Perception of Beauty in the Visually Blind: A Pilot Observational Study

BACKGROUNDBlind individuals have demonstrated the ability to detect danger and facial expressions without conscious awareness of visual stimuli. These embodied sensations are believed to be the result of primitive neural networks refined by evolutionary adaptations. We postulate that similar embodied sensations may have evolved to allow blind individuals to perceive beauty. OBJECTIVETo determine whether the visually blind can detect physical beauty. PATIENTS AND METHODSThis observational study consisted of 8 blind and 10 nonblind test subjects and 6 models that were categorized into predetermined beauty categories. Test subjects were individually asked to rate 6 models on a 1 to 10 numerical beauty scale. This process was repeated in both groups while blindfolded (masked). All groupsʼ mean model beauty scores underwent multivariate and univariate analysis. RESULTSAll groups rated preselected (greater than 8) more beautiful models, higher except for the masked, nonblind group. Intraclass correlation was good in the blind raters with a score of 0.751, whereas poor in the nonblind masked raters with a score of 0.458. CONCLUSIONThis is the first pilot study demonstrating with supporting evidence that blind individuals can detect beauty and supports that beauty may rely on primal forms of messaging that are subconsciously appreciated.