اطلاعات و جذابیت فیزیکی

This brief research note aims to estimate the magnitude of the association between general intelligence and physical attractiveness with large nationally representative samples from two nations. In the United Kingdom, attractive children are more intelligent by 12.4 IQ points (r = .381), whereas in the United States, the correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness is somewhat smaller (r = .126). The association between intelligence and physical attractiveness is stronger among men than among women in both nations. The association remains significant net of a large number of control variables for social class, body size, and health.

Scientists have long suspected that intelligence and physical attractiveness may be positively correlated across individuals (Berscheid and Walster, 1974 and Vandenberg, 1972). For example, Buss (1985, p. 49) speculates, “If females generally prefer intelligent males because they typically have higher incomes and status, and if most males prefer physically attractive females, then over time these two characteristics will tend to covary.” Consistent with such views, meta-analyses (Jackson et al., 1995 and Langlois et al., 2000) show that there is a small but significantly positive correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness. Zebrowitz et al.'s (2002) analysis of the Intergenerational Studies of Development and Aging data shows that the correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness throughout life course ranges from r = .11 to r = .26. In an earlier analysis of the National Child Development Study, Denny (2008, p. 618) concludes that “the relationship between intelligence and being attractive is generally positive.” However, to the best of my knowledge, the correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness has never been quantitatively established in a large, nationally representative sample. More recently, evolutionary psychologists have suggested possible explanations for why physically more attractive individuals should on average be more intelligent. Miller, 2000a, Miller, 2000b and Prokosch et al., 2005), and propose that both general intelligence and physical attractiveness may be indicators of underlying genetic fitness. His general fitness factor (f-factor) model suggests that intelligence and physical attractiveness are positively correlated across individuals because both reflect the quality of their genes and developmental stability. In this view, the correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness should disappear once measures of the quality of genes and developmental stability are statistically controlled. In contrast, Kanazawa and Kovar (2004) follow Buss's speculation above and posit that physically more attractive individuals may on average be more intelligent because of the cross-trait assortative mating of intelligent men of high status and beautiful women. If more intelligent men are more likely to attain higher status, and if men of higher status are more likely to marry beautiful women, then, given that both intelligence and physical attractiveness are highly heritable, there should be a positive correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness in the children's generation. In their view, the correlation is “extrinsic,” not “intrinsic” (Jensen, 1998), and it should persist even when measures of genetic quality and developmental stability are held constant. The purpose of this brief research note is firmly to establish the empirical association between intelligence and physical attractiveness in population-based samples. It seeks to estimate the magnitude of the correlation with two large, nationally representative samples from the United Kingdom and the United States. The two samples have complementary strengths. The British sample has one of the best measures of general intelligence in all survey data, but a comparatively weak measure of physical attractiveness. In contrast, the American sample has a stronger measure of physical attractiveness, but a comparatively weak measure of general intelligence.