A new study says that enhancing and editing photos for dating sites yield diffirent results for women and men. The study conducted by the scientists at the University of Connecticut analyzed data from 305 participants ages 17 to 36 years old and found out that men preferred women's photos to be natural and not enhanced.
The researchers enhanced some of the photos and left the others in their natural state. They asked each participant to rate the photos and those in the photos on trustworthiness, attractiveness, similarities, and desirability when it comes to dating.
The enhanced photos were taken with the person wearing makeup, had hair treatment, and special lighting while the non-beautified photos did not. For their results, they discovered that men looked at women with enhanced and beautified photos less trustworthy but more attractive. However, women found men with enhanced photos more attractive and more trustworthy, reports Palm Beach Post.
"The finding suggests that while even when men suspect that a woman may not look exactly like she does in her profile picture, they are willing to take the risk and pursue a date with her," researcher Rory McGloin said in a press release.
According to News Health, the findings of the study are scheduled to be presented at the International Communication Association meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico this May.
McGloin added, "Trust is an important part of any relationship and it certainly plays an important role in the forging of new social bonds in the dating context. Yet, we found an interesting relationship between attractiveness and trust for males who were viewing female profile pictures."
It may not be an issue of attractiveness but of trustworthiness because men see women to have beautified photos to be not the same person when they see them in person. Nonetheless, they want to date them too.
