What do women want? Facialmetric assessment of multiple motives in the perception of male facial physical attractiveness

The multiple motive hypothesis of physical attractiveness suggests that women are attracted to men whose appearances elicit their nurturant feelings, who appear to possess sexual maturity and dominance characteristics, who seem sociable, approacheable, and of high social status. Those multiple motives may cause people to be attracted to individuals who display an optimal combination of neotenous, mature, and expressive facial features, plus desirable grooming attributes. Three quasi-experiments demonstrated that men who possessed the neotenous features of large eyes, the mature features of prominent cheekbones and a large chin, the expressive feature of a big smile, and high-status clothing were seen as more attractive than other men. Further supporting the multiple motive hypothesis, the 2nd and 3rd studies indicated that impressions of attractiveness had strong relations with selections of men to date and to marry but had a curvilinear relation with perceptions of a baby face vs. a mature face.     

The relative influence of facial neoteny and waist-to-hip ratio on judgements of female attractiveness and fecundity

Numerous studies have demonstrated that waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) affects perceptions of female physical attractiveness and fecundity. This study tested the assumption that facial attractiveness explained more variance in overall ratings and fecundity than WHR, when the latter is manipulated within the normal range (0.67 - 0.85). One hundred and sixty-one participants (mean age = 21.5) rated the attractiveness, youthfulness, fertility, healthiness and likelihood of being pregnant for 27 photographs of three females in which facial attractiveness in terms of neoteny (three levels) and WHR (three levels) had been systematically digitally manipulated. Facial attractiveness exerted a significant influence on judgements of attractiveness, youthfulness, fertility and healthiness, whereas WHR only affected likelihood of being pregnant. Results are interpreted in terms of neotenous facial attractiveness providing potential mates with information concerning phenotypic and genetic quality.     

Symmetry, averageness, and feature size in the facial attractiveness of women

Female facial attractiveness was investigated by comparing the ratings made by male judges with the metric characteristics of female faces. Three kinds of facial characteristics were considered: facial symmetry, averageness, and size of individual features. The results suggested that female face attractiveness is greater when the face is symmetrical, is close to the average, and has certain features (e.g., large eyes, prominent cheekbones, thick lips, thin eyebrows, and a small nose and chin). Nevertheless, the detrimental effect of asymmetry appears to result solely from the fact that an asymmetrical face is a face that deviates from the norm. In addition, a factor analysis indicated that averageness best accounts for female attractiveness, but certain specific features can also be enhancing.     

Was that a man? Sex identification as a function of menstrual cycle and masculinity

The accuracy of female perceivers on a face sex‐categorization task was investigated as a function of perceivers' menstrual cycle and target facial qualities. Regularly ovulating female participants completed a sex‐categorization task twice, once during ovulation (high fertility) and once during menstruation (low fertility). Perceivers made more errors in identifying male than female faces at both testing sessions. Fewer errors were made in identifying male targets rated high on masculinity, but only during periods of high fertility. For female targets accuracy was negatively associated with masculinity and positively associated with attractiveness ratings, at both high and low fertility testing sessions. Results are discussed in terms of adaptive person construal. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When facial attractiveness is only skin deep

Whilst the relationship between aspects of facial shape and attractiveness has been extensively studied, few studies have investigated which characteristics of the surface of faces positively influence attractiveness judgments. As many researchers have proposed a link between attractiveness and traits that appear healthy, apparent health of facial skin might be a property of the surface of faces that positively influences attractiveness judgments. In experiment 1 we tested for a positive correlation between ratings of the apparent health of small skin patches (extracted from the left and right cheeks of digital face images) and ratings of the attractiveness of male faces. By using computer-graphics faces, in experiment 2 we aimed to establish if apparent health of skin influences male facial attractiveness independently of shape information. Results suggest that apparent health of facial skin is correlated both with ratings of male facial attractiveness (experiment 1) and with being a visual cue for judgments of the attractiveness of male faces (experiment 2). These findings underline the importance of controlling for the influence of visible skin condition in studies of facial attractiveness and are consistent with the proposal that attractive physical traits are those that positively influence others' perceptions of an individual's health.     

男性化与女性化对面孔偏好的影响—— 基于图像处理技术和眼动的检验

采用图像处理技术和眼动探讨了性别二态线索对面孔偏好的影响。实验1发现非面孔线索未掩蔽和掩蔽时, 感知男性化技术与原始照片条件下女性化的男性面孔更有吸引力和信任度; 性别二态技术条件下, 非面孔线索未掩蔽时男性化的男性面孔更有吸引力和信任度。实验2表明被试对男性面孔的平均瞳孔大小和注视次数均大于和多于女性面孔, 首次注视时间短于女性面孔; 被试对男性化面孔的首次注视时间和首次注视持续时间均长于女性化面孔。     

Cross-channel effects of vocal and physical attractiveness and their implications for interpersonal perception

Judges' ratings of senders' vocal attractiveness from face-plus-voice (F+V) cues were influenced by senders' physical attractiveness, and ratings of senders' physical attractiveness from F+V cues were influenced by senders' vocal attractiveness. This occurred even when judges were warned not to pay attention to face when rating vocal attractiveness and not to pay attention to voice when rating physical attractiveness. Instructions to judge attractiveness without being told which channel to attend to resulted in ratings influenced by both vocal and physical attractiveness of senders. Because of cross-channel effects, F+V attractiveness ratings should be more highly related to F+V personality impressions than attractiveness ratings based on only face or only voice. The results supported this hypothesis. Implications of cross-channel effects for research on the attractiveness stereotype were discussed.     

Maternal perceptions of and sensitivity toward very low birthweight infants with and without postnatal headmolding

To explore the attractiveness of VLBW infants with postnatal headmolding, 29 mothers of VLBW infants and 29 mothers of full-terms rated complimentary photographs of VLBW newborns with postnatal headmolding, VLBW newborns without postnatal headmolding, and full-term newborns. In a second study, facial conformation and infant attractiveness were assessed to determine the degree to which babyish head-shapes and infant attractiveness differed between VLBW and full-term infants. Finally, infant history, measures of facial conformation, and infant attractiveness ratings were regressed on maternal responsiveness scores. Overall, mothers rated photographs of VLBW newborns with postnatal headmolding as less cute; however, mothers of VLBW infants rated photographs of VLBW newborns with postnatal headmolding as more cute than did mothers of full-term infants. During the second half of the first year of life, VLBW infants had narrower mouths, their eyes were closer to the sides of the face, and there was a tendency for VLBW infants to have narrower heads; however, overall attractiveness ratings of VLBW and full-term infants did not differ. More babyish head shape (wider head shape, more babyish facial features) significantly predicted maternal responsiveness to infant cues in a freeplay session. Findings demonstrate that VLBW newborns with postnatal headmolding are more vulnerable to negative evaluations of perceived attractiveness, differences in head shape are evident in the second half of the first year of life, and babyish headshape may be one factor that affects the degree to which infants are able to elicit sensitive maternal responses.     

The importance of the individual in the ‘causal’ relationship between attractiveness and self-esteem

This paper argues that many psychological explanations underlying health and social behaviour stress the importance of the relationship between attractiveness and self-esteem. The nature of this relationship is not well understood, yet can have important implications for the individual in areas of medical intervention which involve treatment on aesthetic grounds. A survey of psychosocial factors among 1018 children aged 11-12 years is reported. The study examined the association between perception of physical attractiveness and self-esteem in order to clarify the relationship between self-esteem and self versus others' perception of attractiveness. Self-ratings of attractiveness were linked to judges' ratings to determine whether subjects underrated, over-rated, or accurately perceived their own physical attractiveness. The results showed that although ratings of general facial attractiveness by others were associated with self-perceived attractiveness, in the specific area of dental health, attractiveness (as judged by others) was not. There were no significant relationships between ratings of attractiveness by others and self-esteem. Self-perception of attractiveness, however, was significantly associated with self-esteem. Further analyses showed that children who under-rated their own facial attractiveness had a lower mean score for self-esteem than over-raters or accurate perceivers (who did not differ significantly). In contrast, under-raters of dental attractiveness had a lower mean score for self-esteem than over-raters, but did not differ significantly from accurate perceivers. Over-raters of dental attractiveness had a higher mean score for self-esteem than accurate perceivers. These finding suggest that if an over-rater were to receive treatment on aesthetic grounds it is unlikely, given that they have high self-esteem already, that such intervention will have a profound psychological impact. These data indicate the importance of determining the way in which individuals evaluate their appearance compared to others, and may help to clarify previously equivocal findings concerning the relationship between self-esteem and attractiveness.     

Temporal shifts in eye gaze and facial expressions independently contribute to the perceived attractiveness of unfamiliar faces

ABSTRACT

We investigated whether attractiveness ratings of expressive faces would be affected by gaze shifts towards or away from the observer. In all experiments, effects of facial expression were found, with higher attractiveness ratings to positive over negative expressions, irrespective of effects of gaze-shifts. In the first experiment faces with gaze shifts away from the observer were preferred. However, when the dynamics of the gaze shift was disrupted, by adding an intermediate delay, the effect of direction of gaze shift disappeared. By manipulating the relative duration of each gaze direction during a gaze shift we found higher attractiveness ratings to faces with a longer duration of direct gaze, particularly in the initial exposure to a face. Our findings suggest that although the temporal dynamics of eye gaze and facial expressions influence the aesthetic evaluation of faces, these cues appear to act independently rather than in an integrated manner for social perception.     

女性面孔吸引力的加工及其对男性诚实道德行为的影响:一项ERP研究

研究考察了不同女性面孔吸引力情境对男性被试诚实道德决策行为的影响,同时采用ERP技术对社会情境中面孔吸引力的信息加工方式特点进行探究。结果发现,高面孔吸引力记录员情境中被试倾向更加真实地报告自己的预测结果而表现出更多诚实的道德决策;ERP结果则发现高吸引力记录员面孔较之于低吸引力记录员面孔在反应提示界面在大脑中后部诱发更大的早期N200成分。结果提示,在与面孔审美评价无关的社会情境中个体面孔的吸引力信息能够被快速识别与自动化加工,同时也会直接促进他人自身的道德行为水平。     

Perceiving Aggression from Facial Structure: Further Evidence for a Positive Association with Facial Width‐to‐Height Ratio and Masculinity,but not for Moderation by Self‐Reported Dominance

Recent work has indicated that individual differences in facial structure are linked to perceptions of aggressiveness. In particular, the relative width of a face [facial width‐to‐height ratio (fWHR)] has been suggested to be a reliable cue to aggressive behaviour, at least in men. Additionally, facial masculinity has been associated with perceptions of dominance, a close proxy of aggressiveness. In two studies, we assessed the robustness of this link using faces transformed along these vectors in men (Studies 1 and 2) and women (Study 2). Additionally, we examined whether individual differences in self‐reported dominance of perceivers moderated this association in order to extend previous work indicating that own dominance affects perception of such behaviour in others. Results indicated that both male and female faces with increased fWHR and increased facial masculinity were perceived as more aggressive. However, we found no systematic evidence for moderating effects of self‐reported dominance on the perception of aggression in others. Taken together, these results further support the robustness of fWHR and facial masculinity as cues to aggressiveness but question whether observers' own dominance moderates their perception of these cues in others. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Computational models of facial attractiveness judgments

We designed two computational models to replicate human facial attractiveness ratings. The primary model used partial least squares (PLS) to identify image factors associated with facial attractiveness from facial images and attractiveness ratings of those images. For comparison we also made a model similar to previous models of facial attractiveness, in that it used manually derived measurements between features as inputs, though we took the additional step of dimensionality reduction via principal component analysis (PCA) and weighting of PCA dimensions via a perceptron. Strikingly, both models produced estimates of facial attractiveness that were indistinguishable from human ratings. Because PLS extracts a small number of image factors from the facial images that covary with attractiveness ratings of the images, it is possible to determine the information used by the model. The image factors that the model discovered correspond to two of the main contemporary hypotheses of averageness judgments: facial attractiveness and sexual dimorphism. In contrast, facial symmetry was not important to the model, and an explicit feature-based measurement of symmetry was not correlated with human judgments of facial attractiveness. This provides novel evidence for the importance of averageness and sexual dimorphism, but not symmetry, in human judgments of facial attractiveness.     

Social Psychological Face Perception: Why Appearance Matters

We form first impressions from faces despite warnings not to do so. Moreover, there is considerable agreement in our impressions, which carry significant social outcomes. Appearance matters because some facial qualities are so useful in guiding adaptive behavior that even a trace of those qualities can create an impression. Specifically, the qualities revealed by facial cues that characterize low fitness, babies, emotion, and identity are overgeneralized to people whose facial appearance resembles the unfit (anomalous face overgeneralization), babies (babyface overgeneralization), a particular emotion (emotion face overgeneralization), or a particular identity (familiar face overgeneralization). We review studies that support the overgeneralization hypotheses and recommend research that incorporates additional tenets of the ecological theory from which these hypotheses are derived: the contribution of dynamic and multi‐modal stimulus information to face perception; bidirectional relationships between behavior and face perception; perceptual learning mechanisms and social goals that sensitize perceivers to particular information in faces.     

面孔参照或观察者参照：性别二态线索、面孔吸引力与表情对正视面孔偏好的影响

本研究探讨了性别二态线索、面孔吸引力和表情对正视面孔偏好的影响。实验1基于面孔参照,被试普遍偏好正视面孔;相对男性化/厌恶和生气/低吸引力的面孔,被试更偏好女性化/高兴和中性/高吸引力的正视面孔;实验2基于观察者参照,总体并未表现出正视偏好;对低吸引力/中性表情/男性化面孔更偏好斜视面孔。     

Inferring the preferences of others from spontaneous, low-emotional facial expressions

The present study investigates whether people can infer the preferences of others from spontaneous facial expressions alone. We utilize a paradigm that unobtrusively records people's natural facial reactions to relatively mundane stimuli while they simultaneously report which ones they find more appealing. Videos were then presented to perceivers who attempted to infer the choices of the target individuals—thereby linking perceiver inferences to objective outcomes. Perceivers demonstrated above-chance ability to infer target preferences across four different stimulus categories: people (attractiveness), cartoons (humor), paintings (decorative appeal), and animals (cuteness). While perceivers' subjective ratings of expressivity varied somewhat between targets, these ratings did not predict the relative “readability” of the targets. The findings suggest that noncommunicative, natural facial behavior by itself suffices for certain types interpersonal prediction, even in low-emotional contexts.     

Threat and social-choice: when eye size matters

The Environmental Security Hypothesis (T. F. Pettijohn II & A. Tesser, 1999) indicates that as environmental threat increases, the desirability of persons with neotenous features should decrease. In 2 experiments (Ns = 96, 80), the authors tested this hypothesis and a mediation account that was based on the attributions made about neotenous and mature-featured others. In each experiment, the authors manipulated threat and gave participants the choice of a neotenous (increased eye-size) or mature (decreased eye-size) female partner. The authors tested mediation in Study 1 by experimentally uncoupling attributions from facial features and in Study 2 by manipulating the participant's dependence on his or her partner. Both studies provided evidence for the Environmental Security Hypothesis: Preference for partners with neotenous facial features decreased under high threat. Support for the role of attributions as mediators was mixed. An alternative interpretation of the results indicates the possibility that responses to facial features may depend on nonconscious processing.     

Normal face-based judgements of social characteristics despite severely impaired holistic face processing

Initial evidence indicates that face-based judgements of socially relevant characteristics such as people's trustworthiness or attractiveness are linked to the configural/holistic processing of facial cues. What remains a matter of debate, however, is whether such processing is actually necessary for normal social judgements to occur and whether it resembles the type of integrative processing as required for facial identification. To address these issues, we asked a well-characterized case of acquired prosopagnosia (PS) with a marked deficit in holistic processing for face identity to rate a series of faces on several dimensions of social relevance. PS provided ratings within the normal range for most of the social characteristics probed (i.e., aggression, attractiveness, confidence, intelligence, sociability, trustworthiness). Her evaluations deviated from those of healthy controls only when facial dominance was concerned. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the inability to integrate facial information during face individuation does not necessarily translate into a generalized deficit to evaluate faces on social dimensions.     

基于儒家文化的“帝王相”之民间意象的首次探索

本研究通过评价不同性别二态线索和吸引力的面孔图片来考察儒家文化下人们心中帝王面孔形象。采用FaceGen Modeller 3.1操作面孔性别二态线索,并通过PhotoShop CS5合成面孔材料。研究发现:被试认为女性化的男性面孔比男性化的男性面孔更具"帝王相";低吸引力的女性化男性面孔比高吸引力的女性化男性面孔更具"帝王相";不同性别被试之间的评价无显著差异。上述结果显示,在儒家文化影响下,人们偏好具有女性化面孔特点的帝王。