It would never have occurred to us, before the pandemic, to wear a blue mask to make us more attractive. In fact, pre-Covid research indicated that faces covered by masks were considered less seductive. Now, however, to be perceived as charming people, we had to consider wearing a surgical mask. Azzurra, in particular.
This was reported by new research, conducted by experts fromCardiff University and published in the magazine “Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications”, which measured how different types of masks changed the attractiveness of 40 male faces. Michael Lewis of School of Psychology Cardiff University and an expert in face psychology, explained the reasons for this study: «Research conducted before the pandemic confirmed that medical face masks reduced the attractiveness, so we wanted to see if anything had changed since these protections have become ubiquitous, and try to understand the effects of the different types of masks ».
The conclusion is surprising: “Our study suggests that faces are considered more attractive when covered with medical masks,” continues the expert. “This may be due to the fact that we are used to health workers wearing blue masks and now we associate them with people in nursing professions. At a time when we feel vulnerablewe may find it reassuring to wear medical masks and, therefore, feel more positive about the wearer“.
For the Cardiff University study, conducted in February 2021 (seven months after face masks became mandatory in the UK), a 43 women was asked to rate – on a scale from 1 to 10 – the attractiveness of some images of male faces without a mask, with a cloth mask, a blue surgical mask and with, in hand, a black book that covered the area that a face mask would hide.
The findings were at odds with pre-pandemic research: back then the masks “suggested the disease and that the person had to be avoided,” Lewis said. “Current research shows that the pandemic has changed the psychology of how we perceive mask wearers. When we see someone carrying it, we no longer think: “That person has a disease, I have to stay away” ».
And again: «The disease and the evidence of the disease can play an important role in the selection of the partner: previously any sign of pathology would have represented a great disincentive. Now we can observe a change in our psychology: face masks no longer act as a signal of “contamination” ».
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:
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Source: Vanity Fair
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