EXCLUSIVE: Unattractive people are MORE likely to continue wearing face masks in the post-Covid era, study finds
Attractive people are less likely to continue wearing face masks in the post-Covid era, according to a study.
The researchers conducted three questionnaires asking people in different scenarios about their self-perceived attractiveness and intentions to wear masks.
They concluded that young and middle-aged Americans who consider themselves attractive “believe wearing a mask hinders their ability to make a positive impression on others.”
On the other hand, people who don’t see themselves as attractive believe in the “mask attractiveness belief” — that face coverings actually improve their appearance.
It comes after a comprehensive analysis found face masks make “little to no difference” to Covid infection or death rates.
Attractive people less likely to continue wearing face masks in post-Covid era, research shows (file image)
Originally used to protect against viruses, the face mask has become one of the symbols of a bitter culture war in the United States.
There has never been much evidence that masks are effective in preventing infection on a large scale, but that hasn’t stopped officials from mandating them across the country.
Schools in democratic states only this month made face coverings an entry requirement for students, and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) still recommends Americans wear them in places with high transmission rates, like public transit.
Older Americans and those with compromised immune systems are also encouraged to take precautions like wearing masks.
Despite President Joe Biden declaring the Covid pandemic “over” late last year, up to four in 10 Americans still wear masks “occasionally.”
Researchers at Seoul National University in South Korea wanted to see if self-perceived attractiveness plays a role in people’s intent to wear masks. They ran three experiments on Americans recruited by Amazon Mechanical Turk, a business crowdsourcing website.
The median age in all studies was 33 years, and men made up about 44 percent of the study population.
The team’s most notable finding came from their third study.
Study three involved 442 people, half of whom were told they were going to walk the dog and the other half were told they were going to an interview.
They were asked, “In this scenario, do you think others will perceive you as more attractive wearing a face mask?”
They were also asked, “How much do you want to make a good first impression on others?”
People who had to go to an interview were more interested in whether wearing a mask affected their facial attractiveness.
In the first study, the researchers involved 244 people.
Participants rated their facial attractiveness before being asked to imagine a scenario where they would be invited to an interview at a company they really like.
You were asked to answer the following questions: ‘Do you think interviewers will perceive you as more attractive if you wear a face mask?’ and ‘If wearing a face mask is optional in this interview, would you wear a face mask during the company interview?’
People who rated themselves as very attractive were less likely to answer yes. They were also less likely to share the belief that wearing masks improves their appearance, which further dampened their intent to wear a mask for job interviews.
In an interim study, 344 people who were considering interviewing for a position at a reputable company were asked, “Do you think the interviewers will perceive you as something better? [trustworthy/competent/attractive] with a face mask?’
People who answered yes to these questions were more likely to wear masks in the interview.
The study authors wrote: “Overall, we provide a novel finding that self-perceived attractiveness has significant implications for intention to wear masks, via belief in mask attractiveness, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
“Our results suggest that mask-wearing may morph from a self-protection measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to a self-expression tactic in the post-pandemic era.”
The report was published in Frontiers in Psychology.