Ok, I’m going to tell you about the Law of Attraction that exists in our society. However, let me make this clear. I am not talking of the metaphysical Law of Attraction that many believe the universe is propelled by. I’m not speaking of the “positive thinking gets you everywhere” mentality, nor am I condemning it. However, I am writing about the Law that governs how people treat each other, that explains some inequality, that gives people who have this an advantage, and that makes our prejudgments downgrade those who don’t. The Law that I am talking about is the law that our society has created that gives the attractive more opportunities, better income, and many advantages in our daily lives. It isn’t fair, but it happens each and everyday. I’ll try to attempt to explain why we do this and how we can use this knowledge to help us to get ahead.
I am not going to spend time writing debating the fact that this exists in our society. Sociological and psychological studies already prove that this is the case – especially in the work field. However, I believe that there is a better answer than “It just happens that way.” I believe that there are three reasons that more attractive people have an easier time attaining goals than those who are not blessed with the genetic lottery. These three reasons are confidence, persuasion, and stereotypes.
I was reading in my Sociology book about an interesting study between the Saints and the Roughnecks. Basically, both of these groups of kids were very mischievous and trouble makers. However, the Saints were in a higher class than the Roughnecks and were viewed as being good kids by everyone else. The Roughnecks, on the other hand, were thought of as the ones making havoc and trouble for their community. What later happened was that of all eight of the saints, they all went to college, some received a Ph. D and others at least received a Bachelors degree. However, of the Roughnecks, only two went to college on athletic scholarships and became high school gym teachers, whereas the rest either dropped out, went to prison, or became missing. So what is the significance of this story that I just told you?
The more attractive person can be related to the Saints. They are told that they look good, will make it far, and be successful. As they later move on in life, peers look up to them because they are getting all of the attention. The more attractive person has developed better social skills through preferential treatment. This gives them more confidence in social situations and consequently offers a more favorable presentation to other people. Confidence in a job interview, especially in conjunction with effective communication skills, gives the employer stronger beliefs about the person’s job skills. Since the attractive person already has made these qualities a part of their life, they have an easier time getting that job.
Once that attractive person sees that they are making and achieving goals, they have then become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It all started with everyone telling them how beautiful they were, as they received more attention, they developed their social skills. These social skills allowed them to develop confidence, not only because of their good looks, but because they knew that people looked up to them. Their confidence is the attractive person’s fundamental element that contributes to their success. This is William Chambliss’s Labeling Theory at its best.
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