Hair Like an Alter Ego: "Tell Me Your Hair Color, and I Will Tell You Who You Are"
International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research, 8 (2):
59-73 (February 2024)DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10812940
Abstract
Starting from the idea that we live in a "somatic society" (Turner, 2009) where the body becomes very important for social identity, we conducted a research study in which we tested the predictive quality of hair for social perception. Therefore, the study examines the influence of hair color and length on various aspects of social perception (professional competence, attitudes, perception of promiscuity, physical attractiveness). In this regard, I conducted an experiment on 171 subjects, all of whom were students. The subjects rated a series of nine photographs of a female person assigned the status of a surgeon. The main results are: brunettes are believed to be married, while subjects believe that blondes engage in casual and occasional intimate relationships and are also inclined to have multiple partners at the same time. On the other hand, redheads are seen as having an active social life in terms of parties.