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你会因为自己相貌出众而骄傲吗?会为自己貌不如人而失落吗?我们常说不以貌取人,但是你可曾留意,在残酷的现实里,相貌可能还真的很重要呢!
Is a person’s face really his or her fortune? Do we prosper1 or perish2 according to what we had bestowed3 upon as at birth?
Most research has concluded that the answer is yes. The good-looking are judged to be nicer people, their work is more appreciated, they are more likely to be offered a job when they go to interviews, and, if they commit a felony4, they will probably get a lighter sentence. What’s more, these bonuses5 get paid out very early in life. Children as young as three years seem to prefer pretty children to their less attractive peers6, and pretty children are less likely to be blamed when they misbehave7. Until recently however, it was not realized that the pervasive8 influence of beauty may even affect one’s career as a psychiatric9 patient.
Research conducted by Amerigo Farina and others, of the University of Connecticut, and reported a few years ago in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology showed that, on average, women hospitalized10 for psychiatric disorders were rated (by men) as less attractive than a random sample of women from a local supermarket. The obvious explanation, of course, is that when people are suffering from an acute11 psychiatric disorder they look strained12 and tired, and have neither the inclination13 nor the facilities14 to take normal care over their appearance. This factor may be partly responsible, but there appears to be more to it. Follow-up research has shown that the school photographs of children who subsequently become psychiatric patients are rated as relatively less attractive than those of their more fortunate peers.
How should we explain these results? We know that better mental health is related to better and more intimate15 social relationships, so it seems reasonable to suppose that any factor which causes other people to look on you unfavorably would reduce your opportunities to learn necessary social skills and put you at more risk of becoming anxious, depressed, or worse. Physical unattractiveness is a good candidate16 for such a risk factor because its influence is evident quite early in life, at a time when personal rejection may have long-lasting effects. In the study mentioned above it was indeed found that the women rated as less attractive had also had fewer and less intimate relationships with others in their early years, long before they had had any contact with psychiatric services.
There is other evidence, too, that being considered unattractive may have had effects on health. Less attractive young women (but not young men) have higher blood pressure than their more attractive peers, even after the effect of their weight has been taken into account.
一个人的相貌是不是真的是他或她的财富?难道我们的命运取决于上天赋予我们的相貌?
很多科学家对这个问题作出了肯定的回答。外貌漂亮的人常被认为是好人,他们的工作会得到更多的赞扬,他们为求职去面试时,往往能得到这个工作,而如果他们犯了重罪,却往往被判以较轻的刑罚。而且,这些优越性在他们很小时就会显示出来。3岁的孩子就更喜欢漂亮的同伴;漂亮的孩子做错了事,也常常不受责备。不过,最近人们才了解到相貌美丑甚至对精神病人也有影响。
康涅狄格大学的阿莱瑞格·法拉纳与其他一些人所作的研究和他们在几年前在《非正常心理学》杂志发表的报告表明,一般来说,患精神病住院的妇女比从当地超级市场任意抽选出来的妇女缺乏魅力。当然,一个显而易见的解释就是精神病人看起来疲倦紧张,而且她们既无心思也无条件去注意她们的外表。但这只是原因之一,似乎还有更多的原因。研究人员后来又考察了精神病人少年时在学校的照片,发现那时她们就不如幸运的同龄人漂亮。
应该如何解释这个结果呢?我们知道好的精神状况是与良好更紧密的社会联系有关的,因此,我们有理由认为,任何不惹人喜欢的因素都会减少你学习必要的社交技能的机会,并使你更有可能变得急躁不安,心情沮丧,甚至更坏的结果。外表缺乏吸引力正是这样一个危险的因素,因为它的影响在年龄很小时就很明显,那时候遭到拒绝会对人产生很深的影响。上面提到的研究也确实证明外貌不漂亮的女病人在接受精神治疗前很久的早年时期与他人的联系就不是很密切。
另外,还有其他证据表明缺乏魅力可能会对健康有害。不大漂亮的年轻女性(非男性)比漂亮的女性血压要高,即使把体重的因素考虑进去也是这样。
唯一色彩 摘自Discover
Is a person’s face really his or her fortune? Do we prosper1 or perish2 according to what we had bestowed3 upon as at birth?
Most research has concluded that the answer is yes. The good-looking are judged to be nicer people, their work is more appreciated, they are more likely to be offered a job when they go to interviews, and, if they commit a felony4, they will probably get a lighter sentence. What’s more, these bonuses5 get paid out very early in life. Children as young as three years seem to prefer pretty children to their less attractive peers6, and pretty children are less likely to be blamed when they misbehave7. Until recently however, it was not realized that the pervasive8 influence of beauty may even affect one’s career as a psychiatric9 patient.
Research conducted by Amerigo Farina and others, of the University of Connecticut, and reported a few years ago in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology showed that, on average, women hospitalized10 for psychiatric disorders were rated (by men) as less attractive than a random sample of women from a local supermarket. The obvious explanation, of course, is that when people are suffering from an acute11 psychiatric disorder they look strained12 and tired, and have neither the inclination13 nor the facilities14 to take normal care over their appearance. This factor may be partly responsible, but there appears to be more to it. Follow-up research has shown that the school photographs of children who subsequently become psychiatric patients are rated as relatively less attractive than those of their more fortunate peers.
How should we explain these results? We know that better mental health is related to better and more intimate15 social relationships, so it seems reasonable to suppose that any factor which causes other people to look on you unfavorably would reduce your opportunities to learn necessary social skills and put you at more risk of becoming anxious, depressed, or worse. Physical unattractiveness is a good candidate16 for such a risk factor because its influence is evident quite early in life, at a time when personal rejection may have long-lasting effects. In the study mentioned above it was indeed found that the women rated as less attractive had also had fewer and less intimate relationships with others in their early years, long before they had had any contact with psychiatric services.
There is other evidence, too, that being considered unattractive may have had effects on health. Less attractive young women (but not young men) have higher blood pressure than their more attractive peers, even after the effect of their weight has been taken into account.
一个人的相貌是不是真的是他或她的财富?难道我们的命运取决于上天赋予我们的相貌?
很多科学家对这个问题作出了肯定的回答。外貌漂亮的人常被认为是好人,他们的工作会得到更多的赞扬,他们为求职去面试时,往往能得到这个工作,而如果他们犯了重罪,却往往被判以较轻的刑罚。而且,这些优越性在他们很小时就会显示出来。3岁的孩子就更喜欢漂亮的同伴;漂亮的孩子做错了事,也常常不受责备。不过,最近人们才了解到相貌美丑甚至对精神病人也有影响。
康涅狄格大学的阿莱瑞格·法拉纳与其他一些人所作的研究和他们在几年前在《非正常心理学》杂志发表的报告表明,一般来说,患精神病住院的妇女比从当地超级市场任意抽选出来的妇女缺乏魅力。当然,一个显而易见的解释就是精神病人看起来疲倦紧张,而且她们既无心思也无条件去注意她们的外表。但这只是原因之一,似乎还有更多的原因。研究人员后来又考察了精神病人少年时在学校的照片,发现那时她们就不如幸运的同龄人漂亮。
应该如何解释这个结果呢?我们知道好的精神状况是与良好更紧密的社会联系有关的,因此,我们有理由认为,任何不惹人喜欢的因素都会减少你学习必要的社交技能的机会,并使你更有可能变得急躁不安,心情沮丧,甚至更坏的结果。外表缺乏吸引力正是这样一个危险的因素,因为它的影响在年龄很小时就很明显,那时候遭到拒绝会对人产生很深的影响。上面提到的研究也确实证明外貌不漂亮的女病人在接受精神治疗前很久的早年时期与他人的联系就不是很密切。
另外,还有其他证据表明缺乏魅力可能会对健康有害。不大漂亮的年轻女性(非男性)比漂亮的女性血压要高,即使把体重的因素考虑进去也是这样。
唯一色彩 摘自Discover