A new study just confirmed that makeup¹ does in fact make you feel smarter and can lead to better grades too.

一项最新研究证实，化妆确实能够让人感觉更聪明、并在考试中取得更好的分数。

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Chieti, Italy put the 'lipstick² effect' to the test and discovered that female students who wear makeup cognitively⁴ benefit from the psychological phenomenon⁵ in which wearing cosmetics⁶ can make an individual feel a sense of overall enhancement in self-esteem, attitude, and personality.

来自哈佛医学院和意大利基埃蒂大学的研究人员们对“口红效应”进行了研究，发现化妆的女学生可以从一种心理现象中受益--即化妆可以使个人在自尊、态度和性格方面得到整体提高。

The effect of makeup even proved to be a better predictor for higher grades than mood boosters like listening to positive music.

化妆还被证明可以让人在测试中拿到更高分数，甚至比听一些积极的音乐来提振自己心情更加有效。

In line with our predictions, we found a significant effect of make-up on a multiple-choice test performance, with scores being significantly higher compared to those obtained after listening to positive music,' the researchers wrote in an academic paper published in Cogent⁷ Psychology⁸.

研究者们在刊载在期刊《Cogent Psychology》上的一篇学术论文中写道：“就跟我们预期的一样，我们发现化妆对于多选测试有很大的影响，相比于那些听完音乐再参加测试的人来说，化妆的人分数要远远高于他们。”

It's well-documented that wearers feels more physically⁹ attractive and consequently revel¹⁰ in a higher sense of self-esteem while wearing makeup, but the effect of cosmetics on cognitive³ abilities hadn't previously¹¹ been determined¹².

众所周知，化妆的人会觉得自己的外表更有吸引力，因此陶醉在由化妆带来的这种更大的自尊中，但是化妆对认知能力的影响之前却并没有定论。

For the study, the team sorted 186 female undergraduate students into groups and gave them a simulated multiple choice university examination about general psychology.

在该项研究中，团队将186名女学生分成几个小组，并组织她们参与一场普通心理学方面的模拟多选测试。

Prior¹³, the groups undertook different mood-influencing tasks, including listening to a 'positive music excerpt,' coloring a drawing of a human face and applying makeup.

而在此之前，每个小组都进行了不同的影响心理的活动，包括听“积极的音乐”、涂画人脸以及化妆。

The researchers - led by Rocco Palumbo, a Cognitive Neuroscience PhD at Harvard Medical School - hypothesized the makeup group would experience the greatest lift in positive feelings and therefore outperform the other two groups on the test.

该项研究由哈佛医学院认知神经科学博士罗科·帕伦博领导，他们假设化妆组在积极情感方面的提升最多，因此她们的测验成绩应该好于其他两组。

The results supported the prediction.

实验的结果支持了研究人员的这一预测。

The study uncovered an increase in cognitive performance from the group who listened to positive music, but the test scores of the makeup group were 'significantly higher.'

该项研究表明，听积极的音乐的确可以提高人的认知能力，但是化妆组的得分要“远高于”对照组。

'These data indicate that positive emotions are not the sole mechanism¹⁴ responsible for the observed enhancement,' reads the paper's conclusion.

论文最后总结道：“这些数据表明，积极的情绪并不是导致试验中观测到的提高的唯一机制。”