Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated

Attractiveness Bias

A tendency to see attractive people as more intelligent, competent, moral, and sociable than unattractive people.1

Attractive people are generally perceived more positively than unattractive people. They receive more attention from the opposite sex, receive more affection from their mothers, receive more leniency from judges and juries, and receive more votes from the electorate than do unattractive people. All other variables being equal, attractive people are preferred in hiring decisions, and will make more money doing the same work than unattractive people. The attractiveness bias is a function of both biological and environmental factors.2

Biologically speaking, people are attractive when they exude health and fertility. ...