beauty and the bank
The Daily Show's Jason Jones investigates UT professor’s theory thatgood-looking people make more money
Looks do matter, according to a Rice University study.
Two recent examinations on financial success and physical appearance put the science behind what most of us already knew, but didn't want to believe — pretty people win every time.
Invest in concealer
Worried about that facial blemish before a big job interview?
New research says good — do everything you can to hide it.
Birthmarks, scars and other facial imperfections can hinder a person's standing during a job interview, according to researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston.
The issue isn't necessarily discrimination, narrow-mindedness or some misguided prejudice — the study simply suggests that interviewers, even ones with experience, tend to not remember as much information about people with facial stigmas.
During a conversation, one's attention is naturally focused on the triangle formed by the eyes and mouth. Using a computer-guided eye-tracking device, researchers Juan Madera and Mikki Hebl followed the visual movements of interviewers to find that the more people veered from that triangular area by way of a facial blemish, the less they remembered about that candidate.
The study used the tracking devices on undergraduates and then on graduate students with experience interviewing prospective employees. Both groups proved similarly forgetful when it came to stigmatized subjects.
Pretty pays — literally
In his new book, Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful, UT economics professor Daniel Hamermesh explores the statistical connections between physical beauty, financial success and happiness.
Since its August publication, the book has been the focus of numerous articles and reviews, including a New York Times op-ed by Hamermesh himself that ran late this summer. Much of the discussion revolves around one central data point: “Ugly people make less money than otherwise identical good-looking people. Maybe $230,000 over a lifetime compared to a good-looking person.”
Just recently, Hamermesh took his findings to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In the segment, correspondent Jason Jones sits down with the professor to explore the study's broader implications for a section of the population Jones calls “uglo-Americans.”
Watch below and tell us: Do you think we're as shallow as research would suggest?
