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. I cannot say often enough how much I consider beauty a powerful and advantageous quality. Socrates called it "A short tyranny," and Plato, '~Fhe privilege of nature." We have no quality that surpasses it in credit. It holds the first place in human relations; it presents itself before the rest, seduces and prepossesses our judgment with great authority and a wondrous impression. --Montaigne, Essays "Beauty is truth, truth beauty," --that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Beauty has interested poets, philosophers, and scientists for centuries. Indeed, the ancient Greeks believed that there is a fundamental relation between beauty and positive qualities: Those who are beautiful are also good (Sappho, Fragment No. 101). "Beauty is good" was empirically tested in a seminal study by Dion, Berscheid, and Walster (1972) , who demonstrated that, even in modem times, human beings attribute positive qualities to attractive people and negative qualities to unattractive people. Since this important study, much research has focused on the effects of attractiveness, especially facial attractiveness, on, the attributions, impressions, and stereotypes of strangers. These studies primarily have investigated attributions made by college students about attractive and unattractive strangers based on a photograph of the face and, sometimes, minimal printed "background information" about the hypothetical individuals. This strangerattribution literature has been summarized by earlier meta-analyses (see, e.g., Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijanl, & Longo, 1991; Feingold, 1992b) , which have confmned the association between attractiveness and many attributions of positive characteristics. 1 Contrary to these findings of a reliable relation between attractiveness and attributions of positive qualifies, however, are several age-old maxims and precepts holding that attractiveness either is not or should not be a significant factor in social interactions or behaviors. Three maxims in particular are heard frequently: (a) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, (b) never judge a book by its cover, and (c) beauty is only skin-deep. These maxims generally reflect received wisdom about the role of attractiveness in human interaction. It is curious that these maxims are at such odds with the stranger-attribution literature. Received wisdom suggests that attractiveness is either not important at all or relevant only to first impressions but not as people become more familiar with each other. Perhaps it is the case that both are accurate: Perhaps people make attributions about strangers based on attractiveness, but there are no practical effects of being attractive or unattractive in real life. Alternatively, perhaps the attribution literature does indeed generalize to actual interactions between people who are familiar with each other. Assessing the relevance of the maxims to everyday life and evaluating the mediating influence of familiarity on attractiveness effects are important yet unaddressed issues.
Fitness-related evolutionary theories posit that attractiveness is linked to health and reproduction fitness REF .
Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta–analytic and theoretical review
Psychological Bulletin
Psychology Medicine