Why is it so difficult for us to choose our best photo

The researchers conducted an experiment Choosing face: The curse of self in profile image selection. : 102 students were selected and photos from their Facebook profiles were collected*. Young people were asked to rate their own photos in scores from 1 to 10 according to the following criteria: attractiveness, reliability, authority, confidence and competence. Then 160 participants who were not familiar with the first group rated the same photos according to the same criteria. The estimates did not match. The photos that the students considered their most successful received a lower grade in the second group.

This result surprised scientists. They expected that it would be easier for the participants to choose their own successful pictures, but it turned out that this was not the case. Interestingly, some dating sites have already noticed and taken this phenomenon into account. For example, Tinder recently started using an algorithm that selects the main profile photo based on the number of right swipes received.

So why can't we choose a good photo of ourselves, because we see our face in the mirror all our lives?

We see things that others don't know about.

First, our knowledge of ourselves distorts our perception when we try to interpret our facial expressions. For example, you know that you are a reliable person, so you automatically see yourself like this in your photo.

In addition, our perception is influenced by the effect of illusory superiority. It lies in the fact that we always rate ourselves higher than other people.

There is another aspect. We already perceive ourselves in a certain way before we look at the photo. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish what we really value: our own qualities or the qualities of the person in the photo.

You see dozens of photos of one person, and for those who don't know you, each photo tells its own story.

*Activity of Meta Platforms Inc. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram is prohibited in the territory of the Russian Federation.