Fashion

Can Looking Good Make You Meaner?

by Marisa Riley
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

So apparently, having a great hair day can actually make you a meaner person . Yep, according to a recent study there is a direct correlation between looking good and feeling like you belong to a higher social class. If this were true, doesn't that mean Beyoncé is some sort of closeted villainess*, who has now been given away by her perfect head of hair? Was Solange onto something? Is Gisele secretly some sort of raging monster??

My conspiracies aside, these findings go a little deeper than just great hair and “being mean.” The Daily Mail writes that researchers for the study, which was conducted at Stanford Graduate School of Business in California, discovered that attractiveness seriously affects our attitudes in terms of class and hierarchy more than previously believed. The game changer here: it’s all about your perception of how you look (hence, the emphasis on good hair days as opposed to "natural matty bed head" days).

For the study, researchers asked participants to describe times when they felt more and less attractive. They also asked for their opinions about what groups they consider higher class than others, as well wages in regards to gender and minorities. Peter Belm, doctoral student and researcher for the study, mentions that those who believe they are attractive also believe hierarchy is necessary:

"What's surprising is that we find that most people seem to endorse hierarchy when they think they're attractive and oppose it when they think they're not."

Essentially, these beliefs are a matter of what is called “adorned attractiveness.” Psychology Today explains that adorned attractiveness means you "enhance" your looks through the use of stylish clothes, make-up, and, among many other things, hair. On the other hand, unadorned attractiveness is attributed to those who would be described as "naturally attractive."

Those who leaned toward the adorned side not only saw the importance in hierarchy, but also displayed traits like Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy — or “The Dark Triad.” Yeah, definitely stressing out about spending so much on shampoo and conditioner this month.

This study doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone with a great blowout and designer makeup has joined the dark side, I see it more as an observation in terms of confidence. Great hair can easily equate to confidence, but confidence doesn’t always result in ego (or "The Dark Triad" traits in this case). However, the study would explain the plot to mean Mean Girls, and pretty much any fierce-looking fictional (or non fictional) villain. Hm.

*This is a joke. I repeat: this is a joke. I would never seriously offend Goddess Bey in any capacity.

Image: Giphy