An Ugly Pretty Penalty

A recent study by Rice University found that in general, people are more likely to trust a pretty face. If that trust is betrayed, however, the backlash can be very un-pretty. As published in today's Dallas Morning News, Study finds 'beauty penalty' can be harsh, numerous studies have shown that attractive people generally make more money, get higher reviews from their supervisors and are viewed as being more intelligent and trustworthy. But researchers at Rice added a new twist to their study, measuring the degree of disappointment people feel when attractive people fail to meet their high expectations. “The takeaway message here is that people have the wrong idea about attractiveness,” said Catherine Eckel, a professor of economics at the University of Texas at Dallas who co-authored the study. “Attractive people, well, they’re not less trustworthy than other people, but they’re not more trustworthy either. So if we’re aware of our biases we can do a little better job of making decisions.”

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