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beauty

This shows people in an art gallery. Above their heads are thought bubbles.

·May 11, 2025·6 min read

Contemplating Beauty Boosts Abstract Thinking

A new study finds that actively engaging with artistic beauty—rather than just looking at art—enhances abstract thinking and psychological distancing, helping people see the bigger picture beyond daily concerns. Participants who focused on rating the beauty of ceramic artworks scored significantly higher on cognitive tests measuring abstract thought than those who simply matched objects with line drawings.

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·April 10, 2025·5 min read

Lip Size Shapes Beauty Perception, Preferences Differ by Gender

New research reveals that lip size significantly influences how people perceive facial attractiveness, and these perceptions vary based on gender and exposure. Female participants preferred plumper lips on female faces, while males preferred natural lip size, suggesting gendered beauty standards.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 26, 2024·5 min read

Feeling Beautiful Spurs Kindness and Generosity

A new study shows that enhancing one’s appearance, even virtually, increases prosocial behavior such as kindness and charitable giving. Participants who saw enhanced images of themselves were twice as likely to donate to charity compared to controls, suggesting that feeling attractive boosts social consciousness.

Featured Psychology

·August 31, 2020·3 min read

Is Being Generous the Next Beauty Trend?

Researchers found more attractive people are more likely to be givers, and givers are generally rated as being more attractive.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 2, 2020·2 min read

Unattainable standards of beauty for today’s woman

Over time, Victoria's Secret fashion models have become thinner with smaller busts, waists, hips, and dress size while their waist-to-hip ratio has remained constant. However, the average woman's waist and dress size have increased.

This shows a woman looking at paintings in a gallery

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·November 20, 2019·3 min read

Beauty in the biased eye of the beholder

When we see a painting, we rate its aesthetic value based upon other artwork we have just seen.

$This shows a math equation$

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 10, 2019·6 min read

We like our math like we like our art: Beautiful

The average American can assess mathematical arguments for beauty just as they can for art or music. Using nine criteria for beauty, including elegance, intricacy, and universality, people were more likely to agree about the specific ways four different proofs were beautiful. The study sheds new light on broader issues in how and why humans have aesthetic experiences of abstract ideas.

Featured Psychology

·August 21, 2018·3 min read

Beauty is Simpler, and Less Special, Than We Realize

Analyzing the work of great philosophers and recent neuroscience research, researchers conclude certain simple features, such as symmetry and roundness, make things more attractive to us.