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EPA. AP
Some of Hollywood's toughest leading men sport shaved heads.
Looking for an edge at work? Break out your razor. A new study says that men with shaved heads are perceived as more dominant, more masculine, and more suited for leadership roles.
The lead researcher, Albert Mannes at the Wharton School of Business, decided to go "bare up there" in his mid-thirties when he was starting to lose his hair. And people started treated him differently. He then designed a series of experiments to test what people really thought of guys with shaved heads.
In the first tests, he showed participants pictures of similar-looking men with shaved heads and those with hair. The men without hair rated statistically significantly higher for dominance. They were also rated as being 3 years older, and slightly less attractive.
To isolate the results further, Mannes devised a second experiment. He showed a panel pictures of men with hair. He also showed pictures of the same men with their hair Photoshopped out. The panel rated the men with shaved heads higher for dominance, confidence, masculinity, and leadership potential.
But get this: The panel also said the guys with shaved heads were an inch taller and could bench-press 13 percent more weight than the guys with full hair.
Remember, these are the same guys, just with their hair digitally erased.
The third and final test used no photographs. Just words. Mannes asked subjects to read a two-sentence description of a man and rate him on the same attributes as the second experiment. The paragraph was the same each time, with one difference, whether the man was described as having a "shaved head," "thinning brown hair," or "thick brown hair."
Even when responding to just the text, the guys with the shaved heads ranked higher on those alpha-dog traits.
However, there was a much smaller margin between the "shaved" head and the "thick brown hair." The greatest difference was between "shaved" and "thinning." Which means that men with all their hair looking to jump up the ladder shouldn't rush out and go under the clipper. Only men experiencing hair loss will have a total net benefit from shaving their head. Men with all their hair who shave it all off will lose more in social and psychological ranking than they gain, said Mannes.
So if you have luscious locks, don't let this study be the Delilah to your Samson. Keep your hair.
The big takeaway is that men who are losing their hair, Mannes said, "might better improve their well-being by finishing what Mother Nature has started," and shave it all off. It can give you social and psychological boost, and could open up pathways at work and in life.
This doesn't mean that men with shaved heads are in fact better leaders. Then again, perceptions can become reality.
"People may afford you opportunities to demonstrate your leadership if you look like someone who could be a leader. There is a reinforcement process that does happen with social perception," said Mannes. "How you're perceived affects how people treat you, which can alter your future."
But if you're experiencing male pattern baldness, a receding hairline, or thinning hair, Mannes said, "the simple act of shaving is a viable alternative to medical or surgical procedures, at a lower cost."
Best of all, if you try the look out and decide you don't like it, it's not irreversible.
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Leave a Comment:
Break out the turtle wax!!
Bald is beautiful and a career boost; so says a study conducted by a bunch of bald guys.
My last boss was bald, had bad breath and body odor. Not a pretty combination. He thought he was so hot. Ha-ha . . . He would approach me at my desk and my hair would be instantly permed. It was expensive having to get it straightened all the time.
Yeah, it's a great look if you want to look like Mr. Clean.
Canadian--you're nuts. A shaved/bald head is a sexier look than comb-overs, pony tails, or rugs.
You just have your own personal issues with Mr. Clean---and what's wrong with Mr. Clean anyway?
I wish i was as cut as Mr. Clean
Goatees are out. Baldies are in. What's next, the Rheumatic fever look with no eyebrows?
If a woman shaved her head the opposite would be true--they would assume she had cancer and wouldn't consider hiring her at all !!
And if a woman keeps her hair very short, she's assumed to be a lesbian.
And if a woman keeps her hair very short, she's
assumed to bea lesbian.I think there's truth to it. I buzzed my hair this summer because of the heat and the low maintenance. But I've noticed I get more eye contact from people, more random conversations with strangers, it's kinda weird. On the flip side, I had long hair for years and people definitely treat you differently, sort of suspiciously. It illustrates how shallow-minded most people are.
Of course people noticed you more. I too am kinder to those less fortunate.
Here are the other reasons:
1.) Bald heads are BRIGHT and reflect light
2.) People are noticing that you look old and funny
You already posted this about a month or more ago.
The comments will again explode in all the bald guys/bald lovers rejoicing and all the hair guys/hair lovers putting down bald guys.
Face it, everybody has their personal preferences but it's a societal stereotype that are bald men more intimidating/powerful and people in positions of power tend to come across as leaders.
What's next? A study showing large-chested women are perceived as more attractive or less-intelligent and might benefit or suffer career-wise as a result????
Wait?! What?! I thought they got the jobs because of the more attractive large chest and less-intelligence? Now you’re just screwing with the natural order of things and making stuff up!!!
Love my bald guy, and I've always been more attracted to them. It's the confidence.
To each his own, I prefer running my fingers through hair but at the same time, a combover or one of those crown of Caesar-like balding patterns has never flattered anyone.
Totally! If it’s going, then let it go! Don't try the comb over or hair plugs or try to hang on to what’s left and look like an atoll out at sea on your head!
I've been wanting to shave my head, but afraid of what I'll find underneath....is there a mole, unevenness, etc. What if I shave over the mole?
That is a definite risk, I've got a huge mole in the back of my head that I always butcher when I go back to bald.
People have consistently told me that I look scary when I shave.
I go back and forth with my hair look, let it grow part of the year, then go with 1/8 in buzz on top with it shaved on the sides and back. I recomend just getting a 1/4-1/8in buzz cut before you decide to shave, that way you can see whats under your hair. And if you don't like it, it grows back and if you take vitamins your hair will grow faster. I prefer being bald headed myself, less hastles in the morning, looks cleaner, but it's not a good look for everyone, and my wife says I look like a bad man, lol.
What, no Patrick Stewart?!?
There is a cool bald guy on a tv commericial and when I saw him I thought
he would make a cool James (bald-) Bond.
i commented on this the last time they ran it. it was blatantly stupid then and it's just as bad now.
the running joke in this house is: oh look, he's bald, aren't you intimidated?
what a load of absolute crap:( someone trying to fool themselves into thinking they are more of a man because they are going bald.
there is nothing more unattractive, nasty, pathetic than some blown up, puffed up bald guy.
one word:
NASTY!!!
It's not about "going bald" it's about making the choice to shave your head. Sometimes one precipitates the other, but it is not a direct link.
I don't know, I find combovers to be much nastier. Recently a co-worker who was noticeably losing his hair started shaving his head. Most other of my co-workers have gone for the combover. I congratulated the bald guy for not trying to pretend and embracing what Nature had dealt him.
I don't shave my head because the back of my head is flat as if I was either dropped on the back of my head when I was a baby or someone hit me with a very heavy skillet....
too bad the majority of women (that I have met) simply will not date a guy with no hair, or a buzz cut all around. It makes me sad. But I guess as the saying goes "if a woman will not date someone because they are losing their hair, then you wouldn't want that type of woman anyways" It is sad though. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing I can do about a trait that was passed down to me from my grandpa. but damn...i had some cool hair in my late teens early 20's.
I'm one of those guys who shaves his head because my hair was disappearing. My hairline started receding in my early 30's. I kept cutting my hair shorter and shorter because I hate the look of the combover and I'm not going to spend money on fake hair or plugs that everyone knows is fake. Eventually, after several years, I started shaving it every few days. It looks better than the "obviously thinning, in denial, male pattern baldness" guy. I'm not doing it because I want to look more masculine, but if that is some people's perception, I'm ok with that! I wish I had the hair of my twenties, but I don't. You work with what you have.
Bald can be really sexy. I have dated bald men. It is just more of them that can be naked!! :-) Not a bad thing huh? You can kiss their head and not have to deal with hair products, leave a lipstick mark!
Also, to G_Reaper who stated the following, "And if a woman keeps her hair very short, she's
assumed to bea lesbian."Grow up and get a life. So Keira Knightley, Rihanna, Emma Watson, Carey Mulligan, Ginnifer Goodwin must all be lesbians then in your eyes. Right?
I'm bald on top and would shave the sides and rear but for my wife's insistence I'd look like a thug. (And shaving my entire head every day might turn into a real pain.)
I've been balding for years, since my teens actually. Now in my mid-30s I shave my head but not down to the scalp, just using "one" on the trimmer which makes it close enough. Very comfortable, easy to maintain. Thankfully I have a head that is shaped well, too!
Like Ed Harris? That's also quite sexy!
I dont care too much about shaving my head, I miss having hair, my wife hates it but I get many compliments, I do like to shave my balls so the match my head, very comfortable, little maintenance. So much better that having something that looks like a birds nest.
I'm glad I'm gay. It seems like straight guys worry more about hair loss than gay guys. I assume it's because most women prefer guys with hair, for whatever reason.
Overall, I think the key to being respected is simply looking neat and maintained, whether you've got a lot of hair or no hair. Look at guys who have a "power donut" hairstyle. Ben Bernanke comes to mind. No one would say he's powerless.
Yeah, when I was a kid we used to call them bald headed chicken fjckers because they were so loaded with testosterone they'd screw a chicken, and of course the baldness comes because their testosterone levels are so high they can't protect their brains with hair.
I tend to agree with this, but for a weird reason.
Shaved heads look best (as in ABSOLUTELY YUMMY, as in I "Can I rub your head?") on dark-skinned Af-Am men (provided they have the right head shape.) I know a few who shaved even though they had a full head of hair. It really IS sexy.....
So when a white guy, or light Af-Am, shaves his head, it's not generally the BEST look, but it is FAR better than clinging to hair that's obviously trying to leave you. It's also a tad bit "edgy" for professional men.
As a result, I do look at them differently. Here's a man that (I assume) said, "F[ORGET] IT! I'm not going to cling to the past. I'm just going to shave it all off, even if it may be a bit risque."
And I gotta admit, the fact that a white or light skinned Af-Am decided to shave his head, despite the fact that it's a little edgy, makes it sexy, like he's the type that will make tough decisions, even though it's not physically as appealing as a dark skinned Af-Am man.
So they end up with the same amount of sexiness, but for different reasons (if that makes sense.)
It does, and I agree...sort of.
My husband claims that when he starts to go bald he will shave his head, but he's so pale I swear he'd look blue if he did. That'll take some getting used to. 0_o;
lol....