Do glasses make you look smarter but less attractive?

Do glasses really make you look smarter but less attractive?

As a general rule, yes: Glasses make you look smarter but less attractive.

Do the glasses take away from her erotic capital?

But it depends… As I wrote in previous blog posts, Erotic Capital and the Beauty Premium are real, measurable variables that have been studied by academics to prove that it pays to look better!

What’s really fascinating about these concepts is how they show how nuances and details make all the difference. For example, one study showed that effects were determined by the type of glasses.

Rimless glasses make your face less distinctive, increase your perceived trustworthiness and do not decrease attractiveness:

In face perception, besides physiognomic changes, accessories like eyeglasses can influence facial appearance. According to a stereotype, people who wear glasses are more intelligent, but less attractive. In a series of four experiments, we showed how full-rim and rimless glasses, differing with respect to the amount of face they cover, affect face perception, recognition, distinctiveness, and the attribution of stereotypes. Eyeglasses generally directed observers’ gaze to the eye regions; rimless glasses made faces appear less distinctive and resulted in reduced distinctiveness in matching and in recognition tasks. Moreover, the stereotype was confirmed but depended on the kind of glasses—rimless glasses yielded an increase in perceived trustworthiness, but not a decrease in attractiveness. Thus, glasses affect how we perceive the faces of the people wearing them and, in accordance with an old stereotype, they can lower how attractive, but increase how intelligent and trustworthy people wearing them appear. These effects depend on the kind of glasses worn.
Source: “The glasses stereotype revisited: Effects of eyeglasses on perception, recognition, and impression of faces.” from Swiss Journal of Psychology/Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Revue Suisse de Psychologie, Vol 70(4), Dec 2011, 211-222.

Why is this important to you?

As The Exponential Growth Strategist, I bring stuff that’s relevant and important to you. Making it more accessible and enjoyable – sometimes putting in gratuitous sexy photos like the one above to make the point a little more lighthearted and fun*.

It’s relevant and important to you because if you don’t know stuff like this, you could be hurting your career with poor choices. Something as simple as the glasses you wear could make the difference between a raise and a promotion or being looked over – again.

It’s not enough to get mad at the unfairness of it all – it’s necessary for you to regain control and put your best foot (face) forward!

*Ladies, if you find a photo of a sexy man wearing glasses, please send it in – We’re all about equal opportunity gratuitous sexy photos!