2000/01/01 by Judith H. Langlois, Lisa Kalakanis, Adam J. Rubenstein +3 · 1 voice · 14 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Psychology · #Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification #Eating Disorders and Behaviors #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
paper · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.390
openalex publication_date 2000/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Common maxims about beauty suggest that attractiveness is not important in life. In contrast, both fitness-related evolutionary theory and socialization theory suggest that attractiveness influences development and interaction. In 11 meta-analyses, the authors evaluate these contradictory claims, demonstrating that (a) raters agree about who is and is not attractive, both within and across cultures; (b) attractive children and adults are judged more positively than unattractive children and adults, even by those who know them; (c) attractive children and adults are treated more positively than unattractive children and adults, even by those who know them; and (d) attractive children and adults exhibit more positive behaviors and traits than unattractive children and adults. Results are used to evaluate social and fitness-related evolutionary theories and the veracity of maxims about beauty.