I'm a sucker for a pretty face.
Actually, we all are.
Why is that?
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Anthony here for D News.
And over and over, studies show that humans
seem to attribute positive personality
traits to physically attractive people.
Integrity, intelligence, kindness--
we just think that prettier people have those things
by default, whether we realize it or not.
It seems unfair, and it is.
But is there some sort of biological reason for it?
A recently published study from Cambridge University
wanted to find out just that.
They selectively bred silver foxes for 20 years
based on how friendly they were towards humans.
And with each generation, they got more and more domesticated.
And as they got more domesticated
and as they got friendlier, they also
seemed to acquire more physical traits that would best
be scientifically described as-- oh, look at their adorable
little faces-- rounder skulls, smaller noses, shorter muzzles,
flatter faces.
It turns out that friendliness in silver foxes
is connected to genes that control the hypothalamus,
pituitary, and adrenal glands, which
all modulate fear and aggression.
And as those genes changed, the physical
features they're responsible for changed, too.
So what does that mean?
It means that we associate cuteness or attractiveness
with physical traits that also mean
something is less dangerous.
It is a survival thing.
We know to be attracted to something
that is less likely to tear our throats out.
Handy.
Now in humans, the idea of beauty
changes from culture to culture, and everybody
has their own personal type.
But there are some traits which have
been found to be attractive to the majority of the world.
And it could be that we're not just
wired to find those things attractive,
we are wired to find those things attractive
because we are also wired to find them safe.
It's one of those left over survival skills that actually
hinders us in day to day life because humans have much more
complex brains and thought processes
than we did in the wild.
Those attractive traits don't really
correlate to anything any more.
You know, I basically avert my eyes from pretty people
and just give them whatever they ask
for as I stammer out a thank you to them for allowing
me to be in their presence.
How about you?
Do you automatically think highly of attractive people?
What is wrong with us?
Let me know in the comments, and subscribe for more D News.