Good Looks as a Source of Moral Permissiveness

Robert Urbatsch

Social Science Quarterly, 2019, vol. 100, issue 1, 328-341

Abstract: Objective Establishing what leads people to particular moral beliefs is complicated by potential predictors being themselves caused by moral attitudes. This problem is less acute when considering the effects of good looks, which, by expanding sexual opportunities, shift incentives for beliefs regarding the morality of sexual activities. Methods Regressions predict responses to morality‐related questions in the 2016 General Social Survey and the 1972 National Election Study, which included interviewer (i.e., not self‐generated) evaluations of respondents’ looks. These questions concern various actions’ moral acceptability regardless of legality, as well as policy positions on issues including gay marriage and marijuana legalization. Results Better‐looking respondents give more morally permissive responses to most questions relating to sex. For issues not directly related to sexual opportunities, however, attractiveness does not predict significantly more acceptant attitudes. Conclusion Good‐looking people generally are more acceptant of those indulgences that they have disproportionate opportunities for, highlighting the role of opportunism in the formation of moral and political attitudes.

Date: 2019
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