6 Types Of Pretty Privilege

00:13:32
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocpkH_djNcU

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses 'pretty privilege,' a phenomenon where individuals receive social advantages due to their physical attractiveness, akin to biases like racism and sexism. It explains how our societal preference for attractive people is documented in research and linked to the halo effect, which causes us to associate beauty with other positive traits like intelligence and kindness. Conversely, the devil effect describes how unattractive features lead to negative bias. Attractive people often enjoy higher self-esteem, better job prospects, and social benefits due to fewer repercussions for norm violations. The beauty premium in economics showcases how attractive workers earn more, and societal stereotypes correlate beauty with competence. Lastly, the video touches on evolutionary perspectives like the 'sexy son hypothesis,' which suggests that attractiveness is prioritized to ensure reproductive success. While beauty influences perceptions, other factors such as wealth and status also impact desirability. The video concludes by offering viewers advice on enhancing their attractiveness through professional assessments.

Takeaways

  • 🌟 Pretty privilege refers to the societal advantages individuals receive due to their attractiveness.
  • πŸ‘¨β€βš–οΈ Lookism, appearance-based discrimination, is pervasive but not illegal.
  • πŸ˜‡ The halo effect biases our perception, associating attractiveness with positive traits.
  • πŸ’Ό Attractive people often earn more, benefiting from the 'beauty premium.'
  • 🀝 Higher self-esteem is linked to better treatment and perception of attractiveness.
  • πŸ’” Less attractive individuals face more negative judgments due to the devil effect.
  • πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈ Norm violations by attractive individuals are often excused or viewed leniently.
  • πŸ”„ 'Sexy son hypothesis' links attractiveness to evolutionary reproductive advantages.
  • πŸ“Š Bias extends into unexpected areas like credit markets, classrooms, and elections.
  • πŸ’‘ Wealth and status can also influence attractiveness beyond physical appearance.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The video begins by introducing the concept of 'lookism' or appearance-based discrimination, which is described as a type of discrimination similar to racism or sexism. The speaker explains how being considered attractive can lead to various social advantages, collectively termed 'pretty privilege.' This privilege often contributes to better social standing, similar to high educational or socioeconomic status. The psychological phenomenon known as the halo effect is introduced, explaining how attractive individuals are often perceived to have more desirable traits, influencing people's overall impression of them. This bias can lead to the assumption that attractive individuals are inherently more capable or socially skilled, which plays a significant role in how they are treated in society.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:13:32

    The video continues to explore the impacts of perceived attractiveness on various life aspects such as romantic, platonic, and workplace interactions. Research is cited showing that attractive individuals tend to earn higher salaries due to what economists call the 'beauty premium,' which is not legally recognized like other forms of discrimination. The halo effect leads to attractive individuals being perceived as more competent and socially adjusted, while less attractive individuals may face biased assumptions of unpredictability and norm-violating behavior. Evolutionary biology theories, such as the 'sexy son hypothesis,' highlight potential generational advantages linked to attractiveness. The video concludes by mentioning ways to improve physical attractiveness beyond inherent traits, offering viewers resources to enhance their desirability.

Mind Map

Mind Map

Frequently Asked Question

  • What is lookism?

    Lookism is discrimination based on physical appearance, similar to racism or ageism.

  • What is the halo effect?

    The halo effect is a cognitive bias where we form a positive impression of people based on isolated traits like attractiveness, leading to assumptions about other unrelated traits.

  • How does attractiveness influence the job market?

    Attractive individuals tend to earn higher salaries and receive favorable treatment in various jobs due to the 'beauty premium' and associated biases.

  • What impact does attractiveness have on social norms?

    Attractive people often face fewer consequences for norm violations, as their actions are viewed more leniently due to societal biases.

  • How does "pretty privilege" affect self-esteem?

    Attractive individuals often have higher self-esteem because they are treated better, which positively influences their self-image.

  • Is lookism considered legal discrimination?

    Unlike other forms of discrimination, lookism is generally not illegal, though it influences many aspects of life.

  • What is the devil effect?

    The devil effect is the opposite of the halo effect, where less attractive individuals are judged more harshly.

  • What is the "sexy son hypothesis"?

    It is an evolutionary theory suggesting that attractive features may be prioritized in males to ensure reproductive success.

  • What is the beauty premium?

    The beauty premium refers to the economic advantages attractive individuals receive, such as better wages and job opportunities.

  • Can non-physical traits influence attractiveness?

    Yes, factors like wealth and status can also affect desirability, indicating attractiveness is influenced by multiple factors.

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  • 00:00:00
    have you ever experienced the favoritism
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    or discrimination that ethnicity
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    religion sexual orientation and gender
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    can often entail but what about pretty
  • 00:00:10
    privilege have you ever heard of the
  • 00:00:12
    idea that people are favored just
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    because they're
  • 00:00:15
    attractive in fact there is a term that
  • 00:00:17
    describes this phenomenon very well lism
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    or appearance-based discrimination is a
  • 00:00:22
    matter that's actually well documented
  • 00:00:24
    in economic psychological and
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    sociological research papers similar to
  • 00:00:28
    racism sexism or agism lookism is
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    considered a form of discrimination
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    based on looks as described by warhost
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    and colleagues this is the first type of
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    pretty privilege we're going to talk
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    about and it forms an umbrella that
  • 00:00:40
    encompasses all of the other following
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    types Leal goes so far as to link
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    increased repeated an incident that
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    forms from this type of discrimination
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    with higher odds of poor self-reported
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    health with women especially actually
  • 00:00:54
    reporting more repeated experiences of
  • 00:00:56
    appearance-based discrimination
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    especially in early childhood this form
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    of discrimination can really impinge on
  • 00:01:02
    one's social life and development just
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    like any other form but with a more
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    significant effect for social ability
  • 00:01:10
    today we're going to learn about what is
  • 00:01:12
    commonly known as pretty privilege this
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    refers to a social Advantage like having
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    a high educational or socioeconomic
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    status that stems from being attractive
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    in this video we're going to explore the
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    six types of pretty privileges as
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    defined in the psychology papers and
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    we're going to also look at its causes
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    and consequences in later
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    development we tend to believe that
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    attractive individuals possess desirable
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    social traits conversely there is an
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    unconscious negative view of
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    unattractive individuals for example we
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    often assume that they are more likely
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    to commit Norm violations or engage in
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    socially unacceptable undesirable
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    behaviors in Psychology this is known as
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    the halo effect the halo effect is a
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    cognitive bias meaning it's something
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    that influences the way we look at the
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    world on the outside and it's often
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    something that we're not even aware of
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    doing where people generally form
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    opinions about something or someone
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    based on their positive or negative
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    predispositions for instance you might
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    assume that a modern or attractive car
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    is safer to drive than an older or
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    unattractive one although the data may
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    not back that up when it comes to people
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    forming an accurate impression of an
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    individual requires considering the
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    dynamic interactions of many various
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    traits this means that different
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    characteristics influence each other to
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    create a final impression of a person
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    the halo effect leads to the formation
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    of a positive general impression based
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    on limited information from isolated
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    physical traits typically these are
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    revolved around attractiveness since
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    that's what we can first judge about a
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    person when we see them initially in
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    other words certain traits act as a Halo
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    casting a positive light on other
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    completely unrelated attributes for
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    instance being physically attractive
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    which is the first thing you see about a
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    person may also cast a positive light on
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    your impression of how intelligent they
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    are or how warm they are how charismatic
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    they are how capable they are completely
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    unrelated traits the opposite of this
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    phenomenon has been referred to as the
  • 00:03:11
    devil effect by Gibson and colleagues
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    and in one such podcast episode we
  • 00:03:15
    actually went into depth talking about
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    something called the double devil effect
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    where being physically unattractive has
  • 00:03:21
    a double negative effect rather than
  • 00:03:23
    being physically attractive which has a
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    single positive effect in simple speak
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    it's worse being physically less
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    attractive than the benefits of being
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    physically more attractive where
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    generally this means we judge less
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    attractive individuals as less competent
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    or less socially skilled because this is
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    the reverse of the halo effect this is
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    particularly important because the
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    overall evaluation of someone as good or
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    bad influences our future judgments of
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    that person therefore the halo effect
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    lies at the core of pre privilege being
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    considered attractive or unattractive by
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    Society standards influences most
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    aspects of Our Lives at least to some
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    extent beauty also affects quality of
  • 00:04:04
    life for instance attractive individuals
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    tend to enjoy a higher quality of life
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    which is repeatedly reported in
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    scientific papers but also this one's
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    pretty much Common Sense this includes
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    earning higher salaries experiencing
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    more fulfilling relationships receiving
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    better treatment from others and having
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    an overall sense of well-being the most
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    notable social consequence of being
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    attractive is having higher self-esteem
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    which in turn leads to positive outcomes
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    in various aspects of Life a according
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    to Lian colleagues self-esteem is
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    influenced by how we perceive our value
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    to others this means that our
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    self-esteem is tied to how others view
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    US evaluate and subsequently interact
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    with us which in turn forms if we have
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    high or low self-esteem in other words
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    our appearance determines how Society
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    treats us which in turn shapes our
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    self-image as a result it's easy to
  • 00:04:51
    understand how attractive individuals
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    tend to have higher self-esteem and as a
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    result they are treated better they see
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    themselves being treated better and so
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    they view themselves as being better on
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    the other hand individuals who are
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    perceived as less attractive often face
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    rejection in various areas of life but
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    seemingly inexplicable reasons while it
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    is evident that physical appearances
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    plays a role in romantic rejections and
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    romantic rejections has a significant
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    impact on self-esteem that is not the
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    only aspect for how this negatively
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    impacts less attractive individuals they
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    also experience rejection in other forms
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    such as platonic friendships workplace
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    relations or just being considered less
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    capable by teachers as is the an
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    example beauty is also very highly
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    valued in the labor market primarily for
  • 00:05:35
    the two reasons we mentioned above there
  • 00:05:38
    are significant benefits to being
  • 00:05:39
    physically attractive and economists
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    theorize this Effect called the beauty
  • 00:05:43
    premium where basically Brands
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    colleagues workers and companies want to
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    capitalize on your beauty by essentially
  • 00:05:50
    turning looks into money attractive
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    individuals earn higher salaries
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    compared to those considered less
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    attractive in one such groundbreaking
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    study on the topic HR Mission colleagues
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    demonstrated an average wage penalty of
  • 00:06:03
    up to 10% for individuals perceived as
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    plain or unattractive and an average
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    premium of up to 10% for those deemed
  • 00:06:09
    very attractive the challenge is that
  • 00:06:11
    unlike other forms of discrimination
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    luism is actually not considered legal
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    does the beauty premium apply
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    universally or is a bias then you might
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    ask well for instance one might expect
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    that being attractive as a salesperson
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    or waitress could provide significant
  • 00:06:26
    benefits and discriminating based on
  • 00:06:28
    that would not be reasonable de euga and
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    colleagues found that the beauty premium
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    can indeed be task dependent in a
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    bargaining task where individuals acted
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    as sellers of electronic equipment
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    attractiveness strongly influenced the
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    outcomes of the sale in other words
  • 00:06:42
    attractive sellers received higher wages
  • 00:06:44
    compared to unattractive sellers however
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    they did not observe a beauty premium in
  • 00:06:49
    tasks that were more intellectually
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    oriented such as say data entry or being
  • 00:06:53
    a programmer nevertheless other research
  • 00:06:56
    has shown that the beauty premium
  • 00:06:57
    extended task both related and related
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    to appearances such as credit markets
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    professional sports college classrooms
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    and even elections pretty obvious that
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    one thus the effect persists even in
  • 00:07:08
    situations where Beauty does not appear
  • 00:07:10
    to play an obvious role where we get
  • 00:07:12
    into some examples of that in our video
  • 00:07:14
    why do athletes have more attractive
  • 00:07:16
    faces or do you get hired more because
  • 00:07:19
    of your physical looks the beauty
  • 00:07:21
    premium is primarily a result of the
  • 00:07:23
    halo effect employers tend to assume
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    that attractiveness is indicative of
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    skill relative to the job performance
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    which leads to them being being willing
  • 00:07:29
    to pay more for attractive individuals
  • 00:07:32
    but it is also true that attractive
  • 00:07:33
    individuals do have the ability to sell
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    more simply because of how humans have
  • 00:07:38
    cognitive biases towards other
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    attractive
  • 00:07:42
    individuals one very understated
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    advantage of being physically attractive
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    is the ability to get away with Norm
  • 00:07:49
    violations much more easily Norm
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    violations can range from minor
  • 00:07:53
    infractions such as cutting the line to
  • 00:07:55
    more severe violations of the law where
  • 00:07:58
    say in a two-way C crash the person who
  • 00:08:01
    is at fault may just depend on who is
  • 00:08:03
    physically more attractive if the answer
  • 00:08:05
    isn't obvious the greater the deviation
  • 00:08:07
    from the norm the more Society tends to
  • 00:08:09
    dislike the individual involved when
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    encountering someone engaging in
  • 00:08:12
    suspicious Behavior quick and critical
  • 00:08:14
    decisions need to be made such as
  • 00:08:16
    whether to approach the individual or
  • 00:08:18
    alert the authorities attractiveness
  • 00:08:20
    plays a crucial role in those kind of
  • 00:08:22
    scenarios but as we've seen it can also
  • 00:08:24
    lead to inaccurate judgments and
  • 00:08:26
    predisposed decisions there are three
  • 00:08:28
    dimensions in which attra acess
  • 00:08:29
    influences this type of dynamic the
  • 00:08:32
    likelihood of committing a norm
  • 00:08:33
    violation the perception of
  • 00:08:35
    intentionality and the extent of social
  • 00:08:38
    punishment attractive individuals are
  • 00:08:40
    viewed as more likely to conform to
  • 00:08:42
    societal Norms on the other hand
  • 00:08:44
    individuals perceived as less attractive
  • 00:08:46
    are seen as more inclined to commit Norm
  • 00:08:48
    violations this perception arises
  • 00:08:50
    because attractive individuals are
  • 00:08:52
    expected to behave predictably and to be
  • 00:08:54
    well socially adjusted which makes sense
  • 00:08:57
    because attractive individuals are
  • 00:08:58
    treated better so so they have no reason
  • 00:09:00
    to rebel against the society that treats
  • 00:09:02
    them better in contrast less attractive
  • 00:09:04
    individuals are regarded as
  • 00:09:05
    unpredictable due to potential
  • 00:09:07
    mistreatment or resentment towards
  • 00:09:10
    Society attractive individuals are also
  • 00:09:12
    perceived as more likely to commit Norm
  • 00:09:14
    violations involving positive behaviors
  • 00:09:17
    this means that their intentions often
  • 00:09:19
    mitigate the perception of their
  • 00:09:20
    wrongdoing for example if someone who is
  • 00:09:22
    attractive steals food from a store we
  • 00:09:24
    may justify that act as being driven by
  • 00:09:26
    hunger or trying to feed a family of
  • 00:09:29
    five
  • 00:09:29
    however if the person is less attractive
  • 00:09:31
    we are more inclined to perceive it as
  • 00:09:33
    robbery another example is the act of
  • 00:09:36
    forgetting to flush the toilet for an
  • 00:09:37
    attractive individual it may be seen as
  • 00:09:39
    a simple mistake however when it
  • 00:09:41
    involves a less attractive person it can
  • 00:09:43
    be viewed as a sign of unhygienic
  • 00:09:45
    behavior these examples serve to
  • 00:09:47
    illustrate the general idea that
  • 00:09:48
    regarding attractive individuals we tend
  • 00:09:50
    to excuse Norm violations as exceptions
  • 00:09:53
    rather than indicative of their typical
  • 00:09:55
    Behavior finally being attractive
  • 00:09:57
    provides individuals with a certain
  • 00:09:59
    tolerance when it comes to violating
  • 00:10:00
    social norms resulting in fewer
  • 00:10:02
    potential consequences compared to their
  • 00:10:05
    less attractive counterparts for
  • 00:10:06
    instance research has shown that
  • 00:10:08
    attractive individuals often receive
  • 00:10:09
    less severe punishment in legal trials
  • 00:10:13
    the perception of a norm violation is
  • 00:10:15
    either creepy or innocent is influenced
  • 00:10:17
    by the Halo or the devil effect we tend
  • 00:10:20
    to attribute positive intentions to
  • 00:10:21
    attractive individuals and negative
  • 00:10:23
    intentions to less attractive
  • 00:10:25
    individuals as a result attractive
  • 00:10:27
    individuals face fewer consequences for
  • 00:10:29
    for both minor and severe Norm
  • 00:10:31
    violations which in turn contributes to
  • 00:10:33
    a better quality of life for them
  • 00:10:36
    overall generational effects are maing
  • 00:10:39
    decisions that we make that affect the
  • 00:10:41
    reproductive success of our offsprings
  • 00:10:44
    later on these are often influenced by
  • 00:10:46
    physical attractiveness the existence of
  • 00:10:48
    these ideas in humans is debated but
  • 00:10:50
    worth exploring nonetheless according to
  • 00:10:52
    evolutionary biology a female's ideal
  • 00:10:54
    mate is one with good genes which in
  • 00:10:56
    turn produces males with the best chance
  • 00:10:58
    of reproductive success we see this in
  • 00:11:00
    most organisms and there is good theory
  • 00:11:02
    that this also applies to humans too
  • 00:11:05
    therefore other benefits that the father
  • 00:11:06
    can offer are less relevant including
  • 00:11:09
    for example his capacity as a parental
  • 00:11:11
    caregiver in comparison to his genetic
  • 00:11:14
    strength therefore what matters most is
  • 00:11:16
    the future success of her sons rather
  • 00:11:19
    than the success of her daughters which
  • 00:11:21
    in turn will have somebody quoting them
  • 00:11:24
    no matter how they look like more or
  • 00:11:26
    less this is called a sexy sun
  • 00:11:28
    hypothesis which is pretty interesting
  • 00:11:30
    and we have covered this two other times
  • 00:11:32
    this was proposed by Patrick J
  • 00:11:34
    Weatherhead and rayy J Robertson of
  • 00:11:36
    Queens University in
  • 00:11:37
    Kingston and therefore to guarantee that
  • 00:11:40
    success they need to trade off for
  • 00:11:42
    highly masculine fathers which are often
  • 00:11:44
    poor longterm Partners this in turn
  • 00:11:47
    produces very attractive Sons which in
  • 00:11:49
    turn can chase after a number of women
  • 00:11:53
    and be successful whereas daughters in
  • 00:11:56
    general would be chased after by other
  • 00:11:58
    men so it doesn't really matter matter
  • 00:11:59
    in prioritizing the looks of the
  • 00:12:01
    daughter as opposed to prioritizing the
  • 00:12:04
    looks of the potential son this is just
  • 00:12:06
    one of the many evolutionary theories
  • 00:12:07
    we've covered on the podcast and on our
  • 00:12:09
    channel in the past with Simon groom a
  • 00:12:11
    biologist and we have seen many of these
  • 00:12:14
    fall more or less in Trend therefore we
  • 00:12:16
    do see a tendency for resource and all
  • 00:12:18
    looks poor men to go invisible off the
  • 00:12:21
    sexual Market more particularly men
  • 00:12:23
    without these highly masculine or
  • 00:12:25
    dimorphic features who find it tougher
  • 00:12:27
    and tougher to compete as there is an
  • 00:12:29
    inflation of physical looks this is the
  • 00:12:32
    last form of pretty privilege one where
  • 00:12:34
    being an attractive person man or women
  • 00:12:38
    you will possess a likely higher
  • 00:12:40
    reproductive benefit that ripples
  • 00:12:42
    through
  • 00:12:43
    generations with that being said this is
  • 00:12:45
    not entirely all doom and gloom there is
  • 00:12:47
    still multifaceted aspects to explore
  • 00:12:49
    such as wealth and Status which do have
  • 00:12:52
    confounding effects for both men and
  • 00:12:53
    women and can increase or decrease
  • 00:12:55
    desirability but there are also other
  • 00:12:57
    ways that we have to look at that one
  • 00:12:59
    can make themselves more desirable
  • 00:13:01
    without resorting to just physical
  • 00:13:03
    attractiveness with that being said if
  • 00:13:04
    you'd like to learn more about your own
  • 00:13:06
    physical attractiveness if that's a
  • 00:13:08
    curiosity of yours if you'd like to
  • 00:13:09
    learn about your aesthetic your facial
  • 00:13:10
    features your characteristics and how
  • 00:13:12
    you can improve the way that you look
  • 00:13:14
    well you're in luck because that's what
  • 00:13:15
    we do you can head over to the C's
  • 00:13:17
    website and have an assessment
  • 00:13:18
    commissioned by our team of doctors and
  • 00:13:19
    dentists and have them take a look at
  • 00:13:21
    your features and give you stepbystep
  • 00:13:23
    advice on what you can change work on or
  • 00:13:26
    do to get a second opinion that
  • 00:13:27
    interests you that's over at the the K's
  • 00:13:29
    website and I'll catch you all in the
  • 00:13:30
    next one
Tags
  • pretty privilege
  • halo effect
  • lookism
  • beauty premium
  • devil effect
  • self-esteem
  • job market
  • social norms
  • attractiveness
  • evolutionary theory