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Effects of physical attractiveness, personality, and grooming on academic performance in high school

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  • French, Michael T.
  • Robins, Philip K.
  • Homer, Jenny F.
  • Tapsell, Lauren M.

Abstract

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we investigate whether certain aspects of personal appearance (i.e., physical attractiveness, personality, and grooming) affect a student's cumulative grade point average (GPA) in high school. When physical attractiveness is entered into the model as the only measure of personal appearance (as has been done in previous studies), it has a positive and statistically significant impact on GPA for female students and a positive yet not statistically significant effect for male students. Including personality and grooming, the effect of physical attractiveness turns negative for both groups, but is only statistically significant for males. For male and female students, being very well groomed is associated with a statistically significant GPA premium. While grooming has the largest effect on GPA for male students, having a very attractive personality is most important for female students. Numerous sensitivity analyses support the core results for grooming and personality. Possible explanations for these findings include teacher discrimination, differences in student objectives, and rational resource allocation decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • French, Michael T. & Robins, Philip K. & Homer, Jenny F. & Tapsell, Lauren M., 2009. "Effects of physical attractiveness, personality, and grooming on academic performance in high school," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 373-382, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:16:y:2009:i:4:p:373-382
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    3. Das, Jayoti & De Loach, Stephen B., 2011. "Mirror, mirror on the wall: The effect of time spent grooming on earnings," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 26-34, February.
    4. LIU Xing & SIERMINSKA Eva, 2014. "Evaluating the effect of beauty on labor market outcomes: A review of the literature," LISER Working Paper Series 2014-11, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    5. Shawn Bauldry & Michael J Shanahan & Rosemary Russo & Brent W Roberts & Rodica Damian, 2016. "Attractiveness Compensates for Low Status Background in the Prediction of Educational Attainment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Ong, David, 2024. "College rank, facial characteristics, and personality traits in China and the US," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 369-387.
    7. David Ong, 2022. "The college admissions contribution to the labor market beauty premium," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(3), pages 491-512, July.
    8. Green, Colin P. & Wilson, Luke B. & Zhang, Anwen, 2023. "Beauty, underage drinking, and adolescent risky behaviours," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 153-166.
    9. López Bóo, Florencia & Rossi, Martín A. & Urzúa, Sergio S., 2013. "The labor market return to an attractive face: Evidence from a field experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 170-172.
    10. Michael T. French & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Philip K. Robins & Bisma Sayed & Leah Shiferaw, 2016. "Tattoos, Employment, and Labor Market Earnings: Is There a Link in the Ink?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(4), pages 1212-1246, April.
    11. Marcus T. Wolfe & Pankaj C. Patel, 2024. "Image isn’t everything: Personality attractiveness, physical attractiveness, and self-employment earnings," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 807-831, February.
    12. Mavisakalyan, Astghik, 2018. "Do employers reward physical attractiveness in transition countries?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 38-52.
    13. Dilmaghani, Maryam, 2020. "Beauty perks: Physical appearance, earnings, and fringe benefits," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    14. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2016. "Looks matter: Attractiveness and employment in the former soviet union," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1604, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.

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