Perceptions of inferred parental ability through sexually dimorphic facial features

In addition to providing robust cues diagnostic of prospective mates' heritable fitness, various physical features could be similarly utilized in inferring individuals' parental abilities. This study sought to explore how variations in sexually dimorphic facial features inform perceptions of social targets as motivated to provide parental care. American undergraduates (N = 244) viewed a series of 12 total male and female faces manipulated at varying degrees of sex-typicality (i.e., masculinized versus feminized versus unaltered controls) on a within-subjects basis, and rated the perceived motivation of each target to nurture and protect a child using items derived from the Parental Care and Tenderness Scale. Female targets were perceived as more motivated by parental care than male targets, F(1, 240) = 14.86, p < .001, η_p² = 0.058, whereas male targets were perceived as specifically motivated to protect offspring, F(1, 240) = 177.32, p < .001, η_p² = 0.425. Feminized targets were additionally perceived as more motivated by nurturance, though such inferences were apparent for both male and female targets, F(1, 240) = 7.36, p < .001, η_p² = 0.058. Findings represent an understanding of perceivers use of functional heuristics of sexual dimorphism in identifying optimal parents.