Rather mind or beauty? Attractive scientists are often less competent

Good-looking researchers are less competent for most people
In a study by British researchers, it has been shown that attractive scientists are more interesting to most people, but also less competent. It was previously known that, for example, political success can often be influenced more by the appearance than by the statements.

Attractive scientists are more interesting
Not only in the film and fashion industry it matters how people look, but in many other areas of life as well. This was also evident in scientific studies. For example, Chinese researchers reported last year on a study of children trusting more beautiful people. British researchers have now also dealt with the effects of appearance. According to their study, attractive scientists attract more interest from us than less beautiful ones. However, they also seem less competent.

Attractive scientists awaken more interest in us than less good-looking ones. But they are also less competent, as shown in a recent study. (Image: mmphoto / fotolia.com)

Judging by the look
According to a recent study published in the "Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS), we tend to find pretty scientists more interesting than their less attractive counterparts.

The less handsome, however, are considered the better scientists.

To come to this conclusion, the team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Essex presented the study participants with photos of approximately 600 researchers from US and British universities.

The subjects should make different assessments: how attractive is the depicted person? How smart does she look? How old does she look??

Greater interest in the work of pretty researchers
The researchers found that the subjects were more interested in the work of the more attractive-looking scientists, as compared to the less handsome.

But when it comes to judging whether a scientist is doing a high-quality job, people have tended to associate less with pretty individuals.

Many have the impression that the more attractive a scientist, the less good is his research. Accordingly, the respective facial expression was of great importance.

For older researchers, the interest in the study was generally slightly higher than for younger, for females, slightly lower than for males.

Political achievements influenced by appearance
Quite surprisingly, the results for the study authors were not. Earlier research had said that political success could be influenced by appearance, Dr. Will Skylark from the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge in a statement.

This is therefore often more important than what politicians say. "We wanted to see if this also applies to scientists," explained the study leader.

"Given the importance of science in issues that could have a major impact on society, such as climate change, nutritional sustainability and immunization, scientists are increasingly committed to engaging with the public," says Skylark.

Commenting on the new findings, he said: "It seems that people's expressions are important in the selection and evaluation of science news."

"It is not yet clear how much this affects the spread and acceptance of scientific ideas in public, but due to the rapid growth of visual media, this could become an increasingly important topic." (Ad)