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Light makeup decreases receivers' negative emotional experience.
Ling Zhang1, Wenfeng Chen1, Menghan Liu1
1Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China.
Scientific Reports
|December 11, 2021
Summary
Wearing makeup can improve perceived attractiveness and willingness to communicate. It may also reduce negative emotional experiences from viewing angry or sad faces, impacting emotional contagion.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Makeup use is prevalent, enhancing perceived attractiveness.
- Limited research exists on makeup's impact on emotional experiences and interpersonal communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if makeup use influences a receiver's emotional experience.
- To explore makeup's effect on emotional contagion and willingness to communicate.
Main Methods:
- Participants viewed dynamic faces with or without makeup displaying various emotions (neutral, angry, sad, happy).
- Subjective emotional experiences, emotional valence, arousal, and willingness to communicate were assessed.
Main Results:
- Makeup enhanced perceived facial attractiveness and willingness to communicate.
- Makeup weakened negative emotional experiences from angry and sad expressions.
- Makeup did not influence positive emotional contagion (happy expressions).
- No incremental changes in emotional appraisal (valence, arousal) were observed with increased makeup.
Conclusions:
- Makeup use may influence emotional contagion and interpersonal communication dynamics.
- The potential adaptive benefits of makeup in alleviating negative emotional experiences warrant further investigation.
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