The Effect of Wearing Eyeglasses on the Perception of Attractiveness, Confidence, and Intelligence

Introduction Several studies investigated the effect of wearing eyeglasses on self-esteem measures; however, most of these studies were conducted on western populations. We aim to assess the perception of attractiveness, confidence, and intelligence of young people of college-going age with and without glasses among university students. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in five main Jordanian universities. We designed a survey with photos of four people with and without glasses (a total of eight photos). Participants rated the photos on a scale of 10 regarding attractiveness, confidence, and intelligence. Results A total of 517 participants were included in this study. We found significantly higher ratings for all domains of pictures without glasses compared to the same pictures with glasses. Moreover, participants not wearing glasses provided significantly higher attractiveness scores for most pictures not wearing glasses. Conclusion In our study on Jordanian college students of Arabian ethnicity, we found that eyeglasses may have a negative impact on a person's image in regard to attractiveness, confidence, and intelligence.