From The Boston Globe, November 15, 2009, p. K3, Ideas Section:
As if some people didn’t already have a leg up in life, a new study adds insult to injury. Pictures of the faces of NFL quarterbacks were shown to Dutch women, who rated the pictures for attractiveness (and who presumably didn’t know much about the quarterbacks themselves). The more attractive quarterbacks, it turned out, were the ones with more impressive game stats. The study echoes a different finding from earlier this year that handsome quarterbacks tend to be better paid as well, even relative to their performace. The authors of the new study theorize that testosterone or some other aspect of male reproductive fitness is influencing both athleticism and facial appearance.
Williams, K. et al., “The Face Reveals Athletic Flair: Better National Football League Quarterbacks Are Better Looking,” Personality and Individual Differences (January 2010).
