Combing your hair and nails is one of life’s small pleasures.
Now, experts have discovered that in addition to giving ourselves a boost, they also make us behave kinder toward others.
A study has found that people who take small steps to improve their appearance are twice as likely to donate to charity.
The team, from Tel Aviv University, carried out a series of experiments, some in a virtual environment and others in a laboratory.
In one, participants were asked to use a filter to enhance a selfie they had taken. Meanwhile, a control group was asked to enhance a photograph of an object in the room.
After seeing their enhanced photo, each participant collected an envelope with their cash payment.
Next to the envelope was a donation box, so that participants could voluntarily donate part of their payment.
The analysis revealed that members of the experimental group who considered themselves more attractive after improving their self-image donated up to twice as much as those in the control group.
A study has found that people who take small steps to improve their appearance are twice as likely to donate to charity
Dr Natalie Kononov said: “People who focus on appearance are often judged harshly, but we show that this behavior can have positive effects that benefit others.”
A separate experiment, conducted on Facebook, involved asking one group of people about preferred architectural styles and the other group about fashion.
The fashion group was asked to imagine themselves in their most attractive moments, such as dressed for an elegant social event.
At the end of the experiment, a pop-up window appeared with a link to a donation page.
About 7 percent of people who took the “beauty” quiz clicked on the donation link, compared to 2 percent who took the architecture quiz.
Professor Danit Ein-Gar, one of the authors of the study, said: “When we improve our appearance and feel beautiful, for example after a new haircut, we behave in a more socially conscious way.
‘Because? Because we feel that all eyes are on us, that we attract attention and that is why we strive to act better.
‘It’s easy to criticize the selfie generation, who constantly embellish themselves and share polished photographs, but we demonstrate a side effect of this behavior that can benefit society.
“People who feel good about their appearance can channel that feeling into good actions.”
Professor Danit Ein-Gar said: “When we improve our appearance and feel beautiful, for example after a new haircut, we behave in a more socially conscious way.”
The team said their findings “open the door to innovative strategies” for charity campaigns, for example partnering with cosmetics companies, hairdressers and beauty salons to increase donations.
Dr Natalie Kononov, who led the study, said: “Our society obsessively focuses on physical appearance while criticizing this superficial behavior.”
“People who focus on appearance are often judged harshly, but we show that this behavior can have positive effects that benefit others.”
The findings were published in the International Journal of Marketing.