Introduction: The relationship between eyelashes and attractiveness
A team of psychologists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada looked at the relationship between eyelash length and facial attractiveness in a latest study in 2020.
The image shown below is a sample of the test diagrams that UBC psychologists used in their experiments. Let's also look at the women and men in the picture, which length of eyelashes do you think makes the face the most attractive?
Sample test map used by psychologists at UBC in the experiment: Which length of eyelashes do you think makes the face the most attractive?
The psychological study on eyelash length and attractiveness was published in 2020 in the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. The title and abstract of the literature are shown in the figure below.
Literature titles and abstracts
In this issue of the Psychology Brief, we'll take a closer look at this interesting psychological study for our readers to see how long eyelashes make them most attractive.
Canadian Psychologist: The most attractive eyelash length is related to eye width and gender
In order to study the relationship between eyelash length and attractiveness, UBC psychologists Farid Pazhoohi and Alan Kingstone used Daz3D software and PS to synthesize 11 groups of different people's faces (male and female facial photos), each group of photos only changed the length of the person's eyelashes, the ratio of eyelash length to eye width were: 0, 0.04, 0.10, 0.16, 0.20, 0.24, 0.30, 0.36, 0.40, 0.44, 0.50[1]。
Among them, the sample picture of the female face is shown below.
Sample photo of a woman's face
A sample picture of a male face is shown in the following figure.
Sample photo of a male face
The researchers recruited 81 subjects to participate in the experiment. During the experiment, 11 groups of different groups of people's eyelash lengths of face photos were shown to the subjects, and they were asked to sort the photos of different eyelashes lengths according to facial attractiveness. The researchers then counted the length of eyelashes corresponding to these photos. The following results are obtained.
- Conclusion 1: The most attractive eyelash length ratio for women is 0.24
Based on the data, Farid Pazhoohi and Alan Kingstone found that women's attractiveness and eyelashes length showed an inverted U-shape[1], as shown in the figure below.
Female attractiveness and eyelashes length show an inverted U-shape
From the results you can see [1]:
- The optimal eyelash length for women is between a quarter and a third of the width of the eye;
- The most attractive eyelash length ratio for women is 0.24;
- Eyelashes that are too short or too long can affect a woman's attractiveness, but too long eyelashes are more attractive than too short eyelashes.
- Conclusion 2: The most attractive eyelash length to eye width ratio for men is 0.16-0.20
Similarly, the researchers found that male attractiveness and eyelash length also showed an inverted U-shape[1], as shown in the figure below.
Male attractiveness and eyelashes length also show an inverted U-shape
From the results of the figure we can see [1]:
- The optimal eyelash length for men is about one-fifth of the width of the eye;
- The most attractive eyelash length to eye width ratio for men is 0.16 and 0.20;
- Eyelashes that are too short or too long can affect male attractiveness, but eyelashes that are too short are more attractive than eyelashes that are too long.
- Conclusion 3: Eyelash length affects male and female attractiveness to varying degrees
Although the relationship between eyelash length and attractiveness in both men and women shows the law of inverted U-shape, the specific effects are different.
Farid Pazhoohi and Alan Kingstone conclude: While most people consider medium-length lashes to be the most attractive, there are significant gender differences. On the one hand, the study subjects preferred women with longer eyelashes compared to men. Second, while very short and very long lashes were rated as least attractive overall, the study subjects showed particularly strong aversion to women with very short lashes and men with very long lashes [1].
Therefore, there are gender differences in the aesthetic of eyelashes length.
Psychological analysis: Why eyelashes length affects a person's attractiveness
In the study, Farid Pazhoohi and Alan Kingstone briefly analyzed why eyelash length affects attractiveness. The main reasons are as follows.
- Cause 1: Biologically adaptive phenomenon
From a biological evolutionary perspective, eyelashes exist to protect the eye from external contamination and excessive moisture evaporation. Changes in eyelash length can reflect different congenital and non-congenital diseases. Thus, from this evolutionary and biological perspective, eyelashes provide a physiological function to protect the eye and signal health to others, and when the perceived attractiveness of the eyelashes coincides with people's predicted value, such eyelashes can give people a good feeling [1].
In fact, eyelash length is similar to other attractive factors, such as facial symmetry, which reflect physiological indicators of health, which makes people think that this is a beautiful and attractive performance. We are unconscious of this aesthetic, as if it were an innate criterion for judging, the so-called collective unconscious, which is often referred to in the field of psychology [1].
- Reason Two: Cultural Norms
Biological adaptability explains why eyelashes can affect attractiveness, but why do men and women have different eyelashes lengths?
Farid Pazhoohi and Alan Kingstone note that male faces have peaked their attractiveness scores for shorter eyelashes relative to female faces, suggesting that preference for eyelash length may be regulated by gender cultural norms [1].
Under the influence of long-term culture, people have formed praise for male masculinity and appreciation for the gentle beauty of women, which affect people's aesthetics. The longer eyelashes make people's eyes more gentle and feminine, more in line with the aesthetics of women, so the longer eyelashes are in line with people's aesthetic expectations for women. Similarly, the shorter eyelashes reflect the masculinity of men and are also in line with the aesthetic expectations of most people [1].
Summary and Reflection: The first psychological experiment to study the relationship between eyelash length and attractiveness
The study, conducted by psychologists Farid Pazhoohi and Alan Kingstone at UBC, canada, is the first psychological experiment to study the relationship between eyelash length and attractiveness, revealing the optimal eyelash length for both men and women.
While this is an interesting and groundbreaking psychological study, this experiment also has limitations. The experimental samples (synthetic photographs) in the experiment did not take into account other factors such as different races and skin color, and the number of study subjects was small and the source was relatively single. Therefore, future research directions can try to compare the aesthetic differences in eyelashes length between different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
bibliography
[1] Pazhoohi, F., & Kingstone, A. (2020). The effect of eyelash length on attractiveness: A previously uninvestigated indicator of beauty. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences.
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