A study has shown that women can seem younger just by smiling and looking happy. The German study showed more than 1,000 photographs of faces to 150 men and women of different ages and asked them to judge the ages of the people in the photos.
Older female faces were estimated on average to
Researchers said that it’s likely that people who are smiling look attractive in different ways, which includes looking younger than they actually are.
“Facial expressions have a substantial impact on accuracy,” the Daily Mail quoted researcher Manuel Voelkle, of the Max Planck Institute, Berlin, as telling the journal Psychology and Aging.
“Relative to other facial expressions, the age of neutral faces was estimated most accurately, while the ages of those displaying happy expressions was most likely under-estimated,” he said.
However, the age of the people looking at the photographs also played a role.
The researchers noted that older people overestimated the age of those photographed, while younger people lessened the age by a year or two in their guesses.
Older female faces were estimated on average to
be three years younger than their male counterparts.
Researchers said that it’s likely that people who are smiling look attractive in different ways, which includes looking younger than they actually are.“Facial expressions have a substantial impact on accuracy,” the Daily Mail quoted researcher Manuel Voelkle, of the Max Planck Institute, Berlin, as telling the journal Psychology and Aging.
“Relative to other facial expressions, the age of neutral faces was estimated most accurately, while the ages of those displaying happy expressions was most likely under-estimated,” he said.
However, the age of the people looking at the photographs also played a role.
The researchers noted that older people overestimated the age of those photographed, while younger people lessened the age by a year or two in their guesses.
