Women have long known how that extra flick¹ of eyeliner or dash of lipstick² can boost their confidence.

女性们一直都知道涂点眼线和唇膏可以帮助她们提高自信。

And now, it seems, it’s also more likely to help them pass exams.

而现在看起来，这还可能帮助她们顺利通过考试。

Research shows that women who put on make-up before taking a test achieved ten to 20 percent higher marks than those who did not wear any.

研究发现，考试前化妆的女性比不化妆的女性成绩高出10%到20%。

Psychologists say the result could be down to the ‘lipstick effect’, whereby using make-up boosts self-esteem and has a knock-on effect on memory, confidence and mental ability.

心理学家认为，这是出于“口红效应”，通过化妆提升自尊心，这对记忆力、自信心和心智能力有连锁反应。

The study in journal Cogent³ Psychology⁴ involved 200 female undergraduates, all studying the same subject with similar self-esteem, make-up habits and IQs.

研究调查了200名女性本科生，所有人都学习同一科目，自尊心、化妆习惯和智商也类似。研究结果发表在《令人信服的心理学》期刊上。

The women were randomly⁵ split into three groups and asked to put on make-up, listen to music, or draw. All then took an exam based on a chapter of a textbook they had just read. Results showed the women who used cosmetics⁶ scored an average of 24.2 out of 30, compared to 19.9 and 22 in the other groups.

这些女性被随机分为三组，分别被要求化妆、听音乐和画画。之后所有人参加考试，总分30分，内容是她们刚刚阅读过的一章课本内容。结果显示，化妆的女性平均分为24.2，另外两组平均分分别是19.9和22。

The researchers, from Harvard Medical School and Chieti University in Italy, said: ‘Women may use make-up to increase self-esteem by boosting their attractiveness; this makes them feel better during stress. Positive emotions increase information accessible in memory.’

哈佛医学院和意大利基耶蒂大学的研究人员说：“女性可能会通过化妆来增强自信心，进而提升魅力，这让她们在压力之下感觉更好。积极的情绪有助于提高记忆力。”