Since Scottish singer Susan Boyle's stellar performance on 'Britain's Got Talent' reminded us all that it's what inside that matters most, our society's obsession with good looks has been a hot topic. Ms. Boyle took second place Saturday in the finals of the show, amid a backlash against her sudden celebrity.

    Now comes a new study showing that personal appearance shapes not only people's attitudes toward our talents, but our ability to make money as well. Being good-looking directly increases the chances that you'll make a lot of money on the job, compared with people who aren't attractive, based on ratings of photographs by unbiased observers, says the study published recently in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

    Given these findings, employers should 'make an effort to reduce the effects of bias toward attractive people in the workplace,' say University of Florida researchers Timothy Judge, Charlice Hurst and Lauren Simon.

    The authors make a compelling case based on previous research that good-looking people get more of almost every good thing from birth from medical attention in the hospital after birth, to positive treatment in school from both teachers and peers. 'This leads to a positive spiral' toward a better self-image and higher attainment through life, the study says.

    Like many parents, I found myself trying to help my kids understand and oppose 'lookism,' or prejudice against unattractive people, starting around middle school. The University of Florida study suggests many of the things parents do normally, including promoting education and self-worth in kids, can help vaccinate them against this kind of prejudice. Being well-educated still carries more weight than appearance in determining success at work, the researchers found. A positive self-image helps too, as measured by answers to such questions as 'I often feel helpless in dealing with the problems of life,' or, 'When I look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how things have turned out so far.' And of course, it helps to guide your child toward good grooming and clothing choices, to help them make the most of what they have.

    Readers, have you seen bias in favor of good-looking people where you work? How about in your children's schools? Have you found a good way to talk with them about it?

    來自蘇格蘭的蘇珊大媽（Susan Boyle）在選秀節目英國星光大道（Britain's Got Talent）上星光熠熠的表演提醒了我們，人的內在才是最重要的；此后我們就在一直熱議這個社會對外貌的過分關注問題。在對她突然成名的爭議聲中，蘇珊大媽最終在上周六的總決賽中屈居亞軍。

    一唱成名的蘇珊大媽現在一項新研究顯示，人的外表不僅會影響人們對我們才能的評價，還影響著我們掙錢的能力。《應用心理學期刊》（Journal of Applied Psychology）最新公布的一項研究顯示，按照無偏見觀察人士對圖片的評分來看，與外表沒有吸引力的人相比，外表出眾會直接增加你在工作上多掙錢的機會。

    佛羅里達大學的研究人員賈奇（Timothy Judge）、赫斯特（Charlice Hurst）和西蒙（Lauren Simon）表示，從這些結果來看，雇主們應該努力減少在工作上以貌取人的偏見影響。

    根據此前的研究，研究作者們提出了一個引人矚目的說法：長相好的人從生下來就幾乎占盡了便宜──從出生后在醫院獲得更好的照看，到后來得到學校老師和同學的青睞等等。研究稱，這會引發朝向更好的自我形象以及更高的人生目標的良性循環。

    和很多父母一樣，我發現從孩子進入中學起，我就試圖幫助他們了解和反對以貌取人，避免對外表平平的人持有偏見。佛羅里達大學的研究顯示，父母平時所做的很多事情，例如對孩子倡導教育和自我價值，都可以幫助他們摒棄這種偏見。研究人員發現，在評定工作成就方面，受過良好教育仍然比外表出眾更有份量。一個積極的自我形像也能夠有所幫助，這一點從"我常常在處理人生問題時感覺到無助",或是"當我回首自己的人生時，對迄今的人生之路感到滿意"等一些問題的答案可以看出來。當然，如果你能引導孩子學會良好的著裝打扮選擇，幫助他們盡可能地展現自己的優點，這肯定是件好事。

    讀者們，你們有沒有發現自己的工作場所存在偏向于長相好看的人的情況？你孩子的學校又如何？你有什么好方法和他們談論此事？