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The use of disclaimer labels on digitally enhanced portraits could have unintended social consequences for their subjects, according to a study by a team of McGill researchers.

Researchers at the Laboratory for Attention and Social Cognition used beauty filters on a common social media application to gradually edit a total of 300 images of 60 women (from 0% to 100%, 25% at a time). They randomly labeled half of the images as "edited" and the other half as "unedited," regardless of their level of editing.

A sample of 76 undergraduate students then reviewed the images. The participants were asked to rate the individual's attractiveness, but also to imagine the person's social life and some of their social qualities.

"We found that, as the degree of photo editing increased, the individuals in the photos were perceived to be more attractive and to have a bigger social circle, though this came at the cost of the individuals also being perceived to provide lower friendship quality and to be less enjoyable to be with," said Sarah McCrackin, a postdoctoral researcher at the laboratory.

"The presence of an 'edited' label on the picture did not affect perceived attractiveness ratings, but it did reduce the ratings for friendship quality and interaction enjoyability," McCrackin said.

Previous studies on photo editing have mainly focused on the potential impact of altered photos on viewers, such as lower self-esteem or body satisfaction. This was one of the first studies to look at how those who post such images are perceived. As public discussions have emerged in the last few years on the need to add disclaimer labels on digitally altered photos, this research highlights how such labels might have unintended social consequences.

The research, now in the journal Current Psychology, also revealed there might be an optimal degree to which a photo could be edited before the subject is perceived as less attractive.

"Intermediate levels of editing led to the highest attractiveness ratings, while the highest degrees of editing were rated around the same as the lowest editing levels," McCrackin said.

The researcher said the team hopes to diversify its study participant base to better understand perceptions of enhanced photographs across a variety of characteristics, such as age, personal photo editing behaviors and attitudes toward photo editing.

"We do not know much about how social media has altered our social perceptions of others. It is important to understand how to foster social connections and well-being in the ever-changing digital landscape," McCrackin said.