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Is the beauty premium accessible to all? An experimental analysis

Author

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  • Póvoa, Angela Cristiane Santos
  • Pech, Wesley
  • Viacava, Juan José Camou
  • Schwartz, Marcos Tadeu

Abstract

We conducted a trust game experiment to investigate whether women are trusted more when they wear makeup than when they do not. Facial attractiveness, which was manipulated through the application of makeup by a professional makeup artist, was measured before and after makeovers. Trustors were shown a photograph of their female counterparts before they made decisions about money transfers to trustees. The results showed that wearing makeup increased perceived attractiveness, which in turn led trustors to make larger transfers to female trustees during the trust game. Additionally, we discovered a pure makeup premium that was mediated by gender. Specifically, female trustees with makeup received larger transfers than female trustees without makeup when the trustors were men, even after controlling for female trustees’ levels of attractiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Póvoa, Angela Cristiane Santos & Pech, Wesley & Viacava, Juan José Camou & Schwartz, Marcos Tadeu, 2020. "Is the beauty premium accessible to all? An experimental analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:78:y:2020:i:c:s016748702030009x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2020.102252
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hopfensitz, Astrid & Mantilla, César, 2023. "Smiles behind a mask are detectable and affect judgments of attractiveness, trustworthiness, and competence," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. Andrea Fazio, 2021. "Beautiful inequality: Are beautiful people more willing to redistribute?," Working Papers in Public Economics 194, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    3. Fazio, Andrea, 2022. "Attractiveness and preferences for redistribution," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trust; Trust game; Makeup; Beauty premium; Gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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