University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Is beautiful actually good? Divergent paths from attractiveness to moral judgments

Han, Da Eun

Content Files
HAN-THESIS-2021.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110756

Description

Title
Is beautiful actually good? Divergent paths from attractiveness to moral judgments
Author(s)
Han, Da Eun
Issue Date
2021-04-30
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Laurent, Sean M.
Committee Member(s)
Albarracin, Dolores
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2021-09-17T02:34:51Z
Keyword(s)
  • social cognition
  • person perception
  • beautiful-is-good stereotype
  • vanity
  • warmth
Abstract
For almost 50 years, psychologists have understood that what is beautiful is also good. This simple hypothesis has been confirmed in a large number of ways, and the intuitive appeal of the idea has led to a wide range of studies documenting the depth and breadth of its truth. Yet, in some ways, for what is arguably one of the most important forms of “goodness” that there is—morality—research has told a different story. Specifically, although greater attractiveness is associated with a host of other perceived and positive attributes, it has been only inconsistently associated with greater morality (or lesser immorality), and meta-analyses on the topic have suggested the total effect is near zero. The current research documents one reason why this is, given the attribution of so many other positive attributes to the attractive. Specifically, across nine experiments that employ a variety of methodological and measurement strategies, we show first that attractiveness causally leads to perception of vanity, which translates into perception of lesser morality/greater immorality. Then, we document how attractiveness is also associated with perception of greater sociability—the non-moral component of warmth—and show how sociability exerts a countervailing effect on moral judgments. Ultimately, this work provides a comprehensive process account of why beautiful is good, but is not necessarily moral, highlighting the complex interrelations between different elements of person perception.
Graduation Semester
2021-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110756
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2021 Da Eun Han

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Psychology
Dissertations and Theses from the Dept. of Psychology