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essays about the perception of beauty dissertation
essays about the perception of beauty dissertation
thesis on beauty perception
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Each year, billions of dollars are spent on cosmetics, facial firming, bacterial injections, double eyelid surgery, and the list goes on. All in the name of beauty. But, what is beauty? What defines it? Is there a universal beauty? Can it be obtained?
According to BBC, our perception of beauty begins in the womb. Studies show that babies have a tendency to look the longest at faces with smooth skin, round eyes, plump lips, and symmetry. In fact, BBC reports that our DNA is written to produce symmetry, yet factors such as environment produces asymmetry. Universally, these characteristics represent youth and fertility. Our faces are "an advertising hoarding which provide a potential mate with information about health, fertility and appropriateness as a partner" 1. Men look for young and healthy faces, translating to mates that are youthful with big eyes and plump lips 1. Whereas, females look for mates with the most testosterone, indicating fertility and strength. Bony protrusions such as the nose, cheek bones, brows and jaw indicate a potential for healthier children 1.
With the birth of the Golden Ratio, by Dr. Stephen Marquardt, dreams of achieving beauty have been made possible 1. This mathematically generated ratio claims to be the "essence of facial beauty" 1. It explains that the majority of people are attracted to faces that conform to the 1:1.618 Golden Ratio 1. As the founder of Marquardt Beauty Analysis in California, Dr. Stephen Marquardt and his researchers have taken it upon themselves "to develop and provide information and technology into which to analyze and positively modify (ie. improve) human visual attractiveness" 2.
So, we know that we are programmed to be attracted to beautiful faces and many of us ...
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...have Reward Value: fMRI and Behavioral Evidence"
http://www.neuron.org/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS0896627301004913
4) Diagrams and Brief Descriptions of the Central Nervous System
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/CNS.html
5) "Increased Dopamine Release in the Human Amygdala During Performance of Cognitive Tasks"
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/neuro/journal/v4/n2/abs/nn0201_201.html
6) Essay by Chris Homan
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/users/faculty/dana/csc240_Fall97/Ass7/Chris_Homan.html
7) "Food Reward: Brain Substrates of Wanting and Liking"
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0J-3Y2FTJN-1&_coverDate=06%2F302F1996&_alid=34466879&_rdoc=1&_fmt=summary&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=4864&_sort=d&_acct=C000018819&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=400777&md5=3461edf59dfb5f1c7599a9482bcf5b51
Sommers, C. H. (2010, August 12). Take back the sports page? The American Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.american.com/archive/2010/august/take-back-the-sports-page/
Because fossil fuels will still be around years from now, and there is no immediate threat to our current lifestyle, does that mean we, as humans, will continue to rely on fossil fuels in the future? If we decline to change our values and ideas, the answer is yes.
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach (2nd ed.). New York, N.Y, USA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Facial symmetry is also linked to agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness, so good looking people generally find it easier to make friends and hold down jobs. Attractive people are most likely to succeed because some companies are looking for models to be on their cover of their magazines. They are always making money just to be on a cover of a book that people always complain about and they would just say that should I try this product do you think it will help my suborn fat and try to lose it by taking this daily with food or water. Researchers say that they can tell if people are attractive or unattractive because they watch guys looking at women and giving facial expressions to tell the other person what they think about the girl or
There is a famous saying that states, “ we should not judge a book by its cover”, but oftentimes the first thing noticed on a person is their looks. One’s “physical beauty” strongly influences people’s first impressions of them. As a whole, we tend to assume that pretty people are more likeable and better people than those who are unattractive. Around the world, we believe that what is beautiful is good. There is a general consensus within a culture about what is considered physically appealing and beautiful. “Physical beauty” is associated with being more sociable, intelligent, and even socially skilled. Society shares this common notion of who has and who does not have “physical beauty”. Thus, “physical beauty”, as seen
Everyone has their own perception of beauty. The attractive attributes in something or someone is based on an opinion. In other countries and cultures their definition of beauty might be different than others. What my culture considers beautiful can be repulsive to other cultures. I define beauty in a few different ways. I believe a person can be physically attractive or internally attractive or both. There are features on a person’s body such as, white teeth, freckles, moles, or clear skin making that person unique. On the other hand, a person can be considered beautiful because their personality is delightful. Massy’s, “A Grotesques Old Woman” is the perfect example of the proverb “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
What is beauty? Beauty is defined as “the quality of being physically attractive or the qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind” (Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2014, para. 1). Heine (2012) has found that beauty and attractiveness can vary across cultures. Although, there are specific features of a person that seem to be considered as beautiful and attractive across all culture spectrums. These features are: complexion, bilateral symmetry, average sized facial features, and biracial faces. However, weight in regards to attractiveness and beauty varies drastically across cultures. Through this discovery, there may be a correlation between the perception of beauty and attractiveness in each culture and its effects of body dissatisfaction and eating disorder rates. Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? We will examine how what is considered to be attractive and beautiful can have both similarities and differences across cultures. In addition, we will examine eating disorders, and how they are influenced by the beauty standards that are set in specific cultures.
...alth. Males tend to have greater physiological health than those who have asymmetrical facial features (Manning, 1995). A study conducted by Grammer and Thornhill (1994) found that facial symmetry signalled health in males faces. However Shackelford and Larsen (1997)found a few significant negative links of facial symmetry with psychological, emotional and physiological health variables, but these findings did not replicate over their two samples. Also both males and females who have symmetrical facial features are rated as more physically attractive than those asymmetric individuals (Grammer &Thornhill, 1994). Many studies conducted on attractiveness using software such as image manipulation techniques, have found preference for faces that were changed to be more symmetrical (Little, Burt, Penton-Voak, &Perrett, 2001). In these studies only facial symmetry was
Todays society, science and statistics teaches us that beauty leads to success; being beautiful increases chances of better jobs, better mates and more advantages though life. In a study by Dr Hamermesh (2011:[sp]) he
know beauty in any form”(86). We are so conditioned to see female beauty as what men
Weber, Jonetta D., and Robert M. Carini. "Where are the Female Athletes in Sports Illustrated? A Content Analysis of Covers (2000-2011)." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48.2 (2013): 196-203. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 9 July 2014.
What is beauty? How do human beings decide who is attractive and who is not? Society is full of messages telling us what is beautiful, but what are those definitions based on? Do we consciously decide whom we are attracted to, or is biology somehow involved? The issue of beauty and how we define it has been studied for centuries. Scholars from all fields of study have searched for the "formula" for beauty. Darwin in his book The Descent of Man wrote, "It is certainly not true that there is in the mind of man any universal standard of beauty with respect to the human body. It is however, possible that certain tastes in the course of time become inherited, though I have no evidence in favor of this belief." (1) Science has tried to look at beauty beyond the conscious level. It has tried to determine what roles biology plays in human attraction. Scientists have discovered that symmetry and scent play a role in defining human attraction. (3) But while this can begin to explain beauty on the most basic of levels, what accounts for variations in the standard of beauty? The idea of beauty varies within different societies and communities. Do these cultural preferences have a biological basis? What is the relationship between biology and society in relation to the idea of beauty? How do they relate to each other, and how do they differ? In particular what role does science play in the preference that many societies, (in particular South Asian, East Asian, and North American Cultures), have for fairer skin?
The proponents of single-sex education argue that boys and girls have differing needs and that their styles of learning are different. Education which respects personal differences must take this into account. ( Mullins 124) Single-gender schools seem logical, than, to a public that accepts that gender differences are real and likes the idea of expanding choices. (Silv...
There is no surprise that people who are considered to be generally and overall more attractive, pretty, beautiful or just plain hot get better treatment or opportunities than those who are less attractive, pretty, handsome, hot, etc. in comparison. Although there is the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” humans tend to subconsciously reward these people for their amazing facial features. Not only does the human brain want to physically reward these attractive people but it also wants to reward itself for simply looking at the attractive person.
The concept of beauty can be hard to define, as it is an ever-evolving notion. What people perceive as beauty has varied through time, across cultures (Fallon 1990) and can also vary based on individuals. To a culture, beauty can be its customs and traditions, and to an individual it can include physical appearance (outer beauty) or personality (inner beauty). However the word beauty can also defer according to gender, Ambrose Bierce (1958) once wrote, “To men, a man is but a mind. Who cares what face he carries or what he wears? But a woman’s body is the woman.” Despite the societal changes achieved since Bierce’s time, this statement still holds true. Attractiveness is a prerequisite for femininity but not for masculinity (Freedman, 1986).