"It's not going to win awards for promoting gender equality, but a recent study suggests that women who wear makeup are seen to be more competent, amiable and trustworthy – and likely to get ahead in the workplace.
Funded by cosmetic giant Procter & Gamble but executed by independent researchers from Harvard and Boston Universities and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a team of scientists and psychologists photographed 25 female subjects without makeup followed by three looks they called "natural, professional and glamorous". The photos were then shown in random order to two control groups: the first consisting of 149 men and women who saw the faces flashed on a screen for 250 milliseconds, and a second group of 119 people who were able to look at the images for as long as they wanted. Participants were then asked to rate each face according to how competent, attractive, likable and trustworthy they appeared.
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"We found that cosmetics have a significant impact on how attractive a face appears, but also on how likable, trustworthy and competent they appear," said the study's lead author Nancy Etcoff, assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard University. "When flashed quickly, every cosmetic look significantly increased how attractive, competent, likable and trustworthy the faces appeared to the same faces without makeup. When people could look at the faces for as long as they wanted to, all makeup looks increased competence and attractiveness once again."
Though there have been multiple studies investigating how classic beauty is seen by others as an indicator of intelligence and that women feel more confident wearing makeup, it is the first time researchers have made a connection between cosmetic use and perceived capability. Etcoff, author of Survival Of The Prettiest: The Science Of Beauty, says the two are inextricably linked.
"We can hypothesise that greater perceived attractiveness and competence go together, that they are both indicators of social power," she added. "I have done brain imaging studies that suggest certain features of faces - symmetry, youthfulness and sexual dimorphism [the ways that female characteristics differ from those of males] – are considered attractive. The face is seen as an advertisement of health and fertility and a potential good mate or partner."
The study's authors, including Procter & Gamble scientist Dr Sarah Vickery, stress that their findings don't claim women have to wear makeup in order to appear capable, but rather that it's a tool they can use to create impressions and, in part, control the way others see them.
"At the end of the day a woman should be in control and do what she wants to do, project the image that she wants to project," agrees Australian cosmetic guru Napoleon Perdis. "There's a real feel-good factor associated with makeup and taking some time out to focus on yourself. But if it's not your thing then you shouldn't feel forced into wearing it to please or impress others."
There's also a word of warning for makeup enthusiasts say the experts, a secondary conclusion indicating that women who opt for a glamorous look over styles considered more professional or natural appear to be less trustworthy. Which only further serves to highlight the disparity in expectations placed on women in the workplace and greater society, according to Carina Garland, a gender and cultural studies lecturer at Sydney University.
"The responses to glamorous makeup versus more professional makeup show that fine line between the idea of a right and wrong kind of femininity. Which I think is unfair. It's quite interesting that men's competency in the workplace isn't critically questioned in the same way," she says. "The study isn't terrible, it's actually quite useful because it does tell us what the burden of femininity is really about. But rather than suggesting that women should invest in a good lipstick and some eye shadow, it should be the impetus to question why we attach these cultural values and meanings around women and makeup."
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/makeup-the-key-to-success-20111025-1mhik.html#ixzz1bq7PMiJC
Other research has shown that wearing designer clothes may give you a pay rise, and that tall people are considered smarter. Looks definitely matter. You won´t always get hired based on your competence...
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"We found that cosmetics have a significant impact on how attractive a face appears, but also on how likable, trustworthy and competent they appear," said the study's lead author Nancy Etcoff, assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard University. "When flashed quickly, every cosmetic look significantly increased how attractive, competent, likable and trustworthy the faces appeared to the same faces without makeup. When people could look at the faces for as long as they wanted to, all makeup looks increased competence and attractiveness once again."
Though there have been multiple studies investigating how classic beauty is seen by others as an indicator of intelligence and that women feel more confident wearing makeup, it is the first time researchers have made a connection between cosmetic use and perceived capability. Etcoff, author of Survival Of The Prettiest: The Science Of Beauty, says the two are inextricably linked.
"We can hypothesise that greater perceived attractiveness and competence go together, that they are both indicators of social power," she added. "I have done brain imaging studies that suggest certain features of faces - symmetry, youthfulness and sexual dimorphism [the ways that female characteristics differ from those of males] – are considered attractive. The face is seen as an advertisement of health and fertility and a potential good mate or partner."
The study's authors, including Procter & Gamble scientist Dr Sarah Vickery, stress that their findings don't claim women have to wear makeup in order to appear capable, but rather that it's a tool they can use to create impressions and, in part, control the way others see them.
"At the end of the day a woman should be in control and do what she wants to do, project the image that she wants to project," agrees Australian cosmetic guru Napoleon Perdis. "There's a real feel-good factor associated with makeup and taking some time out to focus on yourself. But if it's not your thing then you shouldn't feel forced into wearing it to please or impress others."
There's also a word of warning for makeup enthusiasts say the experts, a secondary conclusion indicating that women who opt for a glamorous look over styles considered more professional or natural appear to be less trustworthy. Which only further serves to highlight the disparity in expectations placed on women in the workplace and greater society, according to Carina Garland, a gender and cultural studies lecturer at Sydney University.
"The responses to glamorous makeup versus more professional makeup show that fine line between the idea of a right and wrong kind of femininity. Which I think is unfair. It's quite interesting that men's competency in the workplace isn't critically questioned in the same way," she says. "The study isn't terrible, it's actually quite useful because it does tell us what the burden of femininity is really about. But rather than suggesting that women should invest in a good lipstick and some eye shadow, it should be the impetus to question why we attach these cultural values and meanings around women and makeup."
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/makeup-the-key-to-success-20111025-1mhik.html#ixzz1bq7PMiJC
Other research has shown that wearing designer clothes may give you a pay rise, and that tall people are considered smarter. Looks definitely matter. You won´t always get hired based on your competence...
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