Do you prefer being photographed from a certain side? Researchers from Wake Forest University found that images of the left side of the face were perceived and rated as more attractive than those of the right side.
No wonder Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe, Van Gogh’s self-portrait and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa all show the left side of the face!
The Experiment: The participants were asked to rate how asthetically pleasing the images of 10 men and 10 women’s faces were.
The photographs of real people were presented in grey-scale photographs and the participants were shown both sides of the face, but get this, they were shown the original photographs and mirror-reversed images. Even then, the participants still chose that the original left side of the face was better looking!
But Why? Well according to psychologytoday ‘the right hemisphere has greater control over voluntary—or posed—emotional expressions on the left side of the face. In addition, research has revealed that the left side of the face is more intense and active when expressing emotions’
So basically our left side shows more emotion, which makes it more attractive. Remember that next time you pose for a selfie!
