Title
Do Ugly Criminals Receive Harsher Sentences? An Analysis of Lookism in the Criminal Justice System
Submission Date
2010
Document Type
Paper
Department
Business & Economics
Adviser
Jennifer VanGilder
Committee Member
Jennifer VanGilder
Committee Member
Stephen Bowers
Committee Member
Houghton Kane
Department Chair
Andrew Economopoulos
External Reviewer
Susan L. Averett
Distinguished Honors
This paper has met the requirements for Distinguished Honors
Project Description
For many years, researchers have attempted to find a link between beauty and labor market outcomes. Although many important findings have been noted in these studies, the beauty analysis utilized was a subjective measurement. This subjective method, while important, may have external factors creating bias in the rating itself. In this study, the impact of beauty is applied to criminals and their sentences. Using a computer based symmetry measurement tool, an objective beauty measurement will be utilized. This study will seek to uncover whether or not criminals who are less attractive, measured through facial symmetry, receive harsher prison sentences than criminals whose facial features are more symmetric. The findings indicated that there are racial discrepancies in the analysis of beauty on sentencing decisions. In other words, for the black sample there is a premium for beauty but for the white sample, beauty is penalized.
Recommended Citation
Beck, Kelly, "Do Ugly Criminals Receive Harsher Sentences? An Analysis of Lookism in the Criminal Justice System" (2010). Business and Economics Honors Papers. 16.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/bus_econ_hon/16
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Behavioral Economics Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Race Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons
