Plastic Surgery Can Change The Way People Perceive Your Personality

There's no doubt that plastic surgery can make you look younger, but can it also make people like you more? A study published last week in the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery found that women who underwent facial rejuvenation surgery were perceived to be not only more attractive but also more likeable than they were before the surgery. The findings illustrate a phenomenon known as "facial profiling," a sort of cognitive shortcut we use to collect information about other people based on available visual cues, namely, their facial expressions. "We engage in facial profiling as part of an evolutionary mechanism to assess the intent of others toward us," Dr. Michael Reilly, a plastic surgeon at the Georgetown University Medical Center and the study's lead author, told The Huffington Post in an email. "Our judgements of people's resting facial expressions are an overgeneralization of the dynamic facial expression that they most closely resemble -- meaning that if the corners of someone's mouth are turned down at rest, they are not going to be judged as likeable or as socially skilled since it appears that they are sad or angry. If the cheeks are full and high, they are going to be judged they opposite, since they appear to be happy." It's well-known in psychology that humans have a natural tendency to judge people's character based on their appearance. Studies have shown that we make judgements about a person's character within seconds of seeing their face for the firs...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news