A trio of studies
from a psychologist at the University of Buffalo
reveals that worrisome anticipation of rejection based on
your looks has a serious effect on your mental and
physical wellbeing, according to a University of
Buffalo press release.
Conducted by Lora
Park, assistant professor in the department of
psychology, the studies show that when motivation for
looking attractive is mired in anxiety about being
rejected, eating disorders, neurosis, and low
self-esteem result.
In the first
study, Park developed an appearance-based rejection
sensitivity (ARS) scale to quantify how much people
anxiously expected rejection based on their physical
attractiveness. She tested it on 242 college students
and found that those who scored high were likely to have
low self-esteem and base their self-worth on their looks.
They had high levels of neuroticism and insecure
attachment habits and considered themselves physically
unattractive.
"Both men and
women who reported being sensitive to appearance-based
rejection were preoccupied with their body and weight in
unhealthy ways. They avoided eating when they were
hungry, exercised compulsively, and engaged in binging
and purging," said Park in the release.
In the second
study, Park found that people with high ARS felt depressed
just thinking about their appearance. "Simply having people
list what they didn't like about their
appearance, whether it was their weight, their height,
having acne or some other facial or body feature, was
sufficient for these people to feel lonely, rejected,
unwanted, and isolated," said Park.
The third study
provided some hope. When those with high ARS thought
about their strengths or close relationships, they lost
the negativity of self-appraisal.
"These findings,"
said Park, "emphasize the power of self-affirmation
and of having close relationships in helping people cope
with insecurities regarding their appearance." (The
Advocate)