To grow old gracefully is to embrace the lines that life has etched into our faces and find beauty in the wisdom now displayed.
Will the rest of society see him shine? No, according to a study that suggests we’re more superficial than we’d like to think.
Researchers found that we believe people with wrinkles are less likable and trustworthy.
Humboldt University in Berlin recruited 353 people who were asked to rate photos of avatars with and without lines on their faces.
Participants had to judge how attractive, warm, pleasant, trustworthy, moral and balanced each person seemed.
They were also asked to rate the degree to which each face seemed to express happiness, anger, sadness, fear, disgust, and surprise.
Researchers found that we think people with wrinkles are less likable and trustworthy (file image)
An analysis, published in the journal Acta Psychologica, revealed that wrinkled faces were considered less attractive, pleasant and trustworthy (file image)
An analysis, published in the journal Acta Psychologica, revealed that wrinkled faces were considered less attractive, pleasant and trustworthy. They were perceived as showing more negative emotions.
The effects were most pronounced on female faces, and the results remained the same across the participants’ entire age range: 18 to 68 years old.
The researchers said: “These findings suggest that older people may often be perceived as less likeable simply because of the wrinkles on their face and the judgments of attractiveness and emotionality associated with them. Since first impressions are difficult to correct, this may have lasting implications.
“The negative effects of wrinkles could speak in favor of the beauty industry’s mission to meet the collective demand for smooth foreheads and tight jawlines.”