An international group of psychologists from the University of British Columbia in Canada and Columbia University in the USA studied how lies and truth affect a person’s attractiveness in the eyes of others. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSPB).
In a series of three tests, scientists asked subjects to rate the overall attractiveness of people who were honest in some situations and lying in others. Perceivers also had to say how open and likeable they found the personalities presented.
Volunteers were shown videos of other trial participants answering questions about a fictitious theft of $100 from a laboratory. According to the terms of the assignment, some of the respondents were determined to be “guilty” of stealing money, while others were told that they were not involved in a fictitious crime. But all volunteers had to convince the contingent investigator that they were receiving other people’s funding.
The results showed that viewers were more impressed by people who told the truth than by those who had to lie. This effect was strongest among male observers, who were more attracted to honest women. In the opposite case, the reaction was slightly weaker, but the general trend continued – women were more attracted to honest men than to cheaters.
In another test, volunteers had to rate the attractiveness of people in the same situation, except they didn’t know which one was telling the truth and which one was lying. It turns out that being honest makes women more attractive to men, but men are just as attractive whether they lie or not.
The researchers concluded that even though participants were unaware that some individuals were likely to lie, attractiveness ratings differentiated liars from truth-tellers.
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