Abstract
Research shows that beauty is not subjective, but rather it is men and women of a society who observe and judge whether some are attractive or less attractive. This study aims to find out whether attractive people have better lives. Several characteristics such as high cheekbones and fuller lips in women and big jaw and broad chin in men make someone appear more attractive. Other aspects that are attributed to beauty include smooth skin, shiny hair, and facial symmetry. The main objective of this study is to determine whether attractive people live better lives than the less attractive in society. There has been a high need to find out whether these beautiful individuals are more privileged in society and whether this makes them happier than other members of society. For a long time, attractive people have always been favored in their daily life thus making them more successful. It has been proven that attractive people always have the upper hand during a job interview or when seeking promotion. Beautiful individuals tend to use their sexy appealing form to persuade and attract attention from their bosses. They are more commanding because they possess key personality traits such as intelligence and social skills, making them more effective communicators. More so, research shows that attractive speakers are more fluent in their speech than less attractive speakers. Another reason why attractive people live better lives is that they love all aspects of life. They tend to smile a lot as they can fight challenges that they face, and in return, they enjoy the rewards of their success. They have a history of making the best use of every available minute in life. Beautiful people are not even afraid of sharing their joy with others. This is clearly evidenced in their body movements and the smile they always put on their faces. Physical appearance is a major issue in advertisement agencies because it determines the number of sales. Attractive people are mostly preferred because their appearance can draw people’s attention and make them purchase more of the advertised products. Therefore, we can all agree to the question that attractive people have better lives. People across all cultures in a society tend to emphasize looks, and it has been proven that attractive people obtain favors that less attractive people do not have.
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Do Attractive People Have Better Lives?
Introduction
During our day-to-day routine life, we meet and interact with new people of different backgrounds. Some are beautiful, and others are less beautiful. A tough question has always been asked to determine whether beautiful people always have better lives. Is it true that most attractive people are more successful? How does society value physical appearance? This paper will help us determine whether beautiful people actually have better lives than the less attractive in society. Research shows that people always like being associated with beautiful people. This study will help us determine whether looks really matter in society. Research shows that beauty is not subjective, but rather it is men and women of a society who observe and judge whether some are attractive or less attractive. Several characteristics such as high cheekbones and fuller lips in women and big jaw and broad chin in men make someone appear more attractive. Other aspects that are attributed to beauty include smooth skin, shiny hair, and facial symmetry. For a long time, attractive people have always been favored in their daily life thus making them more successful (Patzer, 2007).
Thesis statement
The main objective of this study is to determine whether attractive people live better lives than the less attractive in society. There has been a high need to find out whether these beautiful individuals are more privileged in society and whether this makes them happier than other members of society.
How do beautiful people obtain happiness in life?
People experience happiness in life drawn either from interacting with close friends, being loved, and obtaining job satisfaction. In addition, studies show that being attractive creates more attention and favors from people. This can be well evidenced even in childhood, where teachers perceive that the good-looking pupils are smarter in academics and their social life. Therefore, attractive people usually live better lives because there is a high chance that they are likely to be hired faster in the workplace and even earn more money. This makes them more successful in life which makes them happier. Attractive people have a higher chance of easily attracting people they love and therefore forming a long-lasting relationship. They are more likely to be befriended on social network sites. Therefore, it can be concluded that their physical appearance matters in everyday life.
How attractiveness matters in the job market
A classic study conducted in the early 70s by Peter Benson and his colleagues gives more details about attractiveness in the job market. They applied for job positions, and they accompanied their application forms with their photographs. The researchers used the photographs to convey the applicant’s physical appearance. After waiting for a while, they found out that there was a higher chance of mailing the form or taking them to an airport official if the photograph attached to the application form appeared attractive. From that study, we can note that we perceive individuals differently based on their physical appearance. Still, we also tend to treat attractive people more favorably than treat the less attractive ones. Statistics have always shown that attractive people are given special treatment in the job market when they apply for a job (Beard, 2009).
They have a higher chance of being recommended for a job, they are considered more skillful, and they have the upper hand of being hired for a job. Once they get hired for a job, the differences become more evident. Attractive people stand in a better position of even being paid more for a job; they are likely to be promoted than fired. Studies show that attractive people are more successful because they earn an average of 3-4 percent more than people how are less attractive (Legge, 2015; Hamermesh, 2011). This is all attributed to their good-looking physical appearance, which makes them live better lives.
Attractive people are more trustworthy and .likable
Taking a look at what happens in the courtrooms, there is also evidenced that appearance influences decisions. Because it is not easy to determine what exactly happens in the courtrooms, psychologists have for a long time tried to draw their conclusions from mock jurors when they deliberate on mock cases. Studies have shown that attractive defendants have a higher chance of not being declared guilty when charged with a crime from the findings of the judicial decisions. More so, if they are found guilty, studies have shown that they are likely to be given a lenient jail term, reasonable bail, and fines (Etcoff, 1999; Paunonen, 2006). Today, the attractiveness-leniency effect is more rampant in cases of sexual harassment and assaults. Mock jurors have for a long time considered sexual harassment in a situation where the defendants are less attractive, and the plaintiffs are more attractive. Even in rape trials, records show that attractive defendants are sentenced more lenient than less attractive defendants (Paunonen, 2006).
Attractive people perform better in class and are more intelligent
`Research conducted at colleges also depicted the same results. A classical study conducted by Landy & Sigall (2015) in one of the colleges showed that attractive students received more favors from their teachers compared to the less attractive. The researchers asked participants to rate two identical essays. One essay had an attractive photo of someone, while the other had a less attractive photo. Even though the two essays were identical in terms of contents, the one accompanied by an attractive photograph was rated higher than the one with a less attractive photograph. Although research shows that attractive people have better lives, further research shows that being beautiful goes hand in hand with thinking capacity. It has been noted that beautiful women and handsome men have IQs of 14 points above the average (Kanazawa & Kovar, 2004).
The results of research conducted by the London School of Economics revealed that attractive people tend to attract clever and attractive partners in their physical appearance (Mail Online, 2011). In the case of a marriage reunion between these two attractive couples, the children acquire both qualities, creating a generic link across successive generations. In addition, it has also been noted that the relationship between attractiveness and intelligence is more pronounced in men than in women. Research conducted by the University of New Mexico indicated that general intelligence is a trait that is directly connected to body symmetry. It is a feature that is primarily found in attractive people. Due to their intelligence, attractive people have an advantage of social dominance and fitness related to biological traits (Prokosch, Yeo & Miller, 2005).
Attractive people are healthier.
A study conducted in Australia depicts that people with facial symmetry are perceived to be healthier in most instances than those who do not have. Facial symmetry is generally considered the beacon of beauty, and people who have it are assumed to be healthier even though it is not related to actual health. The study results showed that the symmetric versions of each face (men and women) were rated higher than the normal images (Olson, & Marshuetz, 2005). Thus, we can conclude that people with asymmetric faces are viewed as less healthy. In addition, attractive people are also cautious with what they eat. They always strive to manage their bodies because body shape forms an important part of social construction. Therefore, they don’t ever want to overindulge because the bad eating habit can easily disintegrate their attractiveness. They achieve this by living better lives (Olson, & Marshuetz, 2005).
Attractive people take care of themselves.
It is tough to find beautiful people associating themselves with reckless people. Most attractive people have high self-esteem, and they always strive to remain in high regard. Therefore, they enjoy associating themselves with people of the high class. They are always neat and hygienic thus;, they give their body priority. It’s easier for beautiful people to find mates. Most men say that they date attractive women because a beautiful look shows signs of youthful, healthy, and high reproductive capacity. It is also true to say that attractive people are viewed as more likable and trustworthy. They are usually treated specially by members of society. Research indicates that women who apply makeup are likely to attract more attention, and they are likely to be trustworthy. The dressing code also increases attractiveness. Most attractive people always wear decent clothing. They are very keen on fashion because they always want to be up to a point to remain relevant and attract attention. They match their clothing with the occasion and the environment. Beautiful people know when to wear official and wear casual (Baumeister, Krueger & Vohs, 2005).
Attractive people are more persuasive.
It has been proven that attractive people always have the upper hand during a job interview or when seeking promotion. Beautiful individuals tend to use their sexy appealing form to persuade and attract attention from their bosses. They are more commanding because they possess key personality traits such as intelligence and social skills, making them more effective communicators. More so, research shows that attractive speakers are more fluent in their speech than less attractive speakers. Another reason why attractive people live better lives is that they love all aspects of life. They tend to smile a lot as they can fight challenges that they face, and in return, they enjoy the rewards of their success. They have a history of making the best use of every available minute in life. Beautiful people are not even afraid of sharing their joy with others. This is clearly evidenced in their body movements and the smile they always put on their faces (Agthe, Spörrle, & Maner, 2011).
Companies prefer attractive people when making advertisements.
It has been seen that most organizations with good-looking sales executives tend to make more sales. A study conducted examining about 300 Dutch advertising agencies showed that the agencies with attractive sales executives made the highest revenues. Firms that had attractive workers only recorded the total increased sales and productivity. This was attributed to the fact that attractive salespersons had a competitive advantage in customer interaction (Huczynski, & Buchanan, 2013).
Attractive people succeed more in politics.
Beautiful people have a higher chance of being selected for leadership positions. They seem to have a lot of confidence, and people entrust them with bigger political positions. Research that Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, & Hall (2005) carried out in Finland indicated that attractive political candidates, either male or female, had higher chances of being selected than their less attractive competitors. From the study, it was noted that there was a 20% increase in the number of votes for those candidates who were beautiful (Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, & Hall, 2005).
People associate good-looking with leadership because they enjoy watching smart leaders, and they also color social events. It is also true to say that attractive people are viewed as more likable and trustworthy. They are usually treated specially by members of society. Research also indicates that women who apply makeup are likely to attract more attention, and they are likely to be trustworthy (Van & Neil, 2004).
Conclusion
In conclusion, as clearly stated above, we can see that beautiful people have many benefits than less attractive people in society. From the research, we can conclude that it true to say that beautiful people have better lives. They have an added advantage over the rest of the society members in all aspects of life. Therefore, the study supports the statement, “Attractive people have better lives.”
Those who are beautiful receive higher salaries in the workplace, and they are also very successful in life. Physical appearance is a major issue in advertisement agencies because it determines the number of sales. Attractive people are mostly preferred because their appearance can draw people’s attention and make them purchase more of the advertised products. Therefore, we can all agree to the question that attractive people have better lives. People across all cultures in a society tend to emphasize looks, and it has been proven that attractive people obtain favors that less attractive people do not have. Research shows that beauty is not subjective, but rather it is men and women of a society who observe and judge whether some are attractive or less attractive. Thus, attractive people have better lives (Paunonen, 2006).
References
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Mail Online. (2011). Beauty-brains-DO-together! The study claims good-looking men and women have a higher IQ. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1347651/Attractive-people-higher-IQs-Beauty-brains-DO-together.html
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