Estate Planning

Looking at Success

By Hull and Hull LLP

An article in the Toronto Star reports on a recent study conducted by psychologist Nicholas Rule entitled 'Judgments of power from college yearbook photos and later career success', and published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. In it, Rule concludes that future success can be predicted by looking at yearbook photos. 

Rule had college students assess yearbook photos of managing partners of 100 US law firms. He had the students rate the photos on the impression of power and warmth that they evoked. He then compared those assessments to the profitability of the law firm of the managing partner.

He concluded that law firms making the most money for the number of files they handled were managed by managing partners having higher 'power' ratings attributed to their photos. The impression of power was said to predict their success.

Rule says that the same principle applies to politicians and CEOs. 

However, judging by the number and tenor of the comments posted on the Star website, the study is not being warmly received by all.

Thanks for reading.

Paul Trudelle

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on December 22, 2010 (boomark / email).