Aging gracefully means embracing the lines that life has etched upon our faces and finding beauty in the wisdom apparent on our foreheads. However, according to a report by the British newspaper "Daily Mail," the results of a new study reveal that these impressions are far from what some may commonly believe. Researchers from "Humboldt University" in Berlin found that people with wrinkles are perceived as less attractive and trustworthy.
A total of 353 individuals participated in the evaluation of images of faces with or without wrinkles. Participants were asked to judge each person's attractiveness, warmth, kindness, trustworthiness, morality, and balance. Additionally, the researchers asked participants to assess the extent to which each face appeared to express emotions such as happiness, anger, sadness, fear, disgust, and surprise.
The analytical study results, published in the journal Acta Psychologica, revealed that wrinkled faces are considered less attractive or untrustworthy, and they were viewed as displaying more negative emotions. The findings indicated that these effects were more pronounced for female faces, and the results remained consistent across the participants' age range, which spanned from 18 to 68 years.
The researchers stated: "These results suggest that older adults are often seen as less attractive not for any reason other than the wrinkles on their faces and the attractiveness and emotional judgments associated with them." They noted that due to the difficulty in correcting first impressions, this might have lasting effects, explaining that "the negative effects of wrinkles could speak to the cosmetic industry's mission to meet the mass demand for smooth foreheads and taut jawlines."
