Contrary to the popular belief, people around the world find "average-looking" people to be the most attractive. According to our psychology textbook, these "average" faces have more symmetry, which is a strong indicator for psychical attractiveness.
Although it is hard to go against scientific evidence and the results of experiments, I still am undecided as to whether this information is true or not. To a certain point, I think that many people can agree on who is and who isn't attractive. Specific qualities, such as a good smile, good skin, or muscularity, all help people appear more attractive...and I wouldn't consider any of those as "average" qualities. I also like to think that, for the most part, I do find the unique-looking women more attractive. I have had many debates with my friends on whether or not a certain girl is attractive, and I usually find myself having largely different viewpoints on these women. So, I still lean towards the "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" belief.
What I find most disappointing is the fact that physical attractiveness does have a strong correlation with success (Jobs should hire those who are the best-suited for the job; not the best-looking! ugh..)
In my mind, there are two main reasons backing this correlation.
1) People who think, or know, that they are good-looking will have more confidence. People always prefer those that have confidence over those that don't.
2) People who are attractive will have a better chance at getting hired for jobs that require them to be seen. Media-related jobs will obviously want someone who people want to look at. For example, many professional sports interviewers are young, good-looking females. The head managers know that males are watching and will pay attention more to the interview if the female is good-looking.
These are my personal opinions, and I am no expert. But by the brief research I just did on Google, I would say that scholarly articles agree with me more often than not.
Although I don't think it's fair that people get hired based on their physical attractiveness, I do think it makes sense.
What do you think?
I think that the people doing the hiring unconsciously judge the applicants based on appearance for several reasons. The interviewer may be attracted to them, which could influence their thoughts on the ability of the applicant and how well they would do at that job. They may also hire them since they admire them for their beauty, and typically when people want to succeed they surround themselves with those they strive to be similar to. I also think it is an unfair practice, but sort of follows the "natural selection" process that is part of life.