New sturdy reveals “Unattractive individuals” wear masks more often than others

New sturdy reveals “Unattractive individuals” wear masks more often than others.

But the researchers emphasize the effects of self-perceived attractiveness on the intention to wear a mask only applies to situations when people are very motivated to make a good impression, said co-author Incheol Choi, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea, to Fox News Digital.

As some people continue to wear masks — while plenty of others have been delighted to leave them behind — researchers from Seoul National University proposed there may be a psychological variable influencing people’s decisions. 

“Masks mandates had unintentional positive (reduction of seasonal flu) and negative (exacerbation of patients who had phobia of closed spaces) benefits and consequences,” Dr. Christopher L. Edwards, psychologist and adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, told Fox News Digital in an email. 

“So it is not unusual to discover that there was an unintended benefit for individuals whose self-perception was negative,” added Edwards, who was not part of the study.

The study's authors added, "Our findings suggest that mask-wearing can shift from being a self-protection measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to a self-presentation tactic in the post-pandemic era."

But the researchers emphasize the effects of self-perceived attractiveness on the intention to wear a mask only applies to situations when people are very motivated to make a good impression, said co-author Incheol Choi, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea, to Fox News Digital.

“Self-perceived attractiveness is defined as individuals’ self-concept or beliefs about their physical appearances,” the study notes. 

“For many, the masks covered expressions of negative emotions in interpersonal settings,” Edwards of North Carolina told Fox News Digital.

The study hypothesized that those with higher self-perceived attractiveness are less likely to wear a mask because the mask makes it more difficult for them to make a good impression to others.

The researchers focused on three studies that surveyed participants in the U.S. about their self-perceived attractiveness and their mask wearing behaviors in job interview scenarios.

The research team studied job interview settings because this is "where interviewees’ physical appearance considerably affects their interview outcomes," per the report.

The 244 people studied were then asked to imagine receiving an email for a job interview.

They were questioned if they would wear a mask during the job interview — and if those interviewing them would perceive them as more attractive by wearing a mask.

"The result shows that those who believe they are attractive are more likely to believe that mask will diminish their attractiveness, and hence less likely to wear face masks," Choi added.

"It is worth noting that mask attractiveness belief was related to mask-wearing intention to a similar degree of COVID-19 fear in study 1," the authors added in the report.

"Therefore, our results demonstrate that mask-wearing can serve two functions in the post-pandemic era: self-presentation and self-protection," according to the study.

The second study confirmed the findings of the first experiment with 344 participants "even when controlling for other alternative beliefs — namely, mask trustworthiness/competence beliefs."

The participants’ average age in all the studies was approximately 33-34 years old, with women making up more than half of each study population.