Does it pay to be smart, attractive, or confident (or all three)? Relationships among general mental ability, physical attractiveness, core self-evaluations, and income.
The authors investigated core self-evaluations and educational attainment as mediating mechanisms for the influence of appearance (physical attractiveness) and intelligence (general mental ability) on income and financial strain. The direct effects of core self-evaluations on financial strain, as well as the indirect effects through income, were also considered. Longitudinal data were obtained as part of a national study, the Harvard Study of Health and Life Quality, and proposed models were evaluated with structural equation modeling. Results supported a partially mediated model, such that general mental ability and physical attractiveness exhibited both direct and indirect effects on income, as mediated by educational attainment and core self-evaluations. Finally, income negatively predicted financial strain, whereas core self-evaluations had both a direct and an indirect (through income) negative effect on financial strain. Overall, the results suggest that looks (physical attractiveness), brains (intelligence), and personality (core self-evaluations) are all important to income and financial strain.
Judge
Timothy A
TA
Department of Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7165, USA. timothy.judge@cba.ufl.edu
Hurst
Charlice
C
Simon
Lauren S
LS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001504:Beauty; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy