Want to learn the ideas in Survival of the Prettiest better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Survival of the Prettiest by Nancy Etcoff here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of Survival of the Prettiest

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Survival of the Prettiest, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Nancy Etcoff.

1-Page Summary of Survival of the Prettiest

Overview

Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, said she wished she’d been prettier because people are obsessed with beauty. This is a sad but true statement especially from one of the most accomplished women in history.

We have a biological urge to want what’s beautiful. It’s hard-wired into our brains and it influences us even when we try not to be influenced by it.

In this article, you will find out why babies prefer beautiful people and how small children are cute. You’ll also learn that beautiful people are more impatient than others.

Big Idea #1: The sciences have neglected the study of beauty – a topic that deserves a closer look.

Today, we know a lot about science. However, it hasn’t had much to say on the subject of beauty. In 1954, American psychologist Gardner Lindzey wrote a classic book that became the standard reference for social psychology. The only entry in his book covers physical factors related to beauty.

People have been trying to connect physical features with behavior for a long time. Johann Kaspar Lavater’s Essays on Physiognomy tried to do that, but science has since proven this to be impossible.

Furthermore, some social scientists have been resistant to examining the subject of beauty. Taking into account that past research in this area has been influenced by the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM), which advocates environmental factors over those related to biology and genetics.

A book called The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf makes the argument that beauty is a purely social construct. It’s used to uphold patriarchy and generate profits for cosmetics companies.

However, we need to remember that beauty is more than just a modern concept. It has been around for thousands of years and it will continue to be important in the future.

The scientific study of beauty is often oversimplified. It ignores the complexities and interplay between biology and culture that influence our concepts of what is beautiful. This can be seen in cosmetics, which are used to enhance natural beauty by mimicking it or exaggerating it for cultural reasons.

While beauty has existed throughout history, the question remains: What exactly is beauty?

Big Idea #2: Beauty can’t be precisely defined, but people recognize it instinctually.

If someone asked you to define beauty, what would you say? Aaron Spelling, the creator of Baywatch and Melrose Place, said that he knows it when it enters the room.

The fact that our ability to recognize beauty is probably an inborn trait can be proven by a study conducted by psychologist Judith Langlois.

A researcher collected hundreds of photos of people’s faces and asked adults to rate their attractiveness. She then showed the pictures to babies ranging from three to six months old, and found that they spent significantly more time looking at the attractive faces compared with unattractive ones. The findings suggest that we are born with preferences for beautiful faces, which is not determined by parental appearance.

Beauty is often described as certain qualities that make the object of beauty appealing. These qualities include things like grace, charm and other traits which delight the eye and call forth admiration.

Beauty is a subjective concept that can be described in many ways. Some people may think of beautiful women as “knockout,” while others might say they are “drop-dead gorgeous.” Still others may find beauty in an object or landscape and describe it with words like “breathtaking” or “stunner.” People will always disagree about what the dictionary means when it says grace and form, but everyone agrees that beauty attracts attention. Therefore, we know when something is beautiful because we can see it clearly for ourselves.

Survival of the Prettiest Book Summary, by Nancy Etcoff