The University of B.C. has uncovered yet another reason why it’s better to be beautiful.
According to a UBC study published in the December edition of Psychological Science, we identify the personality traits of people we deem beautiful more accurately than those we find average or ugly.
Previous research has shown that individuals tend to find attractive people more intelligent, friendly and competent than others.
Jeremy Biesanz, a professor at UBC’s department of psychology and co-author of the study, said there was also a clear positive bias toward beautiful people.
“If people think Jane is beautiful, and she is very organized and somewhat generous, people will see her as more organized and generous than she actually is,” said Biesanz.
He said people are motivated to pay closer attention to beautiful people because of curiosity, romantic interest or desire for friendship.
“Not only do we judge books by their covers, we read the ones with beautiful covers much closer than others,” Biesanz said.
