The Halo Effect

[Luchini]

I used to think that personality is something a girl valued very highly in a guy. To some extent, I still like to believe it is. Nevertheless, I think physical attractiveness can make up for any personality deficits a person has. That is to say, if you are good looking you can get just about anybody you want without having a good personality. I'm not saying that the relationship would last for any extended period of time, but I think it gets you in the door, so to speak. Girls tend to overlook other character flaws just because a guy is good looking. I think I even do the same things with people in general. The psychological concept is called the "halo effect." What happens is you see a attractive person and you attribute other positive qualities to them such as kindness. In short I think all this is unfortunate because people are judged to be something they are not simply because of some standard of beauty. Anybody like to share any thoughts on this?

 

[Sluggo]

Are you and Pamchenko just going to beat this horse to a pulp?

Yeah, better looking people get lots of things in life, grow up and fvcking get over it.

 

[bigd480]

i think it's a stupid and messed-up result of an insanely superficial culture but I won't deny it's there.....

you can't stereotype and say "Girls tend to..." or "you can get just about anybody..."

everyone's different... if you think this way of thinking sucks find a girl that agrees...

judge other ppl the same way you would want to be judged... that's what i did, and we're engaged now (and a lot happier than most couples we know)...

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

Well, that's why we have stories like "Cyrano De Bergerac" and sayings like "you can't judge a book by its cover", because 'we' do tend to evaluate people in this manner. Most people are astute enough to know or were brought up to realize what's on the surface is at best an indicator but no guarantee of what the true person is like "underneath".

 

[DannyLove]

seems like someone got rejected @ their prom. damn junior members, (sorry for the flame, just this is useless, lock it please:|)!

 

[bigd480]

lock it on what basis? though it's a trite topic it still is more useful to discuss than half the stuff in OT...

oh and i forgot you joined Anandtech as a Senior Member.....

 

[pamchenko]

thx bigd... some ppl like to play mod in threads they aren't concerned about...its very selfish.
I guess me and luchini are beating it to death...I had a long talk with him tonite about my theories and obviously he agrees. we're roomies btw.

instead of getting over it, the suggestion I made to him was this...know that it is wrong, and avoid being guilty of it yourself...that way, you avoid hipocracy...that's all you really can do...try to lead by example?

edit: its relevance to the rest of the AT community is that we have seen many "how do i get this girl threads" and this is our contribution...what does it say? expect the worse if you're not super good looking or popular.

 

[DannyLove]

.................................. i initially joined at elite, but i decided to be a senior instead, nef nef nef nef nef.... rate me please, i deserve a 10, HAHAHAHHAHAHAH....

 

[KojinaFinda]

Luchini, I don't know what you're complaining about. Every morning you wake up you remind me that you're a 9.4
But remember, no matter how ugly we may be, let us be thankful that we do not look like Tyrone Hill.

 

[Gunbuster]

"character flaws" trust me everyone has them, you just have to find someone with the flaws you can live with.

I cant think of 1 person I know thats not flawed in some way, but looks do help out in the mean old world

 

[~zonker~]

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art. ~ Elanor Roosevelt

 

[pamchenko]

I think everyone is too ashamed to admit they are guilty of something like this... I just know that it is wrong, having been the victim of being mistreated for not being good looking.

 

[Mesomorph]

WOAH, wait a second.

Let me get this straight. People judge each other first by looks?

No way. It's gotta be personality. I mean, when I see someone from across the room, the first thing I think to myself is "Dang, she's got a nice personality."

Of COURSE we judge people based on looks. It's the only thing we CAN judge them on before we know them.

And, flaws aren't overlooked. For one, when you approach the attractive person, obviously you're going to have high hopes for him or her, that's just natural human optimism. And if you overlook other things because someone is attractive, then you are stupid and deserve to be stuck with the moron.

See? Things work out fine when you think about it. Now stop whining and have a sucker.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

You seem bitter.
Perhaps you should understand that that there is something more to it than just looks. You have to have Confidence in yourself. believe it or not but it does show, in your mannerisms, speach, and body language.

I know I'm hung like a field mouse and the hair on my head is slowly migrating to my back, but I still have confidence in myself and am fairly succesful

 

[~zonker~]

I may sound prejudiced, but people who astonishing physical beauty seem to rarely have much inner beauty.. There are exceptions of course. Everyone gets old, the inner beauty endures

 

[pamchenko]

mesomorph you misunderstood Luchini's argument...perhaps it was easier for you to jump on the "you only judge people based on looks!" argument... what Luchini was saying was that we subconciously are willing to give the benefit of the doubt more often to people that are good looking? Why do we do it? I dunno...but if you hard and deep in the daily activities of yourself and others, you will prolly see it. There have been pyschological studies done on this, hence the term "halo effect."



<< And if you overlook other things because someone is attractive, then you are stupid and deserve to be stuck with the moron. >>



if you overlook these things, it is because you are human. Realizing the unjust nature of such activity can only help us make sure we aren't guilty of such behavioral patterns. Now stop being so mean and read things more carefully

--
to jefflebowski, good looking ppl tend to be more confident. If you're one who's failed socially numerous times because of looks and social status, do you think confidence could be born from failure? I wish it were so easy to be confident. Maybe there are some nice girls out there who are willing to &quot;give me some confidence?&quot;

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Oh,
I know I'm as ugly as the rear end of a donkey with diareha. But I know I have &quot;personality&quot; All you have to do is get your foot in the door and talk. Look them in the eyes, not their other matching pair Last but not least. If somebody turns you down because you don't look like Tom Cruise or George Clooney(not that I would know they're good looking or anything), then most likely they aren't the kind of person you would want to associate with.

 

[Namuna]

Well, chalk it up to experience for me I guess. Because for me, everybody from Gargoyle to SuperModel starts off at even keel. I've seen PLENTY of Ugly-Arrogant/bitchy, Ugly-Nice, Pretty-arrogant/bitchy and Pretty-nice.

Ugly or Pretty, if they treat me nice I respond otherwise they don't get the time of day.

 

[vi edit]

You are correct, but only if the opposite partner is shallow enought to have done the same for themselves.

 

[vi edit]

I believe it works the other way as well, and actually proves to be far more &quot;enjoyable&quot; for both parties. The other way would be that one's personalities would make them look more attractive than what they really are.

I think this is the difference between being shallow and being compassionate.

 

[pamchenko]

vi_edit, I thk that's the mechanism of &quot;falling in love&quot; when you get to know someone beyond their appearances... I really hate to break it down like that but its how I fell into that trap.

 

[vi edit]

You beat me to the punch. I was going to mention something to the effect that I thought love was overcoming your selfish and shallow desires and looking internal as opposed to external.

 

[srsanborn]

just a damn test

 

[mrCide]

confidence plays a big part in how a girl looks at you.. perhaps not bigger than looks but big enough to make a difference..

I have this friend (who'm i'm not interested in.. but..) who I don't hang out with much. When I hung out with her while I had a gf (I guess it made a difference) I was just normal. But not having one makes me a bit more confident I guess. So she says anyway, and that it made me attractive. Just a bit of discussion but it does make a difference. It's a good thing I'm a confident guy, or atleast I can fake it

 

[Haircut]

Wow, it looks like this is the longest lasting thread in OT.