A recent study published in Psychotherapy Research found that participants were more likely to select psychotherapists with attractive faces from a mock directory, regardless of perceived trustworthiness and competence. Profiles featuring unattractive faces or lacking pictures were chosen equally by participants.
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Choosing a psychotherapist often involves multiple factors beyond professional qualifications, such as approach, cost, location, age, gender, clothing, and physical appearance. Judgments are often formed before first interactions, especially when based solely on online profiles containing minimal information.
The study suggests that faces can quickly convey impressions about qualities like competence and warmth. Attractive therapists may benefit from a “beautiful is good” halo effect, where appearance influences judgments of unrelated professional attributes. This can affect how clients interpret further information, particularly when they are uncertain about a therapist’s ability to understand their issues.
According to study author Antonio Olivera-La Rosa and colleagues, it appears patients rely on facial appearance to assess the suitability of a psychotherapist. The researchers aimed to determine whether therapists with attractive faces are chosen more frequently than those without photos and whether this preference is for attractive faces specifically or a reaction against unattractive ones. They also examined if clients' and therapists’ genders and sexual preferences impact this tendency.
The study involved 108 university students from Colombia and Peru, averaging 32 years old, with 63 women participating. Of these, 14% were currently in therapy, and 55% had previously undergone it.
For the study, 32 photos were selected from the 10k US Adult Faces Database, with equal representation of men and women categorized as either attractive or unattractive. All faces exhibited friendly expressions and were selected to show average trustworthiness, aiming to eliminate biases in decision-making. A mock online directory was created with profiles including photos, names, roles, genders, ages, and competence scores based on patient star ratings.
Participants first provided demographic details and their sexual preferences, then rated the likelihood of choosing each psychotherapist. Profiles were categorized based on competence and attractiveness. Participants also completed an attitude assessment regarding mental health treatment.
Results indicated that profiles with attractive faces were chosen more often, independent of their perceived competence. There was no significant difference between the selection of unattractive profiles and those lacking photos, indicating a preference for attractive faces rather than an aversion to unattractive ones. Gender and sexual preferences of both therapists and patients did not appear to influence these outcomes.
The study concludes that the desire for attractiveness in therapist selection is not linked to mating motivations or a halo effect related to trustworthiness or competence. However, researchers noted that their findings derive from hypothetical choices rather than actual therapist selections. The sample was predominantly university students from Colombia and Peru, which may limit broader applicability. Additionally, as participants were not actively seeking mental health assistance, the apparent importance of therapist competence might differ in real-world scenarios.
The paper titled “Facial attractiveness increases the likelihood of choosing a psychotherapist, irrespective of sexual preferences and perceived trustworthiness” was authored by Antonio Olivera-La Rosa, Alessandro Ansani, Marco Viola, and Marco Marini.