【推荐1】Mirrors always tell the truth. When the evil Queen asked her mirror, “Who’s the fairest of them all?” she did not like the answer:“Snow White is the fairest of them all.” In the fairy tale, the Queen tried to kill Snow White to keep herself the fairest. In modern times, she would have just chosen some plastic surgery.

China’s plastic surgery industry has been developing rapidly in the past ten years as more people look in the mirror and try to change the “truth” of their reflection (影像). A recent study shows that nearly 60% of the Chinese college students surveyed were anxious about their appearance, and that about a quarter of them would consider receiving plastic surgery to look more physically attractive.

The reasons for which these young people are concerned with their looks have partly to do with necessity and partly to do with vanity (虚荣心). Studies have shown that, in today’s competitive job market, “physically attractive” people are more likely to be offered an interview and to land a job than those who have the same abilities but look ordinary. Psychologists call this the “halo effect” a type of cognitive bias (认知偏差) in which our good impression of a person in one area naturally leads to positive thoughts about this person in other areas.

There is also the effect that social media has on how people judge their appearance and understand real beauty. In the virtual (虚拟的) world, “ideal” faces have big eyes, thin high noses and pointed chins. This easily misleads young people into believing that they are not pretty enough, or are even ugly, and that they should turn to “outside help” for complete makeover. However, plastic surgery is just a fashion trend, with different features going in and out of style.

As the old saying goes, inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. As long as you are a good person, that goodness will shine through. The evil Queen was beautiful on the outside, but inside, she was very ugly. The mirror did not lie.

【推荐3】While we like to think that people get ahead because of some combination of effort, talent, and knowing the right people, research shows that success is partly due to people’s nice appearance (外貌).

Attractive people do better in school, where they receive more help and are punished less; at work, where they get better pay and higher positions; in love, where they control the relationship; and among strangers, who think them more interesting, honest, and successful. Studies show that you’re more likely to get employed (雇佣) if you look clean and carefully dressed, that good-looking people make about 12% more money than less attractive guys, and that attractive saleswomen bring in more money than their less attractive partners. Psychologists call it the “beauty premium (美貌津贴)”. Basically speaking, the income differences between attractive and unattractive people is comparable to those between sexes or colors. In a paper titled “Why Beauty Matters”, University of Michigan information scientists Markus Mobius and Tanya Rosenblat pointed out three reasons.

1. Physically attractive workers are (wrongly) considered abler by employers.

Employers are likely to pay people more depending on how they look. In one of Mobius and Rosenblat’s experiments, would-be employers looking at photographs of would-be employees were ready to give 10.5% higher salaries to attractive people than to unattractive people.

Managers said that the first meeting and short interview only happened on the phone. In other words, you only need to sound attractive, and then you will get more salaries because of your possible beauty.

2. Physically attractive workers are more confident, and higher confidence increases salaries.

We all influenced by the “halo effect” — without realizing it, we take someone’s appearance to be showing their character. Experiments have shown that we consider attractive people as “more sociable, sexually warmer, mentally healthier, more intelligent, and more socially skilled” than unattractive people.

3. Physically attractive workers have social skills that raise their salaries when they communicate with employers.

Mobius and Rosenblat’s experiments also found that attractive people had higher level communication skills compared with unattractive people. Physical attractiveness increases social and communication skills, which in return raise an employer’s judgment (判断) on the worker’s working ability.

What do those of us who are not attractive do? We, on the one hand, should use scientific ways to make us more beautiful, such as wearing some beautiful clothes or making up. The important one is to be more confident. On the other hand, we can improve our temperament (气质) through improving our ability of expression and our knowledge. Just as Shakespeare said, love looks not with eyes, but with the mind.