Many of us have a certain pose for photos, but have you ever noticed your face has a tendency to turn to the right each time? If so, you’re not alone.
Research of paintings dating back to the 14th century has revealed people prefer to pose showing the left half of their face – and this might be because we consider our left side to be our best side.
That’s according to science writer and author Sam Kean who claims our left sides are more expressive than our right sides, because they are controlled by the part of our brain responsible for emotions.
During recent studies of paintings of Jesus on the cross, for example, 90 per cent of the images depicted him showing his left-hand side.
While further research into the poses of pupils in yearbooks found a similar trend.
According to Kean, author of The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, the majority of people are hard-wired to believe their left side to be more attractive than their right, and this belief influences their poses for photo.
Kean said: ‘The best explanation is that we don’t view the left and right halves of people’s faces in the exact same way.
‘People have a tendency to be more expressive with one half of the face, than the other half because out brains don’t quite work the same on the left side and the right side’
The left side of the brain controls language, for example, while the right side controls spatial awareness and identifying faces.
The right side of the brain also controls the left side of the body, making the left side more expressive.
Kean concluded: ‘We think we’re aware of most of what we’re doing, and it’s a little disconcerting to see this ticks, and these little things emerge, suddenly.’
