Home News

News

Sep 19 2011

Sailing along on their good looks? It appears so

Florida Times-Union (Florida) - by Terry Dickson

If you wonder, as I often do, why your hard work, high IQ and dedication haven’t paid off, look in the mirror.

Scientific research has shown that looks can take you far or hold you back. A recent study shows it applies even to the military.

Sociology professors Thomas R. Hochschild of Valdosta State and Casey Borch of the University of Alabama at Birmingham published their findings under the title, “About Face: The Association Between Facial Appearance and Status Attainment Among Military Personnel.”

Anyone who’s ever marched in formation knows “About Face” is a great double entendre.

Unfortunately, the study hangs another unflattering picture of our society.

Hochschild, who holds a Ph.D, said he and other sociologists routinely research issues of prejudice, why some people are treated differently because of race, gender and other things they can’t control.

Previous research has shown that people “in task-oriented groups” judge others on traits that have nothing to do with the tasks: Facial appearance, race and gender sometimes count for more than ability, Hochschild said.

Hochschild and Borch used a National Science Foundation grant to determine if looks affect military advancement as they do among us civilians.

To eliminate other biases — such as race and sex — the study was limited to white males. They used sailors because it was the only group for which information was available.

Two diverse groups each looked at groups of 20 boot camp photos and rated them on perceived appearance, leadership ability, competency and trustworthiness. In the end, those who looked good rated highly in the other categories.

Finally, Hochschild and Borch used the database to find out how far the sailors in the study had advanced. They learned that the better the sailors looked, the higher their rank.

In other words, Chief Petty Officer Hottie had Seaman Plainvisage swabbing decks.

It also seemed to matter if they smiled.

Keep in mind this is the Navy. It would probably be hard to find a boot camp photo of a smiling soldier or Marine.

Hochschild found the study and others somewhat disquieting.

“Most people would like to think that we live in a meritocratic society where attributes like hard work, skill, intelligence and creativity are what get you ahead,” he said.

Instead, people get ahead on “non-relevant or non-essential characteristics, such as the way they look,” he said.

Is it any wonder, then, that John Edwards, widely regarded now as a liar with great hair, got as far as he did?

We love our stars. Why else would U.S. House and Senate committees nod respectfully as movie stars speak on serious subjects, stars whose lives are typically simmering messes?

But with the people who fight our wars, you would think looks wouldn’t matter.

The test subjects were in the Navy. Maybe it’s different in the Army. After all, I made buck sergeant pretty quickly in spite of my obvious handicap.

Bookmark and Share


Date Title
9/30/11 Crime by federal correctional officers is on the rise, report finds
9/30/11 Man to admit to shipping unsolicited ‘erectile pumps’ in Medicare scam
9/30/11 APNewsBreak: Brown tree snake program to continue
9/30/11 Grant will fund parking lot
9/30/11 Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Marcheta Sparrow presents $500,000 toward stabilization and rehabilitation of the Holt House
9/30/11 Society to reap nearly $1 million in federal transportation grants
9/30/11 VA prepares to purchase iPads, iPhones
9/30/11 Federal retirement plans almost as costly as Social Security
9/30/11 Digital Games Institute wins federal grant
9/30/11 Twitter analysis reveals global human moodiness, says Cornell
9/27/11 Audit reveals city paid $11.8 million in housing subsidies to dead people
9/27/11 Barrow woman indicted by Federal Grand Jury for misapplication of funds from federally funded program
9/27/11 Count on it: Acorn survey takes researchers up and down California
9/27/11 Apple iPad for kindergarten students? Schools try them
9/27/11 Staffers get work iPads
9/27/11 Hill staffers fear pay cuts, layoffs
9/27/11 State gets grant for overseas initiative
9/27/11 Alaska ‘bridge to nowhere,’ the Knik Arm Crossing Project, still on the table
9/23/11 Controller's audit finds $31 million in questionable spending by Montebello
9/23/11 Another big grant for Wormfarm; $100,000 coming for Fermentation Fest/Art Dtour
9/23/11 A Herald investigative report: Rural Internet project money frozen as feds investigate Obama stimulus program
9/23/11 U.S. spending billions on rural jobs, but impact is uncertain
9/23/11 I-Team 10 Investigation: Non-profit workers accused of stealing city grant money
9/23/11 Dead federal retirees are paid $120 million annually, report says
9/22/11 A tale of two U.S. government data center projects
9/22/11 Port of Anchorage project faces federal audit
9/22/11 Solyndra employees: Company suffered from mismanagement, heavy spending
9/22/11 Feds raid home of State Department worker embroiled in $52 million contract abuse case
9/22/11 Bennett Environmental Inc. pleads guilty to defrauding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
9/22/11 Recipe Finder
9/22/11 Feds are spending billions of dollars to subsidize junk food, Iowa report shows
9/21/11 Good for the planet; good for his wallet
9/21/11 Sexual satisfaction tied to overall 'successful aging' as reported by women age 60 to 89
9/21/11 Baylor Religion Survey reveals many see God steering economy
9/21/11 Greensburg breaks ground on new Big Well Museum
9/21/11 Mat-Su's would-be ferry comes with big bills but no income
9/21/11 NASA’S grant administration and management
9/21/11 Bell's looks to expand, adding brewing capacity
9/21/11 Former director of Waterbury Boys and Girls Club indicted on embezzlement and fraud charges
9/21/11 The IRS needs to review its furniture storage contract
9/20/11 Not-for-profit group used state funds to buy decked-out Hummer
9/20/11 FEMA flood prevention cash unused
9/20/11 Report: Health-benefits exchange could cost up to $89 million annually
9/20/11 GenPhar CEO indicted: Federal officials say man took grant money intended for scientific research
9/20/11 UC-Riverside researchers to study link between social media and mood
9/20/11 ‘Extravagant’ spending, $16 muffins found at Justice Department meetings
9/20/11 Tax dollars withdrawn at liquor stores, strip clubs
9/19/11 Grant sought to restore caboose
9/19/11 Toledo Harbor Lighthouse to open for tours
9/19/11 FEMA's local Irene assistance office reports low attendance
9/19/11 Billions in unemployment benefits paid in error
9/19/11 Proposed pay for employees raises eyebrows
9/19/11 Squirrels nearly bring Senate to a halt
9/19/11 Rich tax breaks bolster makers of video games
9/19/11 Current record
9/12/11 Earmark ban further delays National Archives expansion
9/12/11 Puerto Rico disability claims probed
9/12/11 Department of Agricultural Resources receives USDA grant to assist Massachusetts Brewing Industry
9/12/11 Billions in federal 9/11 relief funds went unspent, report finds
9/12/11 Sikorsky overcharged Army for Black Hawk part
9/12/11 New housing for homeless opening in Bethesda
9/12/11 CDC to fight HIV with comic books
9/12/11 Glow-in-the-dark cats against AIDS, other diseases
9/9/11 Study finds extensive waste in war contracting
9/9/11 Border agent says there's nothing to do, says money is being wasted
9/9/11 City worker jailed for stealing $10M from fund to identify 9/11 remains still holding on to cash
9/9/11 State Dept. spends terrorism and emergency dollars on parties, rented linens and a kitchen
9/9/11 Iowa officials question Homeland Security expenditures used since 9/11
9/9/11 State's management of Homeland Security grants draws criticism
9/8/11 Surry partners for a national viticulture and enology initiative
9/8/11 Sistrunk Boulevard work is nearly $750,000 over budget
9/8/11 Investigation of double-billing for Newtown Front Porch
9/8/11 DOE: Sluggish energy-efficiency grant program undermines stimulus goals -- IG
9/8/11 A quarter of USPS facility space is excess, IG says
9/8/11 Santa Fe scenic byway given $60,000 grant
9/8/11 The Strong receives over $100K grant for video game preservation
9/8/11 Treehouse Museum in Ogden scores $74K grant
9/8/11 Taxpayer-funded app makes you look like a Neanderthal
9/1/11 Football analysis leads to advance in artificial intelligence
9/1/11 Per diem rates to increase Oct. 1 for travel to many large cities
9/1/11 Ogdensburg misused federal grant funds to pay itself taxes
9/1/11 Fremont solar tech firm Solyndra to shut down, lay off hundreds of workers
9/1/11 Taxpayers could be on hook for jobs agency's misspending
9/1/11 Staples college receives grant to train technicians in wine production
9/1/11 For ‘briefing,’ $20,000 lunch is on the House
9/1/11 Hours some USPS workers are paid to do nothing: Now under 1 million
9/1/11 D.C. seeks to recover nonprofit funds used to renovate strip club