Who do you find physically beautiful?Yet, despite advances in the development of new cosmetics, scientists still struggle to answer a philosophical question: why should beauty matter at all?
From an evolutionary point of view, beauty is used as a way of attracting a mate and signalling messages about being a fine, healthy specimen of the species.
The impressive and colourful plumage used by male peacocks and birds of paradise, for example, is thought to demonstrate the quality of their genes and, therefore, their suitability as a mate. A healthy father is likely to lead to healthy offspring.
Psychologists are investigating new evidence that suggests humans can also pick up on subtle messages in appearance that convey messages about our health.
"We have found that many of the signals that make a face attractive also symbolise good health," says Prof David Perrett, a psychologist at St Andrews University, who carries out research into attractiveness.
"We can predict how likely someone will be to get ill from colds and flu from their facial features. Skin tone, for example, gives us subtle clues about blood circulation, while a person's weight can tell us whether they are predisposed to respiratory infections.
"There is obviously the idea that healthy individuals produce better offspring, but they are also better at providing for families."
Psychologists have used computer software to assess thousands of faces rated as "attractive" or "beautiful" to produce a summation of the ideal face. But, when compared with real faces, the computer-generated "perfect" model often fails to be ranked as the most attractive of all. Why?
According to Lucy Beresford, a psychotherapist who will address the Science Museum event, what people find attractive is very different from what is deemed to be unblemished beauty.
"We try to discourage people from the idea of perfection. There is a difference between beauty and attractiveness," she says.
"It is a relatively recent development that beauty has become more of a personal and selfish thing, rather than trying to show how healthy we are. It is about making ourselves feel better and improving self-esteem."
Indeed, scientists recently discovered that a make-over can have health benefits, too. "People who were given a make-over improved their posture," says Prof Perrett. "In older people, this had an unforeseen effect - reducing the number of times they tripped and fell."
So the cosmetics that we use to make us feel better about the way we look can also have a positive impact on our health, without us even knowing.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/ ... -tmqo.html
Images please, one male one female.
