ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Professor says people don't actually know what they look like

Home> News> Science

Updated 12:54 23 Aug 2023 GMT+1Published 12:45 23 Aug 2023 GMT+1

Professor says people don't actually know what they look like

Our idea of what we look like is the wrong way round and a bit better looking

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

If you think you know what you look like then you're probably wrong and also likely not to be as good looking as you reckon, at least that's what the science says.

Plenty of you reading this will have taken a selfie at some point and thought it looked a little bit strange, like it's not really you there in that picture.

That's because you're used to seeing yourself in the mirror so your self-image is of you with all the details flipped around.

On top of that, according to Professor Nicholas Epley, that handsome studmuffin you picture in your head when you think about what you look like is really not accurate compared to the way other people see you.

Advert

Again, this is just what that dastardly science says and you should believe your mum when she says you're beautiful.

"I know I'm seeing myself as 20 percent more handsome than I actually am but damn son I'm a looker."
10'000 Hours/Getty

Anyhow, back onto how science says we're all not as hot as we think, Professor Epley co-authored a study into how people see themselves and found that 'people recognise their own faces as being more physically attractive than they actually are'.

He said in a 2014 interview with The Atlantic: "The interesting thing is that people don't really know what they look like. The image you have of yourself in your mind is not quite the same as what actually exists."

The study took photos of people's faces and made variations of them where they were more or less attractive by 10 percent at a time.

When the researchers asked people to pick which image they thought was the true depiction of their own face, they, on average, pointed towards the picture which was 20 percent more attractive than what they actually looked like.

Their study concluded: "Participants were more likely to recognise an attractively enhanced version of their own face out of a line-up as their own, and they identified an attractively enhanced version of their face more quickly in a line-up of distracter faces.

"This isn't really my face, everything's the wrong way round."
SolStock/Getty

"This enhancement bias occurred for both one's own face and a friend's face but not for a relative stranger's face."

So there you have it, you think you're about 20 percent hotter than you actually are and you also tend to rate your friends as more attractive than they actually are as well, which is quite wholesome.

However, when gazing upon the visage of a stranger, the human eye tended to more accurately identify what they looked like.

Professor Epley said that people weren't wildly delusional about what they looked like but, despite wearing your face every moment of your life, it 'doesn't mean you're perfect at recognising it'.

People's ideas of what they look like are heavily reliant on mirrors which provide a bit of visual trickery.

According to the video by ActionLabShorts, mirror reflects light and what the light is reflecting has 'already been flipped', meaning what you are looking at is a version of your face from a different angle.

Featured Image Credit: Pixabay

Topics: Science, Weird

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Recommended reads

Woman with 'UK's biggest boobs' denied life-changing surgery after being told she's 'too fat'Instagram/scotchdolly97Leaked Pentagon email shows brutal way US could punish UK for not joining Iran warTasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesAlarming study shows bowel cancer killing more under-45s with death rates continuing to riseGetty Stock PhotoIconic Spanish matador can’t eat or sleep after suffering brutal rectal goringJoaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images

Advert

  • Incredible video shows what ancient languages actually sounded like
  • Experts explain what actually happens when you click your knuckles
  • AI predicts what UK theme parks will look like in 100 years
  • Professor debunks why some of your farts feel warmer than others

Choose your content:

13 mins ago
29 mins ago
2 hours ago
  • Instagram/scotchdolly97
    13 mins ago

    Woman with 'UK's biggest boobs' denied life-changing surgery after being told she's 'too fat'

    Summer Robert said medics would 'see the weight instead of me'

    News
  • Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
    29 mins ago

    Leaked Pentagon email shows brutal way US could punish UK for not joining Iran war

    The leaked email shows the US is considering punishing the UK

    News
  • Getty Stock Photo
    2 hours ago

    Alarming study shows bowel cancer killing more under-45s with death rates continuing to rise

    Rates among younger people are growing at a concerning pace

    News
  • Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images
    2 hours ago

    Iconic Spanish matador can’t eat or sleep after suffering brutal rectal goring

    He now faces a long road to recovery

    News