Blog 13

This morning I read an article by The Journal of Social Psychology.  This article was called “Effects of Cosmetics Use on the Physical Attractiveness and Body Image of American College Women”.  This article tells the findings of a study conducted at Old Dominion University where 38 women were photographed with and without makeup and then their peers were instructed to rate them on a scale of 1-10.  The study showed that women felt more confident about themselves and their body while they were wearing makeup.  It was found that men found women that were wearing makeup more attractive than the same woman without any makeup on.  But, women had no preference to the natural photo and the made up photo.  I think that this is interesting because the makeup industry is so huge and women believe that makeup makes them more beautiful.  I found it interesting that women, the people that wear makeup had no preference while men did.  I wish that in this study they would have researched more about what exactly people found more attractive in the photos so we could understand better what makes someone “beautiful”.  I think that it’s kind of sad that people rate the attractiveness of an individual solely on appearance, but I understand that everyone does it.  For my next article I think that I am going to look up something on how harmful trying to be “perfect” is to a person. 

Chris Galumbeck, et al. "Effects of Cosmetics Use on the Physical Attractiveness and Body Image of American College Women." Journal of Social Psychology 129.3 (1989): 349. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.