If You’re Beautiful, So Are Your Grades

This is really quite silly. It should be obvious that beauty cannot make someone smarter.

First off, who is defining "good looking?" Is there some aesthetic measure of beauty being used (symmetry, body proportion ratios)?

Secondly, the metrics being used: attractiveness, personality, and grooming, are widely open to interpretation. As you mentioned, charisma can contribute to attractiveness and personality. Grooming speaks for itself - I'm assuming the students in question bathe regularly and aren't caught with sloppy joe stains on their shirts. But someone's relative prettiness or ugliness cannot be boiled down to checking off boxes on a poll taken by social scientists. This matter has been a subject of philosophical debate for centuries!

Did they look into the idea that if a person is "pretty" a teacher may be more likely to help them? They would be ahead of their classmates, and get better grades because they would know the material better.

I'll preface this by saying that the link to the actual studies won't let me access them without being a subscriber, so I'm working with incomplete data. However from the abstract Newsweek provides for the article by French et. al, I see a pretty serious problem here with the confusion of correlation and causation.

As French et. al note, "For male and female students, being very well groomed is associated with a statistically significant GPA premium." What this doesn't tell us is if the grooming causes the increase in grades or if the same thing that might cause a student to be well groomed (upbringing or personal discipline, for instance) might be at the heart of these higher grades.

Likewise, when the study notes that "When physical attractiveness is entered into the model as the only measure of personal appearance (as has been done in previous studies), it has a positive and statistically significant impact on GPA for female students," it again cannot answer whether the question of whether it is the physical attractiveness that results in the higher grades, or if it is other benefits of the attractiveness (confidence, different social groups) that may result in the higher grades.

Always be weary of the conclusions that people draw from mere correlations.

And a total side question - how can you separate 'physical attractiveness' from 'grooming'? I tend to find filthy people unattractive, regardless of their bone structure, so I struggle to draw a nice, fine line between the two concepts.

Not sure about the data, but from my own personal experience, this is a bunch of hooey.

I never was good looking, but I did graduate as my class valedictorian. The good looking guys and girls were there, but none of them were in any of my advanced science or mathematics classes.

The best looking girl in my class didn't come anywhere near a 4.0 GPA, but she did marry the assistant principal 2 weeks after graduation and blessed the world with their first child 6 months later. :)

Funny, when I read this I immediately assumed that it meant people got better grades because they were deemed attractive (not that people who were attractive got better grades). I think this makes sense, at least for those who are middle of the road. It's certainly in line with loads of other studies about career.

While I'm not in any way for judging people based on attractiveness, here's what I would say to defend the employers and teachers who unknowingly advance the attractive more readily--and this is completely unscientific, so take it for what it's worth.

I think attractiveness, in the way it is effective in job interviews and classrooms, is more about how engaging the person is. We perceive engaging people to be attractive. And notice--the study Grace mentions is about "when someone is viewed as attractive"--not when they necessarily are. So it looks like people are getting better grades or better jobs because they are attractive, but maybe it's because they are more engaging, which means people are being judged on their emotional intelligence more than on their physical appearance.

Just a thought.

@Alli That's an interesting thought to think about. I see the road you're going down, the only issue I have is attractiveness may not always = engaging. But you're right that it's how they are viewed as attractive, so in the eye of the beholder someone who is vivacious, interactive in school, asks questions, etc. could be attractive to a teacher. Good workaround!

@Dead Hedge GOOD movie!

I think this article is also a bit silly. However, it is hard to not disagree. True, it is hard for most people to ignore physically attractive people. Teacher's are normal people. It makes sense though that personality for girls has a greater effect. It is hard to like the beautiful girl with the horribly mean personality. On the other hand, it is hard NOT to like a good looking person who is also a genuinely nice/good person.

I also think, though, that the attractiveness/GPA correlation can be somewhat attributed to how those people feel about themselves. For example, in college, during finals, I made sure to always take the time to groom myself before while taking my test. It didn't matter that I hadn't slept for 2 days, if I looked good, I felt better & had higher confidence during my test. And when I went from an all niter in the library in PJs & no make up to my test, all I could think about was how tired I was and how equally awful I probably looked.

You might occasionally get a higher grade, but for the most part I don't think how you look will make a dramatic difference overall in your education.

@Janey I agree with you. Others have left comments about feeling and looking your best=usually doing your best. That makes sense to me and this study could have been interpreted that way, as well.

@Milena Good additional point. I have always thought that GPA doesn't really measure intelligence or success. I even got nothing lower than a 3.8 in high school and in college (upon graduation) so I'm not speaking as someone who had a low GPA, but I know those that did who are brilliant. This may bring in information (whole new story) around education and our classroom institutions.

@Lindsey It has been mentioned a few times, but a new person is a new perspective! I really like your last point that if you've been told that you're smart it sticks with you. Confidence, beauty and smarts are all internal (to me at least) but once they're shining within, I think visibly you can see it on the outside. Great thoughts!

I think the old "correlation does not equal causation" effect may be in play here.

For example, grooming. Grooming can be (and probably almost always is) a sign of discipline, responsbility, and work ethic. If someone doesn't even take the time to groom themselves, are they going to take the time to work hard at school? The one exception I can think of is that the person is very poor, and thus cannot afford to groom themselves. Of course, if said person is poor, that probably explains why their grades are lower (lack of good supplies, lack of nutrition, more stress at home, etc.).

With regards to looks, it's been said multiple times, but this can improve confidence, which in turn improves grades. Penelope Trunk has written several blog posts about how more attractive people get paid more and excel further in their careers, so it makes sense the same concept applies to school.

With regards to personality, I think everyone at least subconsciously does this. Are you really not going to be biased more towards the person that is nice, friendly, approachable, and helpful as opposed to the person that is a complete jerk to you? A lot of jobs (legitimately) hire employees based on how they'd fit in with the company culture, so I don't think this one is off the mark or even unfair.

Interestingly most of the comments in this page are made by women & most of them banish the study :)

Back to topic - attractiveness certainly affects personal interviews to an extent and so do grades to an extent. Same goes for employment too. Beautiful/handsome looking men normally are perceived to be smarter than average joes.

But beauty can never be a replacement for dumbness. It is useful in getting brownie points.

"when someone is viewed as attractive, they are often assumed to have a number of positive social traits and greater intelligence" .... i dont agree about this, because still many factor that caused it

Pretty people get more, as we like it or not, it's one of those facts of the life.
Some abuse it, while others continue with their life despite of it.
I think girls knows this early on & can do do something about it through dressing up & make-up.

As for the grades aspect, unconsciously more people are willing to help prettier people

Prettier people are used to this & have grown to request/demand for help or "help" in homework & assignments ... leading to a higher grade than the average person. They might also get access to the smarter students to help them study, leading to a better mark.

The average person might get a C+, while the prettier person might get a B-or maybe a B in the same situation, but the A's still belong to the hardworking.

@Jason You're right I will learn toward someone who is nice, friendly, approachable, and helpful as opposed to the person that is a complete jerk to me. However, there was no talk of "nice" "friendly" and "jerk," in the study which is where the fine line becomes fuzzy. It was about physicality and attractiveness. Attractiveness can be "nice" "friendly" and "approachable" but they didn't gauge or explain that in the study. Another hole, but a good point you bring up!

@Cooper Preconceived notions do seem to come into play here. I also have to remember this isn't the end all be all. This is one study and not all studies are perfect. Thanks for sharing the story about your friend as well, that's a very good example. We can't seem to not judge (Everyone does it) based on looks and grooming to an extent...

@Rackgen You're right, there are mostly women who are disappointed in the study (that have commented here) however, I think the majority of people sharing their insight have been relatively open minded and almost agreed with the few pieces of the study. People who groom and present themselves well are always perceived in a higher light, etc. I really like your last sentence that dumbness is dumbness and beauty cannot replace that.

@Jenny@FreeGames, @cystic acne, @chris Thanks for sharing your story and view!

@Ian Looks can get you further. It's something that I have trouble with just because I'm all for equality and I don't like the idea of your physical appearing changing what you get in life, but shit happens. You're right that maybe there's more help available to those that are pretty but an A is an A, which is often hard earned and for those that are truly intelligent.

@maxgxl Yes, just like Ian said it's unfortunately true in many situations...

Thanks everyone for sharing. There has been some great insight and I have learned a lot!

Grace Boyle, you are a pretty person too!

attractiveness, personality and grooming. I think from those things attractiveness is the very important things.

just my opinion..

-cheers-

They all forgot one main thing. I'm talking about native beauty, that spark that some one has, even if it's kind of ugly.

Pretty people get preferential treatment, pure and simple. That's just kinda the way life is.

FYI: Here is a great follow-up/synopsis of the study as featured in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/education/edlife/26gpa-t.html?ref=edlife

Question... Why do you think Brazen is filled with so many beautiful people?

@Andrew At least we can each come to our own terms about this study and viewpoint. Thanks for sharing!

@Bret I haven't studied each Brazen member and honestly, looks mean little to me especially when sharing information, writing and blog posts on a thriving community like Brazen. What's your point? I'm curious.

@Allison Aw, smiles are important. Ever notice when you smile to a stranger and the immediate change in their face, they probably lighten up and smile back. There are always two sides to the fence, by being judged for your looks (pretty, not so good looking, etc.) Good point. I'm not sure which is worse...neither seem right, but both are part of human nature I suppose.

Like many others, I think there's some serious info missing from these studies. If physical attractiveness is going to affect someone's grades, the grading system has to be somewhat subjective. There's plenty of courses I've been in where there is little to no room for subjective grading. You either get a problem right, or you don't.

As far as "pretty people ruling the world" sentiment goes, would you consider Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Donald Trump, Stephen Hawking to be pretty?????

Grace - you're right, for the most part, about subjectivity. However, if you look at a math class you're going to have very little subjectivity involved in the grading. Switch over to an English or history course and you'll have a great deal more of subjectivity.

As far as my statement on successful people, I was more responding to Bret's "profound" statement that "pretty people rule the world!!!!1!!!". Grades measure success, but only in the narrow field of academia.

Have you ever read "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell? It provides a lot of interesting anecdotes about how we make snap judgements about people and in general.

This blog is interesting, but I think not all beautiful women and attractive men are having good grades, just like me! i dont have good grades in my other subjects. :) When i was in college, i have classmates that are intelligent but not good looking. Some of my attractive classmates used their looks just to pass their subjects.

Not all the good grades are for beautiful men and women.. Great article anyway. :)

I found this very good! Beautiful girls can get good grades but not all the time. It's still the person who are studious.

Its not true all the time but most of the times.
Let us take a look at the top of the hierarchy.. presidents, CEOs. Most of them are handsome[men] or pretty[women].. So it does play a part.

I think this might be more relevant in the workplace. GPAs are built on more objective numbers from test scores, while promotions might be based more on face-to-face interactions and observations. Teachers are not face-to-face with their students while grading tests and so I'd imagine there would be a smaller possibility of visual bias. Also, I've heard many women complain that people see their attractiveness and automatically assume less of their intellectual capabilities. I wonder how often THAT sort of judgment actually takes place.