THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HAIR
It turns out that my obsession with my roots actually has some roots of its own—in psychology, that is. Dr. Marianne LaFrance, Professor of Psychology and Professor of Woman’s and Gender Studies at Yale University, directed a study called First Impressions and Hair Impressions. The results point to the fact that people do draw impressions from a woman’s hair, to a surprising degree. Women with short hair are not necessarily perceived as adorable, as I had feared—instead, they are thought to be “confident and outgoing.” (But I’m still growing mine out. I’ve come too far not to.) As far as length goes, longer equals sexier (no surprise there) but medium-long connotes a higher intelligence.
