The Beauty Bonus - Looking Good, Doing Well

The Age

Wednesday May 16, 2007

Leon Gettler

IS BEAUTY only skin deep? Or do Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie clones get preferential treatment in the workplace, at the shop counter, the restaurant, or more generally? Do they get better jobs? Are people more willing to help them?

The answer appears to be yes, according to research by academics in Britain and Amsterdam. Their study Is Beauty only Skin-deep? Disentangling the Beauty Premium on a Game Show analysed data from the Dutch game show Shafted.

In the game, there are five players who score points by answering quiz questions. At the end of four sets of questions, the player with the most points must choose one of the remaining players for elimination. When it gets down to two contestants, they have to play the Prisoners Dilemma game - where they choose to either share or try to grab it all.

The researchers found there was no reason to discriminate in favour of attractive players. There was no evidence of superior performance or that they were more co-operative. But they found that average attractiveness seemed to increase steadily over rounds one to three and that the most attractive player was the one chosen to be in the final. The least attractive player was almost twice as likely to be eliminated at the end of the first round than any other player.

The researchers conclude that beauty might be skin deep insofar as it has it has nothing to do with skill or your level of co-operativeness. But it does make a difference, even down to how much money you might earn.

"We find that beauty is indeed only skin deep and has no implications for a person's performance or their co-operativeness," the academics write. "Nevertheless, it is an attribute well worth having, even from a narrow monetary standpoint. Attractive players earn a substantial premium that arises from the reluctance of other players to eliminate them."

So, do better looking people seem to get better breaks at your workplace? Do they get better treatment? And is this as discriminatory as racism or sexism? Let's hear some stories.

COMMENTS

YES, definitely. I'm in the legal world and if you go for an interview with blonde hair and a beautiful face, you are much more likely to get the job than if you are a plain Jane. I know from experience. It doesn't seem to matter so much what skills or experience you possess, if you are one of the beautiful people, it will get you far. This is discrimination, but of course the prospective employer wouldn't tell you the reason they hired the beautiful person. Overweight people are also discriminated against. - Kate

DEPENDS on the industry. In sales, marketing, etc, I think good looks matter. But I work in IT and I certainly don't think it helps there - I had some female managers that were as ugly as sin (and nasty people) but they got on by bullying and kissing arse. The senior (male) management actually took their side over mine, so go figure! - Lady

I WORK in IT too and nothing impresses the geek boys more than a hot chick who can talk geek, too. And plays World of Warcraft. - Dawn

? Join the discussion at Leon Gettler's blog at blogs.theage.com.au/managementline

© 2007 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home