How Beautiful?

Beauty often changes critical situations and even life. Think of your attitude toward lesser, repugnant insects versus your conception of something like a butterfly in the natural setting. Your mind is predisposed to treat the butterfly with respect and preserve its life because of its pleasant aesthetics. Many other uglier insects such as common flying ants are harmless but because they lack your perception of beauty, you assume the uglies are unworthy to live, so you normally kill the poor bugs.

The psychology of beauty is complex  and the exacting concept of beauty is as yet undefined but beauty does often lie in the eyes of the beholder or how individuals perceive other people or things. Things that appeal to your senses and all objects that are compatible with your personal preferences are often described as beautiful.

The projection of your needs perceives the beauty, so beautiful objects or persons simply cater to your idealizations or fancies and reflect your natural need to relate to all that is appealing. Saberi Roy (Reflections In Psychology, 2009) states, "Human beings are controlled by the senses and we tend to repeat processes or experiences that appeal to the senses, that are harmonious and have structure and form. Beauty appeals to our sense of sight so there is a preference for repeating the experience of beauty."

Even though he knows the perception of beauty can change, Roy concludes that several theories of beauty presently exist. He elaborates on the following theories:

1. Beauty as Symmetry and Proportion - to find beauty in perfectly shaped and sharp proportional features.

2. Beauty as a whole rather than parts - to find beauty in a broad holistic view (a rose as beautiful - less attentive towards each petal but more consideration to the symmetry of the flower as a whole).

3. Beauty as projection and wish fulfillment - to find beauty in idolized personal or inner fancies similar to someone known or admired.

4. Beauty as innocence and charm - to find beauty in the inherent ability to attract individuals with the sheer force of personality and presence that connects good looks with social confidence.

5. Beauty as a product of culture and society - to find beauty in an accepted concept that seems to change with time as society changes and the perception of beauty varies in different cultures.

Most agree, you have a tendency subconsciously to treat attractive people with more respect and care, as if less attractive people deserved less. Don't you often hear people cursing other people when inconvenienced? They say things such as “Ugly bitch! Block my way and make me miss my appointment! I hope you fall down!” And you know, most of these same people would be less likely to curse if the person blocking them were an Angelina Jolie lookalike.

This so-called Halo Effect refers to a cognitive bias whereby the perception of one trait (i.e. a characteristic of a person or object) is influenced by the perception of another trait (or several traits) of that person or object.The prominent trait overshadows (halos) other possible negative traits, so we give the prominent trait(s) more positive consideration. (E.L. Thorndike, E. L., "A Constant Error on Psychological Rating," Journal of Applied Psychology, IV, 1920)

Soloman Asch ("Forming Impressions of Personality, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,41, 1946) did much work with this bias to find attractiveness as one of the most important central traits in the Halo Effect. You often judge attractive people as having a more desirable personality and more skills than someone of average appearance. In other words, you assume that if an individual is good looking, that person must be good in other ways, too. You might even assume good looking people are more intelligent and more popular, and are thus more likely to get away with committing a serious crime compared to those who are unattractive. And, some believe you just may be right.                        


One theory behind this halo effect is that it is accurate -- attractive people are indeed more successful. If you are confident in the self-perception of your looks, and others further perpetuate this confidence with healthy feedback, you may just be more successful. Your own drive and spirit are stimulated to greater heights.

Various studies show your beauty gets you more attention and higher evaluations from teachers, more personalized care from doctors, and lighter sentences from the legal system than those cursed with major imperfection. 

Poets have forever raved about beauty. Brave men have started wars over nothing more than beauty. Women the world over constantly have striven for it. Scholars have devoted their lives to deconstructing the impulse to obtain it. Ordinary mortals erect temples to beauty. Yes, in just about every way imaginable, the world honors physical beauty. 

So, the next time you go out of your way to swat a fly or squish an icky insect, consider whether that attitude has crept its way into your personal acceptance and view of others. Beauty does change in its cultural and societal definitions. People can also appreciate and value beauty in all its strange and intricate forms. Most people who make tremendous contributions to the world are judged by their inside attractiveness, not by their physical beauty.

Beautiful Women

Now, I'm not trying to be disrespectful or blaspheme in any way; however, I have seen a certain statement applied to the term beauty in women many, many times. Now, I am certainly questioning the validity of this statement as it applies to connotations of beautiful people. I agree, little is more pleasing than to relate to a woman with a loving personality and positive, outgoing attitude, no matter her physical appearance. Yet, so many other things point to the value placed on physical beauty by women and men. I am beginning to doubt the sincerity in the statement: "It's what's on the inside that counts." Cosmetics, corrective surgeries, singular standards of appearance, popularity, fashion-- all point to the fact that a beautiful woman must have "the look." So, I began to wonder if the majority of believers of "inside beauty" were lying to save face or to parrot an old adage. It is pretty evident that beauty is to women what wealth is to men: the more they have, the better society likes them. In relentless passing of time, the supposed “power” and “privilege” enjoyed by beautiful women are merely fleeting advantages that are entirely dependent on the goodwill and subjective opinion of others (usually men), and are likely to disappear once the woman grows older, or gains weight, or becomes ill. But many women will do anything possible to slow the ravages of time upon their youthful beauty. And, I mean anything. Here are some findings about beautiful people in our American culture: 1. People who are good-looking are assumed and expected to be better than the rest of the population. (Kenealy, Frude, and Shaw. 2001) 2. Physically attractive individuals were rated as having more socially desirable personalities and were expected to have greater personal success on most of life outcome dimensions. (feministgal.blogspot.com) 3. Physical attractiveness impacts employment decision making, with the result that the more attractive an individual, the greater the likelihood that that person will be hired (Watkins & Johnston. 2000). 4. Attractiveness biases have been demonstrated in such different areas as teacher judgments of students (Clifford & Walster. 1973), voter preferences for political candidates (Efran & Patterson. 1974) and jury judgments in simulated trials (Efran. 1974). 5. With her severely scarred face, Lucy Grealy (no longer beautiful) considered herself a disabled person, perhaps marking the first time the "disability is a social construct" argument drew attention. (Lucy Grealy. Autobiography of a Face) 6. Praise, attention, trust and validation are more often readily given to beauty while shortcomings and mistakes are overlooked, sometimes unfairly and at the expense of others. (Alysabeth Clements. Pretty Is As Pretty Does: The Privilege of Beauty) 7. "It's just remarkable the attributes we give to a human being who is good looking," Helen Fisher, Rutgers University anthropologist says. "We think that they are smart. We think that they're funny. We think that they're friendly and warm, and social and popular." 8. Steve Jeffes, author of "Appearance Is Everything," conducted a survey. To confirm a hunch, he questioned jewelers, who told him that very beautiful women who wear diamond rings will almost always wear larger diamonds -- more than one carat -- than less attractive women who also wear diamond rings. 9. People assume that a person who's very good looking is doing a better job than in fact they are doing. So they rise up in the company, and they have more status and more power. (Helen Fisher) 10. As far as help and personal assistance, 20/20 dropped books in front of people walking by them in New York's Greenwich Village. Fewer than half the people who passed helped a plain-looking actress. But when it was the prettier actress' turn, 70 percent of the people nearby pitched in to help. Pretty girls become aware of advantages and power at various ages. As they begin to notice that they turn heads, and that others, usually but not always male, are more eager to help them or please them. Thus, these opportunities and extras are offered in order to bring them closer to admirers. And, what's a girl to do? Many feminists content until women are no longer sexed up, they won't be seen as human beings by men. And, in actuality, these are the women who will never see THEMSELVES as human beings. (Jill Fillipovic). Reduced to objects of standardized beauty and male manipulation, these sexy, beautiful bodies help defeat their own sense of true femininity. Female beauty, in its present definition, fits model proportions of body and face. This view is supported by the men, the women, and the society that judge its standards. Conformation seems to be the key to successful attainment of beauty and privilege, while pressures put on young women to meet present concepts cause many psychological problems. Acceptance of natural looks seems to take a backseat in this argument. And surely, "It's what's on the inside that counts" is somewhere far behind as far as perception of beauty goes. Here are some present day beauties. Notice any similarities in the list? Lara Flynn Boyle 5 ft 4 in 92 pounds Nicole Richie 5 ft 1 in 93 pounds Teri Hatcher 5 ft 6 in 104 pounds Renee Zellweger 5 ft 4 in 105 pounds Victoria Beckham 5 ft 6 in 108 pounds Halle Berry 5 ft 7 in 112 pounds Lindsay Lohan 5 ft 6 in 112 pounds Jennifer Love Hewitt 5 ft 2.5 in 115 pounds Charlize Theron 5 ft 9 in 116 pounds Jennifer Lopez 5 ft 6 in 118 pounds Jennifer Aniston 5 ft 6 in 118 pounds Nicole Kidman 5 ft 11 in 120 pounds Britney Spears 5 ft 5 in 125 pounds Cameron Diaz 5 ft 9 in 127 pounds Tyra Banks 5 ft 11 in 128 pounds "Beauty is only skin deep, but it's a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense." - Kin Hubbard