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Psychological Phenomena

Physical Attractiveness Stereotype

Social Biases and Group Effects

The physical attractiveness stereotype, also called the beautiful-is-good stereotype, is the tendency to assume that physically attractive people also possess other desirable traits, such as intelligence, social competence and morality, despite there being no actual correlation between appearance and those traits. The stereotype has been shown to shape real decisions in employment, friendship and legal judgment, giving attractive people an unearned social and economic advantage sometimes called pretty privilege.

Facts
Core Claim
The physical attractiveness stereotype, commonly known as the "beautiful-is-good" stereotype, is the tendency to assume that physically attractive individuals, coinciding with social beauty standards, also possess other desirable personality traits, such as intelligence, social competence, and morality. 1
First Described Year
1972 1
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Social or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1
Connections

In Branch

Source Physical attractiveness stereotype (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Physical attractiveness stereotype (Wikipedia)
  • Lead paragraph
    The physical attractiveness stereotype, commonly known as the "beautiful-is-good" stereotype, is the tendency to assume that physically attractive individuals, coinciding with social beauty standards, also possess other desirable personality traits, such as intelligence, social competence, and morality.
  • Lead
    The physical attractiveness stereotype was first formally observed in a study done by Karen Dion, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster in 1972.
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
    The physical attractiveness stereotype, commonly known as the "beautiful-is-good" stereotype, is the tendency to assume that physically attractive individuals, coinciding with social beauty standards, also possess other desirable personality traits, such as intelligence, social competence, and morality.
  • In Branch: Cognitive Psychology, Lead section
    The physical attractiveness stereotype, commonly known as the "beautiful-is-good" stereotype, is the tendency to assume that physically attractive individuals, coinciding with social beauty standards, also possess other desirable personality traits, such as intelligence, social competence, and morality.
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