Have you ever noticed how attractive people always get special attention? Well yes, makes sense. BUT have you ever noticed attractive people are often viewed as being on some untouchable level? As humans we judge people based off of looks (even though we say that we don't). Why does this happen and what should we do?
The scientific background of his phenomenon is the halo effect. The halo effect is a type of cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about his or her character. When we don't know someone personally, we use any information that we have about a person to try and gain a better understanding of them. We assume that because they look good, then they must be a good person.
The Halo Effect is a flaw in human nature. There is little to no evidence proving that attractive people are any more competent than others. Humans are making a mistake in this assumption.
I saw this effect in action while going through sorority recruitment. This process involves first impressions about people we usually don't know. If someone looks put together and overall attractive, then our human instinct tells us to think more highly about them. Because this phenomenon exists, every girl involved in the process often puts huge amounts of effort into looking their absolute best.
Even in just everyday life situations, an attractive person could lack skills in a particular realm but people will put more faith then is justified into their abilities. Attractive people are given the benefit of the doubt in almost every life situation. Is it even possible to correct these assumptions? It would take a huge culture shift that rejects how our brains naturally work.
As someone who doesn't get special treatment for how I look, I think we, as a society, should strive to treat people based on their actions and merits rather than their image. If we just focus on keeping an open mind about others, then we can make better, more informed decisions.
