If you’ve recently noticed some signs of hair loss and are stressing about the possibility of having to go bald – stop stressing, the universe is in your favour.
A recent study that was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania put together three different groups of participants in what was three separate studies for this research.
In the first part of the study, participants were given pictures of men that were fully shaven and men that were not. The participants were then asked to rate each picture based on what they perceived the power, influence and authority of the men in the pictures to be. The first part of the study concluded that bald men were seen as the most dominant in all of these areas.
For the second part of the study, pictures of men who had their hair digitally removed and then put back on were given to the participants. And the same process was followed as in the first part of the study, and again the bald versions of the men were perceived to be about 13% stronger than their hairy selves.
In the third part of the study, the participants were not given photographs but rather written descriptions of men. They were then told to describe the physical appearance of the man that they matched the written descriptions with. And again, descriptions such as ‘masculine’, and ‘dominant’ and ‘attractive’ were mostly prescribed to men that had ‘shaved heads’.
“Men with shaved heads were evaluated as more predominant. Men whose hair was digitally expelled were seen as more overwhelming, taller and more grounded than their bona fide selves,” said Albert E. Mannes, lead author of the study.
Mannes went on to suggest that men who were experiencing male pattern baldness could actually improve how people perceive them simply by shaving their heads.
“Rather than burning through billions every year attempting to turn around or cure their male pattern baldness, the strange solution of this examination to men encountering male example sparseness is to shave their heads,” Mannes said.
He also went on to explain that the link between shaved heads and strength comes from what’s been constructed by society.
“Shaved heads are frequently found on men in traditionally masculine professions, so dominance may emerge through stereotypical associations,” he said.
– Additional source: Men’s Health
