The glasses look smarter

Many children are embarrassed to wear glasses close to school. But an American researcher claims everyone looks smarter with glasses on their faces.

(Photo: childrensvision.com)

Jeffrey Walline, assistant professor at Ohio State University, USA, and his colleagues surveyed 42 girls and 38 boys aged 6 to 10 about their perceptions of glasses. Most think that children wearing glasses look smarter and more honest than others.

"Most children who wear glasses for the first time are afraid of their looks. Some of them refuse because they fear that they will look ugly," Walline said.

The group showed them 24 pairs of photos with glasses and no glasses, different in sex and race. Children will answer the question: Which would you prefer? Who looks smarter? Who looks good at playing sports? Who looks more beautiful? Who looks embarrassed? Who looks more honest?

In general, two-thirds of the respondents said that children wearing glasses all looked smarter, 57 percent said that those who wore glasses looked the most honest. Results are not affected regardless of whether the evaluator wears glasses. However, with the remaining questions, the study found no correlation.

"I will tell the children that wearing glasses is now a fashion, so children will not tend to choose you to play based on whether or not they wear glasses," Walline said.