures of being Gorgeous

1. What is Gorgeous is good

In many situations we automatically defer to beauty, assuming that along with beauty come all sorts of other positive characteristics. We have a tendency to think Gorgeous people are funnier, more friendly, more intelligent, more exciting, in possession of better social skills, are sexually warmer, are more interesting, poised and even more independent.

2. More desired

There’s a whole stack of research on mate selection and attractiveness. You won’t find the headline result at all surprising: on pure looks alone we prefer partners who are more Gorgeous.

3. Better persuaders

Good-looking people make better persuaders. This may be because attractive people tend to be better communicators and possess more confidence or just because we believe in beauty. Whatever the reason, beauty can persuade us to change our minds.

4. Get paid more

At work attractive people can receive all kinds of benefits. First of all they may get higher starting salaries, perhaps because their qualifications are perceived as more solid and their potential as greater . Then, later on, they have an advantage in promotions.

5. Higher self-esteem

Not surprisingly, given all the above advantages, good-looking people also have higher self-esteem. What with all those dates and the extra money, is it any wonder they think better of themselves than their less fortunate peers?

Five pains of being Gorgeous

1. Less likely to be hired (sometimes)

Although beauty can help in the search for a job, it’s not always true. When employers are making a decision about someone of the same sex, they can let their jealousy get the better of them.

2. Beauty is beastly

Similarly there’s evidence that female beauty can be a problem in jobs with strong gender stereotypes. For example a Gorgeous woman may be at a disadvantage when applying for a job which is associated with masculinity, like a prison guard or a mechanical engineer.

3. Perceived to be less talented

The halo effect tells us that when we judge more attractive members of the opposite sex, we generally assume they’re more talented than those who are less attractive. This happens even though what they do or say is no cleverer than less attractive people.

4. Lucky to be pretty

If Gorgeous people are successful, is it because of their talent, or is it just their looks? After all, people are lucky to be Gorgeous and we know all the advantages of that.

5. Social rejection

Although attractive people are generally more popular socially, there’s some evidence that very attractive people can experience social rejection from members of their own sex .