We manage to get through the complications of modern life by using heuristics. These are mental rules of thumb which may or may not be accurate, but which save us time and effort. For example, when we see someone and judge them to be attractive, we also tend to assess them as intelligent, kind, sociable and athletic. Of course, these are all things we cannot actually judge by looking at them, but this doesn’t stop us. It is called the Halo Effect and we all do it all the time.
To properly assess somebody’s intelligence or kindness would be quite difficult and would take some considerable time to do, so we use a shortcut. We look for something we can measure more easily and use that instead: physical attractiveness is most often used because it can be easily assessed at a glance.
Usually someone who is assessed positively for attractiveness is assessed positively on other scales too, but this can occasionally go the other way. If a lady fits the look of a “bimbo” she may be classed as physically attractive but probably unintelligent. Instead of being a result of the halo effect though, this would be straying into the realm of stereotypes.
