In response to new research from Johns Hopkins University, Psychology Research Professor and Professor Emeritus Robert Provine was interviewed for an article in the Baltimore Sun discussing his research on human social behavior and attractiveness. The Johns Hopkins study found that human perception of attractiveness may be fluid, contagious, and often influenced by what is generally considered attractive by others.
In the article, Provine said that it is fashion that is shifting constantly, rather than an evolutionary standard of beauty in culture. He noted that people don’t realize they are frequently pushed to like something new and different.
“We are not always captain of our ship,” he said. What’s constant across nearly all societies and eras is that “clear eyes, good skin and long, lustrous hair are always signs of beauty,” Provine added.
“They are reliable, honest signals because they are hard to change,” he said. “When has disease, red, runny eyes, hair that’s falling out and skin lesions been attractive? Ultimately, beauty is a matter of good health and the evolutionary product of likely reproductive success. There is nothing arbitrary about beauty.”
To read the full article titled “Beauty is in the shifting eye of the beholder,” click here.
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