About the Author

Gordon L. Patzer, Ph.D., has devoted more than 30 years to investigating the power and perplexity of physical attractiveness (PA), and is recognized internationally for his expertise on the subject. Committed to scientifically understanding the deep psychological impact and wide social implications of a person’s looks, he is the Director and Founder of the Appearance Research Institute at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he is also a tenured professor and previously served as Dean of the Business School.

Frequently sought out as an authority on how PA affects more than meets the eye, Dr. Patzer has been quoted in The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Sunday Boston Herald, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Mademoiselle, Working Woman, and Self, among many newspapers and magazines. He has been featured on national television, providing on-camera analysis in a Dateline NBC segment exploring the role of PA in routine interactions and discussing the reality of pay differences based on looks on The Today Show. He has been the voice of discomforting findings on radio heard across the country, including a 25-minute interview on The O’Reilly Factor. He has also contributed compelling research and insights to WebMD, CNN.com, and scores of online magazines and blog discussions.

After writing five well-received scholarly books on various aspects of PA’s influence, Dr. Patzer decided it was time to enlighten and shake up readers outside the classroom. In his new book, LOOKS: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined (AMACOM 2008), he presents a wealth of research, backed by real-life anecdotes, exposing the pervasive practice of lookism—judging and treating people on the basis of how they measure up against a list of physical ideals. “While this subject continues to be studied,” Dr. Patzer notes, “a fair appraisal of science’s collective conclusion is that in America, more than in most Western cultures, what you look like—or more important, how others perceive you—shapes your life in dozens of often subtle ways from cradle to grave.

Before joining Roosevelt University, Dr. Patzer was Dean of the School of Business Administration at California State University. Beyond academia, he has held executive positions with the CBS Television Network and Saatchi & Saatchi, specializing in strategies related to consumer and audience behavior. Earlier, as an entrepreneur, he started two small businesses: a talent booking agency and an employment agency.

Gordon Patzer earned his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota. He also has a master’s degree in Psychology from Pittsburg State University, preceded by a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Minnesota State University Moorhead. He lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.