Does the global beauty trend have positive social aspects as well? A new study from Tel Aviv University shows that people who make an effort to improve their appearance-whether this effort is real or imagined, in the physical world or on social media-act more kindly towards others and are twice as likely to donate to charity.
The surprising study was led by Dr. Natalia Kononov, who completed her doctorate under the supervision of Prof. Danit Ein-Gar at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. The study, conducted in collaboration with Prof. Ein-Gar and Prof. Stefano Puntoni of Wharton, was published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing.
Prof. Danit Ein-Gar (Photo credit: Israel Hadari).
"When we enhance our appearance and feel beautiful-for example, after a fresh haircut-we behave in a more socially conscious manner", explains Prof. Ein-Gar. "Why? Because we feel as though all eyes are on us, drawing attention, and so we strive to act better. It's easy to criticize the selfie generation, constantly beautifying themselves and sharing polished photos, but we demonstrate a side effect of this behavior that can benefit society. People who feel good about their appearance can channel that feeling into good deeds".
Dr. Natalia Kononov.
To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a series of experiments, some in virtual settings and others in a laboratory. In one lab experiment, participants were asked to use a filter to enhance a selfie they had taken. A control group, meanwhile, was asked to enhance a photo of an object in the room.
“实验组由50名参与者组成，对照组也是如此”，Ein-Gar教授解释道。“在观看了他们的增强照片后，每个参与者都收集了一个信封，里面装着现金。在付款信封旁边，有一个捐款箱，参与者可以自愿捐出部分或全部付款。我们观察到，那些认为自己更有吸引力的实验组成员，捐出的钱是对照组成员的两倍。想象自己变得更有吸引力——甚至只是想象一个更精致的数字版的自己——就足以鼓励亲社会行为。这一见解具有重要的实际意义。到目前为止，研究主要集中在捐赠者的外表上——无论是接受者还是筹款者——事实上，更有吸引力的筹款者被发现能筹集到更多的钱。我们的研究引入了另一个相关因素：供体的外表。这为简化慈善活动的创新策略打开了大门，比如与化妆品公司、美发店和美容院合作——为了每个人的利益”。
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
One of the most surprising experiments was conducted virtually, on Facebook. Clicking on a link randomly directed users to one of two "know yourself" questionnaires. The control group's questionnaire asked about preferred architectural styles, while the experimental group's questionnaire included questions about fashion styles and was designed to make respondents imagine themselves at their most attractive moments, such as envisioning themselves dressed up for a fancy social event. At the end of the questionnaire, a seemingly unrelated pop-up appeared with a link to a donation page. about 7% of respondents who answered the "beauty" questionnaire clicked on the donation link, compared to approximately 2% of those who answered the architectural questionnaire-a particularly impressive figure considering the average click-through rate on Facebook links is just 0.9%.
"Our society is obsessively focused on physical appearance while simultaneously criticizing this superficial behavior", says Dr. Kononov. "People who are appearance-focused are often judged harshly, but we show that this behavior can have positive spillover effects that benefit others. Social mechanisms may evolve to create some balance, where behaviors that serve the individual are accompanied by byproducts that contribute to the greater good".
