Law of attraction

"It is better to be beautiful than to be good, but it is better to be good than to be ugly." – Oscar Wilde



Growing up, the message that physical appearance is not as important as what is on the inside is promoted.

Despite this, we are sent mixed messages from the media and even personal experiences. The celebrities whose lives we follow extensively are not typically twos or threes on the ranking scale and neither are the models featured in advertisements or magazines. And many people can admit they have declined to get to know or date someone they found unattractive.

We as a human race are obsessed with beauty and sex appeal. 

In February, The Discovery Channel aired a program titled "The Science of Sex Appeal" which looked at the science behind sexuality. 

One experiment considered the symmetry of a person's features. Two pictures were taken of a man and a woman. The first picture was a plain headshot taken of the two, but made so their faces were symmetrical. The second shot was not modified, but the subjects had their hair and make-up done. When the pictures were presented for others to choose which they preferred, both the man's and woman's symmetrical picture was chosen regardless of their appearance.

This trial concluded we naturally prefer and are drawn to symmetrical features, which challenges the idea of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. 

In another segment, a connection between good looks and survival was made. It reported that women may be biological drawn to promiscuity. While a long term mate is chosen because of "dad" characteristics like being a good provider and nurturing father, a woman may engage in unfaithful behavior to gain access to "sexy" traits, like good physique and features.


A woman looks at these traits as an indicator of good genes that she could then pass on to her offspring.

Therefore, interestingly enough, our attraction to others may not just be surface or for physical reasons, but to guarantee reproductive success.

A lot of our outward judgment, however, is not biological but cultural. Tall, slender muscular looking men and feminine looking women are typically associated with what is considered "attractive."


Yet, most of our outward judgment is not biological, but cultural. 

The "beauty premium" is the idea that beautiful people are financially more successful.

In study released in April 2005 by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, researchers found that good-looking, tall, thin individuals tend to earn 5 percent more an hour than their "plain-Jane" colleagues.  

Additionally, researchers said attractive students get more attention and higher evaluations from teachers, good-looking patients receive more care from their doctors and handsome criminals are given lighter sentences than less attractive convicts.


Similarly, a "plainness penalty" was discovered, punishing below-average-looking individuals with earnings of 9 percent less an hour. 

A few questions arise. Is it purely coincidental or is it shallow?

An experiment done in 1972 by Dion et al consisted of showing a group of students pictures of attractive people and asking them to describe what they thought these people were like. The good-looking individuals were assumed to be more kind, warm, sensitive, strong, sexually responsive, poised and outgoing than others. 

This is known as the "halo effect," the assumption good-looking people possess more desirable social characteristics than unattractive people. 

This is not factual, of course, but it is far easier to judge someone based off his or her physical characteristics than it is to take time to get to know the individual. 

On the flip side, some of the world's most successful faces, like that of Bill Gates and Donald Trump, have been ordinary looking. What is more, attractive individuals will sometimes complain they are not treated fairly, because others assume they are vacuous and superficial. 

Beauty is intimidating. We are reminded of this each time we go to a party, and instead of attempting to talk to the most attractive person there, we settle for someone who is closer to ourselves on the ranking scale. But having confidence and a great personality can be even more beautiful. 

The old saying "do not judge a book by its cover" is appropriate. It is not fair or justified to evaluate a person on the basis of something they have little to no control over. Even with aesthetic enhancements, one cannot ignore the fact that the outside does not always reflect the inside.


Contact Regina Sarnicola at rsarnicola.advocate@gmail.com.