It is no secret that North American
society places a seemingly unhealthy emphasis on appearance. Magazine
stands are packed with covers displaying photo-shopped celebrities,
fitness shortcuts, beauty tips designed to make us question our own
attractiveness, and solutions to a problem we didn't even know we had
(while selling a few magazines in the process). It may be easier for
some to shrug off this unhealthy obsession with appearances, but it's
nearly impossible to entirely dismiss the idea that we may be judged
by others based on our appearance. This is because we are. Research
has found that children who are rated unattractive are also judged by
both adults and other children as less well-adjusted, socially
appealing, and even academically competent (Langlois et al. 2000).
Although it may be easy to dismiss judgments based on attractiveness
as shallow and superficial, there is evidence that our attractiveness
may impact our interactions with friends and colleagues. With this in
mind, the question is: what makes us attractive to one another? The
answer may reside in our often lazy brains.
When it comes to selecting a romantic
partner it is no surprise that people generally prefer individuals
with attractive faces over their less attractive counterparts. There
has been a lot of research into the psychology behind perceptions of
attractiveness, particularly into the affect of average and
symmetrical faces. While it seems intuitive that people would prefer
symmetry over asymmetry, why would we prefer an average face to one
unique in its beauty? According to researchers at the University of
Texas, this appreciation for an “average” looking face may stem
from the ease with which we process facial features.
Recent research by Trujilo,
Jankowitsch, and Langlois (2013) has proposed that average faces
(prototypes created using features from 32 different faces) appear to
be processed faster than faces of real people that were rated as
attractive or unattractive. By using brain imaging technology to
understand what is going on in our heads when we are presented with
faces varying in ratings of attractiveness, researchers have proposed
that average faces are more easily processed than their attractive
and unattractive counterparts. Not only were the average faces
processed faster by
individuals' brains, but these artificially
created “average” faces were also rated as more attractive than
the attractive faces of actual individuals. Additionally, individuals
categorized the average and attractive faces as human faster than
unattractive faces, which further supports the idea that attractive
and average faces are simply easier for our brain to process and
categorize. So what does this mean for those of us who sit in line
at the grocery store and get down on ourselves while we contemplate
our own looks compared to the standards presented by digitally
enhanced celebrities?
First and foremost, this research
should cause us to question the importance of attractiveness. Is it
really all that important that a person looks similar to some mash-up
of every face we've ever seen in our lives? Should we really be
catering to our lazy brains, and moving towards some standard of
beauty that ignores our genetic heritage and the uniqueness that sets
us apart from the crowd? Looking across a university campus you'd
think that the consensus was 'yes' to both of these questions.
Students dress similarly, style their hair similarly, and even groom
themselves similarly.
So should we all just break down and
try to fit in with the crowd? Well if our goal is to be perceived as
competent on first impressions, research seems to suggest that we
should tug on our Ugg boots, pop on our faux fur-lined hooded
jackets, and practice our perfectly average look in the mirror.
However, we should all keep in mind that first impressions give way
to deeper contemplation and appraisal by our peers. No amount of
'averageness' can save you if you aren't really that competent
socially adjusted young go-getter you first appeared to be. Our
brains may initially like what is easily categorized, but after
first-impressions are finished with, we begin to appreciate the
uniqueness of the person we are associating with. Long-lasting
relationships cannot be maintained by first impressions alone, and as
we get to know one another those unique characteristics that
interfered with our easy categorization may not be perceived as
unattractive, but as the features that make us who we are. After all,
it's the freckles, wacky hair and crooked grins that let us
differentiate one another, and it is these “unattractive”
features that we come to love about one another. It's not the average
face of every man or woman that we find attractive, but the face of
that one person that fills our heart with love and desire.
So the next time you're perusing
magazines with a friend who asks if you think some digitally
remastered celeb is gorgeous, you can simply smile and say “Nah,
pretty average.”
-Chad Buckland
Langlois, J. H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A. J., Larson, A., Hallam, M., & Smoot, M. (2000).
Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review.
Psychological bulletin,
126(3), 390.
Trujillo, L. T., Jankowitsch, J. M., &
Langlois, J. H. (2013). Beauty is in the ease of the beholding: A
neurophysiological test of the averageness theory of facial
attractiveness. Cognitive, affective &
behavioral
neuroscience.
No comments:
Post a Comment