Humans are conditioned to be attracted to beautiful things and to beautiful people. We use phrases such as “don’t judge a book by its cover” and “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. But are these adages really true? How real and significant is the effect of beauty on our perceptions of other people? Is beauty as subjective and malleable as we like to believe? How do our perceptions then influence our actual behaviours? Are beautiful people happier in general? And do beautiful people even make more money over the course of their lifetimes? Daniel Hamermesh, economist and author of the book "Beauty Pays", joins the podcast.