In surprising new study, researchers find face masks make people look more attractive
Face masks might be doing more than protecting your health — they also make you appear more attractive.
That’s according to a study published Monday in the journal
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. Researchers with Cardiff University first began the analysis in February 2021 in the United Kingdom.
Researchers tasked 43 women with rating the attractiveness of men in photographs on a scale of one to 10, with the photographs featuring men’s faces without a face mask, men wearing a cloth face mask, men wearing a blue medical face mask, and men with a black book covering their face where a mask would be.
“We wanted to test whether this had changed since face coverings became ubiquitous and understand whether the type of mask had any effect,” Michael Lewis, coauthor of the study,
told The Guardian.
The results found that women rated the men wearing face masks “significantly more attractive” than those without one or with their faces obscured by a book. However, when it came down to the cloth face mask and the medical mask, women found the blue medical mask made the men “most attractive.”
“Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks,” Lewis said. “This may be because we’re used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.”
Researchers carried out a second study that reverses the roles of the men and women to see their opinions on women wearing masks. However, the results of the second study have not yet been published.
“We wanted to test whether this had changed since face coverings became ubiquitous and understand whether the type of mask had any effect,” the study’s coauthor said.
thehill.com
Works for me.
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