Good-looking
people are able to obtain higher salary and better business achievement.
(TVBS News, 2012) Academic research also indicates that people with
physical attractiveness seem to have more advantage. In contrast, some
research reveals that people with obesity or a tiny figure suffer from
stigmatization, treated unfairly during adolescence, which could even
influence their career performance in the future. (e.g. Persico,
Postlewaite, & Silverman, 2004) However, are these strengths really
brought by their physical attractiveness? Does physical unattractiveness
cause negative effects? This study attempts to analyze whether popularity
among adolescents correlates with factors relating to physical
attractiveness, and to discuss the role that self-esteem plays. The
results indicate that self-esteem serves as a mediator and has a different
impact between the two genders on the mediation effect between appearance
factors and popularity. Physical appearance has a significant effect on
popularity in each gender, while the mediation effect of self-esteem is
found only for male students.