Female “psychopaths” are less likely to wear makeup, a new study found. Scientists think that this may be a result of their “assertiveness” and their lack of need to enhance their appearance to others. Scholars from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, asked 1,410 Brazilian women about their cosmetics usage.
According to the study, published on August 16 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, thousands of women were asked about their use of makeup across different social contexts, including at home, on a first date, in a business meeting, and at the gym.
Highlights
- Female psychopaths are less likely to wear makeup due to assertiveness and lack of need to enhance appearance to others.
- 1,410 Brazilian women were surveyed about makeup usage and Dark Triad traits, linking high narcissism to more makeup and high psychopathy to less.
- Psychopathy traits like charm and persuasiveness may allow women to achieve desired outcomes without using makeup.
- The ratio of male to female psychopathy could be as high as 1.2:1, much higher than previously thought.
- Female psychopaths may be a larger threat to business and society than previously suspected due to underestimated incidence levels.
The women were subsequently asked to complete surveys to measure their “Dark Triad” traits, consisting of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy.
As a result, the women who wore regularly lots of makeup scored highly on the narcissism scale. Meanwhile, women who scored highly on the psychopathy scale were less likely to put on lipstick, eyeliner, and blush in all social situations.
Female “psychopaths” are less likely to wear makeup, a new study found
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A psychopathy test is a tool used to assess antisocial behavior and traits that may indicate psychopathy.
Psychopathy is a serious mental disorder that's characterized by a lack of empathy, poor behavioral controls, and antisocial tendencies. People with psychopathy may also be manipulative, charming, and exploitative.
Moreover, psychopathy is not an official diagnosis, but it is a term that is sometimes used to describe certain behaviors. According to WebMD, doctors use the term “antisocial personality disorder” (ASPD) instead of psychopathy when making an official diagnosis.
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“We want to clarify that the study highlights how personality traits, such as extroversion, narcissism, or subclinical psychopathy, influence makeup usage, but it doesn't imply that individuals with certain traits should or should not use makeup,” Anthonieta Looman Mafra, one of the researchers involved in the study told Bored Panda in an email.
The postdoctoral researcher in experimental psychology at the University of São Paulo further explained: “Every personality trait has a range of influences, both positive and negative, and the study simply explores how these traits correlate with behaviors like makeup application across different social contexts.”
She continued: “Specifically, the findings indicate that makeup usage varies across personality traits in nuanced ways.
Scientists think that this may be a result of their “assertiveness”
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“For instance, while narcissism was linked to higher makeup usage, psychopathy was associated with lower usage. However, this doesn't imply moral judgments about these traits or makeup habits.”
Dr. Mafra added: “When we think about psychopathy traits, we always tend to remember the negative ones, such as: ruthlessness, fearlessness, mental toughness, and a lack of conscience and empathy.
“However, there are other traits that are positively linked to psychopathy: charm, persuasiveness, assertiveness, procrastination avoidance, focus on the positive, don't take things personally, good acting under pressure, and don't blame themselves if things don't go as planned.”
Image credits: Sony Pictures
According to the researcher, the reason why female “psychopaths” are less likely to wear makeup may be related to their charm, persuasiveness, and assertiveness.
“[This] may lead them to act in a way that makes people behave as they want, without needing to use makeup since makeup is one of the tools used to enhance others' perceptions,” Dr. Mafra concluded.
According to Dr. Clive Boddy of Anglia Ruskin University, the real ratio of male female psychopathy may be about 1.2:1 – up to five times higher than previously suggested.
It can also be due to their lack of need to enhance their appearance to others
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“People generally attribute psychopathic characteristics to males rather than to females,” Dr. Boddy explained.
“So even when females display some of the key traits associated with psychopathy – such as being insincere, deceitful, antagonistic, unempathetic and lacking in emotional depth – because these are seen as male characteristics, they may not be labelled as such, even when they should be.”
He stated: “Also, female psychopaths tend to use words, rather than violence, to achieve their aims, differing from how male psychopaths tend to operate.
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“If female psychopathy expresses differently, then measures designed to capture and identify male, criminal psychopaths may be inadequate at identifying female, non-criminal psychopaths.”
According to the expert, female psychopaths, while not as severely psychopathic or as psychopathic as often as males are, have nevertheless been underestimated in their incidence levels and are therefore more of a potential threat to business and society than anyone previously suspected.
“This has implications for the criminal justice system because current risk management decisions involving partners and children may be faulty,” he said. “It also has implications for organizational leadership selection decisions because female leaders cannot automatically be assumed to be more honest, caring and concerned with issues such as corporate social responsibility.”
"So if you don't wear makeup you're a psychopath, and if you do then you're a narcissist," a reader quipped
