Summary: A new study shows that enhancing one’s appearance, even virtually, increases prosocial behavior such as kindness and charitable giving. Participants who saw enhanced images of themselves were twice as likely to donate to charity compared to controls, suggesting that feeling attractive boosts social consciousness.
Virtual experiments found that imagining oneself at their most attractive also increased generosity, highlighting a psychological link between self-perception and altruism. Researchers suggest this finding has practical implications, such as incorporating beauty-focused strategies into charity campaigns to enhance donations.
Key Facts:
- People who see themselves as more attractive donate up to twice as much to charity.
- Imagining oneself at their most attractive boosts prosocial behavior and generosity.
- The study highlights the potential for appearance-focused campaigns to benefit society.
Source: Tel Aviv University
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.
“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, that we’re 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.”
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.
“The experimental group consisted of 50 participants, as did the control group,” Prof. Ein-Gar explains.
“After viewing their enhanced photo, each participant collected an envelope with their payment in cash. Next to the payment envelope there was a donation box, so participants could voluntarily donate some or all of their payment. We observed that members of the experimental group, who saw themselves as more attractive, donated up to twice as much as those in the control group.
“It’s enough to imagine ourselves as more attractive—even just envisioning a more polished digital version of ourselves—to encourage prosocial behavior. This insight has significant practical implications. Until now, research has focused on the appearance of the donation seekers—whether the recipient or the fundraiser—and indeed, more attractive fundraisers have been found to raise more money.
“Our study introduces another relevant factor: the donor’s appearance. This opens the door to innovative strategies for streamlining charity campaigns, such as partnering with cosmetic companies, hairdressers, and beauty salons—for everyone’s benefit.”
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. “
About this altruism and body image research news
Author: Noga Shahar
Source: Tel Aviv University
Contact: Noga Shahar – Tel Aviv University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Physical appearance improvements increase prosocial behavior” by Danit Ein-Gar et al. International Journal of Research in Marketing
Abstract
Physical appearance improvements increase prosocial behavior
Consumers are increasingly focusing on enhancing their beauty, a global trend significantly driven by the pervasive influence of social media.
The substantial investments of both money and time into personal appearance improvement raises questions about the broader societal effects of such behavior.
This study explores whether improvements in individuals’ beautifying physical appearance can influence their behavior in areas unrelated to beauty, particularly in regard to prosocial consumer behavior.
Across seven studies, including a field experiment, we find that engaging in physical appearance improvement, either actual or digital, increases public self-awareness among consumers.
This heightened awareness leads to more frequent prosocial actions, such as charitable donations and ethical purchasing decisions.
Furthermore, our research suggests that this inclination towards prosocial behavior becomes more pronounced with improvements in appearance that are noticeable to others.
Recognizing physical improvement as a catalyst for prosociality holds significant implications for nonprofit organizations, offering opportunities to craft more effective appeals and optimize advertising strategies to foster prosocial behavior.
