Handsome Men Do Catch More Breaks From Women

Women are a lot more likely to put up with misbehavior in a man if he looks like Ryan Gosling, but if he is ugly, shunning will happen much quicker, according to a paper by Jeremy Gibson and Jonathan Gore of Eastern Kentucky University, who found that a woman’s view of how law-abiding a man is can be influenced by how handsome he is.



'First impressions' are a popular field of study because of their role in forming relationships, but it is often based on physical appearance and adherence to social norms. First impressions can be misleading and when someone is getting a positive reaction, a “halo effect” it can help them in many ways. Likewise, the opposite can occur for unattractive traits.



Gibson and Gore tested if and how levels of attractiveness and conforming to social norms combine to influence 170 female college student perceptions of men. Two male faces – one attractive, the other not - bearing similar features were paired in two written scenarios. In the one, the man committed a major social no-no, in the other not.



The researchers found that whether a man transgressed a social norm was a much greater put-off than whether he was unattractive. Normally women do not feel differently towards a homely man who toes the line. If that same ugly duckling, however, transgresses the boundaries of right or wrong, a magnified or “double” devil effect comes into play. He is then viewed in an extremely negative light, much more so than would have been the case if he were handsome.



“The unattractive male is tolerated up to a point; his unattractiveness is OK until he misbehaves,” says Gibson.



The halo and devil effect often comes into play when people view others’ profiles on online dating sites. Based on their results, Gibson and Gore believe that unattractive men who provide unusual or alarming information in their profiles may not receive a second glance from women. This will not be the case for an Adonis posting the same information, or unattractive ones who do not violate these norms.



In the judicial system, unattractive defendants are also known to receive more severe penalties than more attractive ones, even if they committed the same crime.



“A man who stands trial has already shown himself to have violated social norms in one way or another. If he is also unattractive, the magnified devil effect may result in a larger fine or sentence, as it could influence how negatively jurors view him and, as a result, the degree to which they believe him guilty of the crime,” explains Gore.



Citation: Gibson, J.L.&Gore, J. You're OK until You Misbehave: How Norm Violations Magnify the Attractiveness Devil Effect, Gender Issues (2015). DOI 10.1007/s12147-015-9142-5