Is beauty subjective? Research reveals what makes someone beautiful

Have you ever found someone beautiful and come across opinions contrary to yours? Know that this has an explanation! According to a study carried out in 2015, it was proven that aesthetic tastes they are more linked to personal influences than to genes. That is, the beauty It's really subjective to people.

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In the research in question, 35,000 volunteers had to evaluate the beauty of different faces on a testing site. Through this website, research is carried out on the functioning and behavior of the human brain. After completion, the research results were published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

In the first phase of the test, psychologists Jeremy Wilmer and Laura Germine came to the conclusion that people agree that symmetrical faces are more attractive

. However, this factor would be responsible for only 50% of the decision of whether or not someone is beautiful. In search of finding possible discrepancies in the other 50%, psychologists began a second phase of research.

Does beauty depend only on genes?

In the second stage of the study, researchers analyzed the facial preferences of 547 pairs of Identical twins and 214 pairs of non-identical twins. The aim was to analyze the effects of genetics and how creation influenced the perception of beauty. By comparing identical twins, it is possible to determine the degree of heritability of a characteristic, whether physical or psychological.

In recent decades of research, psychology has managed to establish that all measurable characteristics, such as aggressiveness or calmness, general intelligence or specific abilities, have a genetic influence of approximately 50%. However, the perception of beauty is a psychological quality that does not fall into this pattern. With this, it became clear that finding beauty does not depend only on genes, but on individual experience.

After all, what were the results?

According to researcher Laura Germine, the concept of beauty for each person varies according to their particular experiences, be it relationships with friends, the influence of social media and other subtle factors.

With the results of the research, it became clear that the concept of beauty is a complex phenomenon, influenced by a combination of genetic aspects and the experiences lived by the individual. Thus, cultural influences, the use of social networks and even the people we interact with can influence each person's concept of beauty.