Good Looks Influence Potential Jurors, Lookism and Appearance Bias at Work

Cornell University released the results of its recent study on "Why Jurors Reward the Good-Looking and Penalize the Unbeautiful." Using undergraduate students as their sample base, the study found that potential jurors do bias towards those deemed socially attractive and do give longer and harsher sentences to those seemingly unattractive defendants.

These results are not surprising, as they reaffirm results found frequently in literature and other research studies. The same study (with the same results) was documented in the ABC News segment The Ugly Truth with extreme candidness. The jurors in The Ugly Truth provide the rationale and feedback for making their decisions.

The Cornell University study takes the results one step further, addressing the "why?" behind this superficial social bias.