Attractiveness: If you are pretty, what do we think about how you manage?

An attractive boss is more liked and perceived more positively than an unattractive boss... More research that indicates the "attractive advantage." I was reading the results of an MSNBC online survey, 61,647 people or workers that found that "Good-looking bosses were found to be more competent, collaborative and better delegators than their less attractive counterparts." Yes, another example of the halo effect. When we see one outstanding positive characterisics in someone we assign them other positive qualities. I discuss this in the chapter on first impressions in my book Success Signals. The ELLE/MSNBC survey also found that most women believe they are judged in the workplace on the basis of their looks. Not a big surprise, nor is it a surprise that men thought their competence mattered more than their looks. Other research on attractiveness shows that over time the 'halo' can get tarnished and people may see the real behaviors, but it takes quite a long time for people to stop attributing positive characteristics to someone who is attractive and some people can't do it at all. It actually creates dissonance in the brain. The survey found that, "About 58 percent of female bosses who were rated as attractive got high marks for competence, compared with 41 percent of 'average-looking' female bosses and only 23 percent of unattractive supervisors. Among people with male bosses, 61 percent who rated their supervisors as good-looking also found them competent, compared with 41 percent for the average types and 25 percent for those rated unattractive."
Many of you know that I have been researching first impressions for many years. The power of first impressions is very strong. So women get out your blow dryers and makeup and guys buy some new pants and tuck in your shirts. We are watching.

Series: Famous statements about lies #8

"Life is a system of half-truths and lies, of opportunistic, convenient evasion."

-Langston Hughes
(http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1611/sins22lies0index.html)

For a speaker and coach on body language and deception detection go to www.PattiWood.net and book Patti or buy her book Success Signals.

What women find attractive men

What Women Want

Women showed some preference for thin, muscular men. But they also disagreed over the hotness factor of many men, with some women giving a guy high attractiveness ratings while others scored the same guy as not attractive at all. To read the full article go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31669474/ns/health

The results of the study were published in the June issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a journal that I have been reading since my undergrad days in the 70's as I began researching and writing about body language. The research has some important implications for the dating scene.

Women are programmed to find all sorts of men attractive so they are not all competing for the same Tarzan he man. The textbook I used when I taught body language at Florida State cited research that found that women find men who look like their current boyfriend or mate the most attractive and that as women change love interests they change what they find attractive in a man. Thank goodness we are flexible.

Men who seem to find the same wafer thin model type women attractive might face stiff competition from other guys who all have eyes for the same handful of women. The research suggested men may need to invest more time and energy into attracting and guarding their mates from other potential suitors. I guess that means men who find thin women attractive need to increase their credit card debt. Oh, and they do: After eons of evolution, men are hardwired to overspend and max out credit cards to attract mates, a study last year concluded. To read more, check out the link below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31669474/ns/health-behavior/

Attractivenss

A new research study has found that men find women who are thin and seductive attractive. But the ladies are less in agreement over what makes for a hot guy, new research finds.

"The study included more than 1,300 heterosexual men, about 2,700 heterosexual women, Participants each rated nearly 100 photographs of either men or women, depending on the participant's gender and sexual orientation. They scored how attractive they found each photographed individual on a 10-point scale from "not at all" to "very" attractive. "

Despite another recent study that found modern men are more interested in intelligent, educated women than in decades past, in the new study men tended to base their attractiveness ratings on women's physical features, giving stellar marks to those who looked thin and seductive. Most of the men in the study also rated photographs of women who looked confident as more attractive. Yippee for all the confident women! At least all the women who can maintain their confidence in the face of research that says you need to be thin and seductive.

Hair and Attractiveness

I just read an article titled 10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10 Years Younger. Even celebrities have bad hair days. Here, the red carpet looks that will add a decade to any face—famous or not. (Read the article by Lindsy Van Geldera) As a body Language expert who has spoken on attractiveness and dating for many years I realize that hair styles can make you look quite different. Long healthy shiny hair is an indication of overall health and is nature's way of showing that you are young enough to be fertile and reproduce. This would make you sexually appealing. Loose long hair is at a primal level more appealing. Darn it. I have written and blogged about how signs of youth make you more attractive. I am not happy about it. But I am certain the research is accurate. The experts tell us that the physical features and characteristics considered to be "beautiful" are in fact subconscious indicators of fertility and good health.