研究发现：戴口罩让人看上去更有吸引力

LearnAndRecord 2022-07-26

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近日，英国卡迪夫大学（Cardiff University）研究者发现，相比于不戴口罩或者其他类型口罩的人来说，佩戴医用口罩的人被认为是最有吸引力的。

无注释原文：

Face masks make people look more attractive, study finds

The Guardian

There have been precious few positives during the Covid pandemic but British academics may have unearthed one: people look more attractive in protective masks.

Researchers at Cardiff University were surprised to find that both men and women were judged to look better with a face covering obscuring the lower half of their faces.

In what may be a blow for producers of fashionable coverings – and the environment – they also discovered that a face covered with a disposable-type surgical mask was likely to be deemed the most appealing.

Dr Michael Lewis, a reader from Cardiff University’s school of psychology and an expert in faces, said research carried out before the pandemic had found that medical face masks reduced attractiveness because they were associated with disease or illness.

“We wanted to test whether this had changed since face coverings became ubiquitous and understand whether the type of mask had any effect,” he said.

“Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks. This may be because we’re used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.”

The first part of the research was carried out in February 2021 by which time the British population had become used to wearing masks in some circumstances. Forty-three women were asked to rate on a scale of one to 10 the attractiveness of images of male faces without a mask, wearing a plain cloth mask, a blue medical face mask, and holding a plain black book covering the area a face mask would hide.

The participants said those wearing a cloth mask were significantly more attractive than the ones with no masks or whose faces were partly obscured by the book. But the surgical mask – which was just a normal, disposable kind – made the wearer look even better.

“The results run counter to the pre-pandemic research where it was thought masks made people think about disease and the person should be avoided,” said Lewis.

“The pandemic has changed our psychology in how we perceive the wearers of masks. When we see someone wearing a mask we no longer think ‘that person has a disease, I need to stay away’.

“This relates to evolutionary psychology and why we select the partners we do. Disease and evidence of disease can play a big role in mate selection – previously any cues to disease would be a big turn-off. Now we can observe a shift in our psychology such that face masks are no longer acting as a contamination cue.”

Lewis said it was also possible that masks made people more attractive because they directed attention to the eyes. He said other studies had found that covering the left or right half of a face also made people look more attractive, partly because the brain fills in the missing gaps and exaggerates the overall impact.

The results of the first study has been published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. A second study has been carried out, in which a group of men look at women in masks; it has yet to be published but Lewis said the results were broadly the same. The researchers did not ask the participants to spell out their sexual orientations.

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注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Face masks make people look more attractive, study finds

The Guardian

There have been precious few positives during the Covid pandemic but British academics may have unearthed one: people look more attractive in protective masks.

在新冠疫情期间，正面的消息非常少，不过英国学者们可能发现了其中之一：人们戴着口罩看起来更有吸引力。

precious

此处作副词，相当于very，表示“极其，非常”，举个🌰：

Lots of people will start, but precious few will finish.

许多人将开始去做，但极少数能完成。

📍靡不有初，鲜克有终。今天你“打卡”了吗？

unearth

作动词，1）表示“挖掘；发掘；使出土”，英文解释为“to find sth in the ground by digging”；

2）表示“（经努力）发现”，英文解释为“If someone unearths facts or evidence, they discover them with difficulty.”举个🌰：

A private detective has unearthed some fresh evidence.

一个私家侦探已经找到了新的证据。

Researchers at Cardiff University were surprised to find that both men and women were judged to look better with a face covering obscuring the lower half of their faces.

卡迪夫大学（Cardiff University）的研究人员惊讶地发现，戴着遮住下半张脸的口罩时，不管是男性还是女性，看起来都更有吸引力。

obscure

obscure /əbˈskjʊə/ 作形容词，表示“无名的；鲜为人知的；默默无闻的”，英文解释为“not known to many people”。

作动词，表示“遮掩；遮蔽；使不分明”，英文解释为“to prevent something from being seen or heard”举个🌰：

Two new skyscrapers had sprung up, obscuring the view from her window.

两座新摩天大楼拔地而起，挡住了她窗外的风景。

他们还发现，戴着一次性医用口罩的脸可能被认为是最吸引人的，这可能是对时尚口罩生产商的一个打击。

a blow

blow作名词表示“打击，不幸”，英文解释为“If something that happens is a blow to someone or something, it is very upsetting, disappointing, or damaging to them.”如：a huge blow 巨大打击，举个🌰：

That ruling comes as a blow to environmentalists.

那项规定对环境保护主义者是一个打击。

disposable

表示“一次性的，用后可扔掉的”，英文解释为“A disposable product is intended to be thrown away after use.”如：disposable nappies 一次性尿布。

surgical

表示“（外科）手术用的；手术的，外科手术的”，英文解释为“used for medical operations”如：surgical supplies/instruments/gloves 手术器材/器械/手套（等等）。

deem

表示“认为; 相信”，英文解释为“If something is deemed to have a particular quality or to do a particular thing, it is considered to have that quality or do that thing.”举个🌰：

He says he would support the use of force if the UN deemed it necessary.

他说如果联合国认为有必要，他就支持动用武力。

Dr Michael Lewis, a reader from Cardiff University's school of psychology and an expert in faces, said research carried out before the pandemic had found that medical face masks reduced attractiveness because they were associated with disease or illness.

卡迪夫大学心理学院高级讲师、面部专家迈克尔·刘易斯博士（Dr Michael Lewis）说，在疫情之前进行的研究发现，医用口罩会降低吸引力，因为它们与疾病有关。

reader

一般用Reader，R大写，表示“（英国大学仅次于教授的）准教授；高级讲师”，英文解释为“a teacher, at British universities, just under the rank of professor”举个🌰：

He is a Reader in History at Dublin University.

他是都柏林大学的历史学准教授。

“We wanted to test whether this had changed since face coverings became ubiquitous and understand whether the type of mask had any effect,” he said.

他说：“我们想验证一下，自从口罩变得无处不在之后，这种情况是否有所改变，并且了解口罩的类型是否有任何影响。”

ubiquitous

ubiquitous表示“无所不在的”，英文解释为“If you describe something or someone as ubiquitous, you mean that they seem to be everywhere.”举个🌰：

Coffee shops are ubiquitous these days.

如今好像到处都是咖啡馆。

意思相近的一个形容词：

📍pervasive表示“到处存在的，到处弥漫着的，遍布的”，英文解释为“Something, especially something bad, that is pervasive is present or felt throughout a place or thing.”如：the pervasive influence of mobile phones in daily life 手机在日常生活中无处不在的影响。

“Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks. This may be because we're used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.”

“我们的研究表明，当佩戴医用口罩时，脸部被认为最有吸引力的。这可能是因为我们已经习惯了医护人员佩戴蓝色口罩，现在我们把这些口罩与从事护理或医疗职业的人联系起来。在我们感到脆弱的时候，我们可能会发现佩戴医用口罩让人感到安心，因此对佩戴者的感觉更加积极。”

reassuring

表示“令人感到宽慰的；使人安心的；使人放心的”，英文解释为“making you feel less worried”举个🌰：

He smiled at me in a reassuring way.

他对我露出宽慰的一笑。

研究的第一部分是在2021年2月进行的，当时英国人已经习惯了在某些情况下戴口罩。四十三名女性被要求以1到10分的评分标准，对没有戴口罩、戴着普通布口罩、蓝色医用口罩以及口罩所遮挡区域被一本普通黑书覆盖住的男性面孔的吸引力进行评分。

Examples of the four types of stimuli used. Top left: Full face. Top right: Notebook. Bottom left: Cloth mask. Bottom right: Medical mask. The original CFD image is reproduced with permission

stimuli

很有意思的一个词，单数 stimulus /ˈstɪmjʊləs/，复数 stimuli /ˈstɪm.jʊ.laɪ/，没错有s的是单数。表示“刺激（物），激励（物）；促进因素”，英文解释为“something that causes growth or activity; something that causes part of the body to react”。

📍CFD指的是Chicago Face Database 芝加哥面部数据库。

参与者说，戴普通布口罩的人明显比不戴口罩或脸部被书部分遮挡的人更有吸引力。但是医用口罩--只是普通的、一次性的那种--使佩戴者看起来更有吸引力。

Mean attractiveness ratings for the four occlusion conditions for the faces that were initially rated as attractive or unattractive.

“The results run counter to the pre-pandemic research where it was thought masks made people think about disease and the person should be avoided,” said Lewis.

“该结果与疫情前的研究结果截然相反，当时人们认为口罩会让人想到疾病，这个人应该被避开，”刘易斯说。

run counter to

相当于be opposed to / disagree with，表示“违反；与……背道而驰；相反”，英文解释为“To oppose, contravene, or work against someone or something.”举个🌰：

His theory ran counter to the beliefs of his time.

他的理论与他那个时代的信仰背道而驰。

📍counter本身表示“相反的；对立的；相应的”（opposite; against; in return; corresponding）。

“The pandemic has changed our psychology in how we perceive the wearers of masks. When we see someone wearing a mask we no longer think ‘that person has a disease, I need to stay away’.

“这次疫情改变了我们的心理，使我们对戴口罩的人的看法发生了变化。当我们看到有人戴口罩时，我们不再认为‘这个人有疾病，我需要远离’。”

perceive

1）表示“感知，察觉，注意到，意识到”，英文解释为“to see something or someone, or to notice something that is obvious”举个🌰：

He perceived a tiny figure in the distance.

他注意到远处有个很小的身影。

2）表示“认为；看待；视为”，英文解释为“to come to an opinion about something, or have a belief about something”举个🌰：

How do the French perceive the British?

法国人是如何看待英国人的？

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述比特币的文章中提到：Scarcity is a trait of many things that are perceived to have value. 稀缺性正是许多被视为有价值的事物共有的特征。

“这涉及到进化心理学，以及我们选择伴侣的原因。疾病及其迹象会在择偶中发挥很大的作用--以前任何关于疾病的迹象都是一个很大的障碍。现在，我们可以发现我们的心理发生了变化，脸部口罩不再是不好的信号了。”

cue

表示“暗示；信号”，英文解释为“a signal for someone to do something”举个🌰：

They started washing up, so that was our cue to leave the party.

他们开始洗刷碗碟了，这就是暗示我们该离开聚会了。

turn-off

表示“扫兴之物；倒胃口之物；使失去性欲之物”，英文解释为“something that you dislike or that you do not find interesting or sexually exciting”举个🌰：

This system may provide a powerful tool for adults who find computers a turn-off yet need to learn to use them.

这个系统可能会成为那些对电脑没兴趣但又需要学的成年人强有力的工具。

contamination

表示“污染，玷污；污染物”，英文解释为“something that contaminates”；contaminate作动词，表示“污染；弄脏”，英文解释为“to make a substance or place dirty or no longer pure by adding a substance that is dangerous or carries disease”举个🌰：

The drinking water has become contaminated with lead.

饮用水被铅污染了。

Lewis said it was also possible that masks made people more attractive because they directed attention to the eyes. He said other studies had found that covering the left or right half of a face also made people look more attractive, partly because the brain fills in the missing gaps and exaggerates the overall impact.

刘易斯说，也有可能是口罩使人更有吸引力，因为它们把注意力引向了眼睛。他说，其他研究发现，遮住左半边脸或右半边脸也使人看起来更有吸引力，部分原因是大脑填补了缺失的空白，夸大了整体效果。

exaggerate

表示“夸张；夸大；对…言过其实”，英文解释为“to make something seem larger, more important, better, or worse than it really is”举个🌰：

Don't exaggerate - it wasn't that expensive.

不要言过其实——没有那么贵。

🎬电影《李小龙传奇》（Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story）中的台词提到：Come, don't exaggerate. It's been barely twenty minutes. 别夸张了还不到二十分钟

The results of the first study has been published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. A second study has been carried out, in which a group of men look at women in masks; it has yet to be published but Lewis said the results were broadly the same. The researchers did not ask the participants to spell out their sexual orientations.

第一项研究的结果已经发表在《认知研究：原则与启示》（Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications）杂志上。第二项研究已经开展，在这项研究中，一组男性看着戴着口罩的女性（打分）；这项研究尚未发表，但刘易斯说结果大致相同。研究人员并没有要求参与者说明他们的性取向。

cognitive

表示“认知的；感知的；认识的”，英文解释为“Cognitive means relating to the mental process involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things.”举个🌰：

As children grow older, their cognitive processes become sharper.

随着孩子们长大，他们的认知过程也变得越来越敏锐了。

broadly

表示“概括地，大体上地”，英文解释为“in a general way, without considering specific examples or all the details”举个🌰：

Many of the findings in this study are broadly similar to those of Lewis (2021).

这项研究的许多发现与刘易斯（2021）的结果大体相似。

spell sth. out

表示“解释清楚；详细地说明”，英文解释为“to explain something in a very clear way with details”举个🌰：

What do you mean you don't understand - do I have to spell it out for you?

你说你不明白是什么意思——需要我详细地向你解释一下吗？