The good-looking donor effect: the relationship between doing good and looking good

DOI:10.1177/0899764020950835

Explanation

Regarding physical attractiveness, there is evidence that beautiful things are considered good.

This is the halo effect, in which more physically attractive people are considered good, and the reverse halo, in which good things are considered beautiful.

However, this study was investigating the evidence that links the beautiful to the good and vice versa without the halo effect.

It examined the relationship between physical attractiveness (beauty) and giving behavior (good), and verified that attractiveness ratings are independent of giving behavior.

The study uses three data sets from the United States:

(a) a nationally representative sample of older adults (NSHAP)

(b) A nationally representative longitudinal study of adolescents (ADD Health)

(c) 54-year Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS)

Results provide evidence that these two traits (attractiveness and giving) are indeed correlated without a halo effect, and a "good looking giver" effect was found.

And the more physically attractive a person is, the more likely they are to engage in giving behavior, and vice versa. Thus, they say, in an ecologically valid real-world sample, people who do good are also likely to look good.