Life is given by masks and destroyed by masks!
This damn virus makes us wear masks in the scorching sun.
But some people wear masks even when they are hot, not necessarily to prevent viruses, but mainly because…it looks good!
Yes, masks have become the most popular beauty artifact.
(source: made by myself)
Once the mask is taken off, it will be instantly returned to its original shape…
(source: made by myself)
You look good when you wear a mask, misconception or fact?
Psychologists have seen it all!
In 2019, when we didn’t have to wear masks, someone did an experiment and found that:
People who cover 50% of their faces are 40% more attractive[1].
(The occlusion experiment uses blur, contrast, occlusion, etc. to evaluate the attractiveness of faces. Source: Reference 1)
In 2020, in order to urge disobedient Americans to wear masks (nonsense, I don’t believe it myself), researchers from Temple University in the United States [2] also conducted an experiment:
p>The face is divided into three dimensions: high attractiveness (Brother Haoran), medium attractiveness (edited by Xiaobian) and low attractiveness (Dance King Zhao Si), then put on a mask, and then Ask another group to rate the photos on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the ugliest and 10 being the prettiest.
It was found that after wearing masks, the attractiveness of people with low attractiveness increased by as much as 71%!
(Low attractive photo. Source: Reference 2)
A 29% increase in the appearance of the moderately attractive group;
(Moderately attractive photo. Source: Reference 2)
Attractive people also rose by 11%.
(Highly attractive photo. Source: Reference 2)
Note: The aesthetics of foreign people may be different from those of Chinese people.
Why do people “beautiful” by covering half of their face?
From a psychological point of view, there are several theories that can explain it.
1. Partial information effect
In “textbook” terms: a “curious and somewhat fascinating bias” in the face of uncertain or ambiguous information that motivates us to “go to Imagine the best” [3].
In “human words”, it means: you will make up a perfect “half face” to match the half that is not covered.
And, whether it is covering the upper and lower halves, or the left and right halves, it is more attractive than the full face[1].
2. Mystery-induced curiosity
Humans are accustomed to seeking the truth, and masks just bring a sense of mystery, making you eager to “decipher” and see what the half-face hidden underneath looks like.
And people’s eyes are like a hook. After the eyes are facing each other, it is more attractive to us to explore the secrets under the mask. The more mysterious the more attractive, let us take a few more glances unconsciously.
(source: made by myself)
3. Fantasy Optical Illusions
In “human words”, it means that your brain comes with a “face recognition” function.
Think about it first, do you often “brain fill” the shape of clouds into a human face?
In the process of evolution, our ancestors often traveled through the jungle, and it is conceivable that it is a common thing to get lost.
If we do not have strong facial recognition capabilities, family members will be separated in frequent migrations, and even cost their lives.
So, we record this ability to “fill in” missing faces in our genes and pass it on from generation to generation [4].
When half of a person’s face is covered, we will quickly fill in the face automatically, and make up a face that matches the eyes. Such a reconstructed face is the most aesthetically pleasing for human beings.
What kind of oval face, snake face, whatever you like, you can make up your mind.
4. Build strengths and avoid weaknesses
Look carefully at the friends around you, do you have buck teeth or a collapsed nose bridge? These are the obvious features of the facial contours of Asian yellow people.
Look at the average face in China, Korea, Japan, and you’ll understand.
(Source: Human Phenotypes)
Now, if you try to cover their lower face with your hands, has the appearance improved? Especially without the “big” cheeks, the eyes look relatively big and energetic, right?
So, wearing a mask is a boon for most Asians.
(Source: A Japanese variety show, pear video)
And in the post-pandemic era, wearing a mask is a sign of respect for others, and it will make people feel good about you. With the blessing of this subjective experience, wearing a mask naturally makes people more attractive.
Do not believe it? Check out our Olympians~
(Table tennis player Chen Meng helped Sun Yingsha pull up the mask. Voiceover: “Don’t babble, put on your mask first.” Source: CCTV)
(Diving guys Xie Siyuan and Wang Zongyuan didn’t have time to appreciate the gold medal, so they put on their masks first. Source: CCTV)
(Wear the mask and kiss the medal. Source: CCTV)
(Look at the next door, this is still eaten. Source: CCTV)
(Air rifle post-00 boys Sheng Lihao and Yang Haoran, “pinch” players who don’t wear masks. Source: CCTV)
(weightlifter Li Fabin put on a mask immediately after taking the photo, and did not forget to pinch his nose tightly. Source: CCTV)
Speaking of this, someone will definitely come to the bar:
Some people look handsome even when they wear sunglasses, don’t the sunglasses not block the lower half of the face, which is not an advantage?
This is explained by an ultimate reality-
Forget it, let’s see the picture
(source: made by myself)
And wearing a mask, not everyone can be handsome.
(source: made by myself)
But the epidemic is not over yet, no matter whether it looks good or not, masks still have to be worn.
(Source: Internet)
Contributing Author: Deng Yuqin| National Second-Class Psychological Counselor
References
[1]Javid Sadr, Lauren Krowicki,Face perception loves a challenge: Less information sparks more attraction,Vision Research,Volume 157,2019,Pages 61-83,ISSN 0042-6989,https : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2019.01.009.
[2]Patel, Viren BS*; Mazzaferro, Daniel M. MD*; Sarwer, David B. PhD ; Bartlett, Scott P. MD* Beauty and the Mask, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open: August 2020 – Volume 8 – Issue 8 – p e3048
doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000003048
[3]Orghian, D., Hidalgo, C.A. Humans judge faces in incomplete photographs as physically more attractive. Sci Rep 10, 110 (2020). https:https://doi.org /10.1038/s41598-019-56437-4
[4]Maestripieri D, Henry A, Nickels N. Explaining financial and prosocial biases in favor of attractive people: interdisciplinary perspectives from economics, social psychology, and evolutionary psychology. Behav Brain Sci. 2017 ;40:e19.
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.
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