Australian scientists from Charles Sturt University have discovered that women tend to give harmful haircut advice to other women in order to reduce their physical attractiveness in the eyes of men and reduce possible competition. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Personality and Individual Differences (PID).
According to experts, this phenomenon occurs even between women who do not know each other; This suggests that some have an innate tendency to sabotage potential rivals before they pose a direct threat.
The researchers sought to determine whether sexual competition between women would manifest itself in the context of appearance advice given to hypothetical beauty salon customers.
“What may seem like a trivial matter to investigate is actually quite serious. The hair salon scenario is a way to raise questions about how women subtly sabotage each other. Female aggression does not usually manifest itself in the form of physical violence or even threats of physical violence. “He also doesn’t often take other forms that we can easily recognize as aggression (screaming, swearing, openly expressing anger),” said study author Danielle Sulikowski.
Psychologists conducted two separate tests involving 450 women aged 17 to 67. Participants were presented with hypothetical customers of a beauty salon; each of these clients had a portrait image with varying degrees of attractiveness and their own haircut length preference. Women were asked to recommend the amount of hair that should be cut in each case.
Researchers found that women who experienced cross-gender competition were more likely to tell others to cut their hair short. The reason for this advice may be the desire to skillfully manipulate the appearance of their opponents. This was especially noticeable when the study participant and the potential salon visitor had approximately the same level of attractiveness.
“This suggests that at least some women sabotage other women for no apparent reason,” Danielle Sulikowski added.
Psychologists before I learnedRetouched photos undermine men’s credibility on dating sites.