Big Muddy
06-27-2014, 12:13 PM
"People Who Think They’re Ugly More Likely To Be Liberal"
People who think they’re ugly are more likely to sympathize with liberal causes.
In a series of five studies out of Stanford, ones’ perception of their own physical attractiveness correlates with sympathy toward liberal causes like the Occupy movement.
More than self-perceptions of integrity or empathy, if you think you look good, you’re less likely to sympathize with the poor and less willing to donate to causes supporting them.
In the study, half of the participants were asked to think about a time when they felt physically attractive or unattractive and the other half were asked to think about a time when they were sympathetic or unsympathetic.
They were then shown a short video about the Occupy movement. Those who rated themselves “unattractive” were more likely to donate a $50 lottery ticket they received as compensation for participating.
Why? Researchers Margaret Neale and Peter Belmi concluded people who consider themselves attractive believe they belong in a higher social class. Those attractive people were more likely to support or condone greater economic inequality.
“We found that cues that suggested to people that they were more attractive led them to think that they belonged to a relatively higher social class; by con- trast [sic], cues that suggested to people that they were less attractive led them to think that they belonged to a relatively lower social class,” he told CampusReform.org. “These perceptions of their social class standing, in turn, influenced their views of inequality.”
Self-perceptions of integrity or empathy had no correlation to sympathetic feelings toward inequality or the desire to donate to them.
“If you believe you are attractive, you tend to think you belong in a higher social class yourself and believe, accordingly, that hierarchies are a legitimate way for organizing people and groups,” a report on the study states. “You also are more likely to believe people lower down in a hierarchy are there because they deserve to be.”
People who think they’re ugly are more likely to sympathize with liberal causes.
In a series of five studies out of Stanford, ones’ perception of their own physical attractiveness correlates with sympathy toward liberal causes like the Occupy movement.
More than self-perceptions of integrity or empathy, if you think you look good, you’re less likely to sympathize with the poor and less willing to donate to causes supporting them.
In the study, half of the participants were asked to think about a time when they felt physically attractive or unattractive and the other half were asked to think about a time when they were sympathetic or unsympathetic.
They were then shown a short video about the Occupy movement. Those who rated themselves “unattractive” were more likely to donate a $50 lottery ticket they received as compensation for participating.
Why? Researchers Margaret Neale and Peter Belmi concluded people who consider themselves attractive believe they belong in a higher social class. Those attractive people were more likely to support or condone greater economic inequality.
“We found that cues that suggested to people that they were more attractive led them to think that they belonged to a relatively higher social class; by con- trast [sic], cues that suggested to people that they were less attractive led them to think that they belonged to a relatively lower social class,” he told CampusReform.org. “These perceptions of their social class standing, in turn, influenced their views of inequality.”
Self-perceptions of integrity or empathy had no correlation to sympathetic feelings toward inequality or the desire to donate to them.
“If you believe you are attractive, you tend to think you belong in a higher social class yourself and believe, accordingly, that hierarchies are a legitimate way for organizing people and groups,” a report on the study states. “You also are more likely to believe people lower down in a hierarchy are there because they deserve to be.”