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Past research indicates that salient concerns with infectious disease reduce individuals' self-reporting of extraverted personality trait characteristics, an adaptive response to mitigate exposure to pathogenically threatening conspecifics. Additionally, individuals are capable of accurately inferring another person's level of extraversion from facial cues alone. Extending these findings, we hypothesized that disease concerns should result in a reduced preference for extraverts, as indexed by facial cues, given that such persons may comprise a greater disease threat due to increased contact with a greater number of conspecifics. To test this hypothesis, participants were randomly assigned to either disease or control prime conditions, reported face preferences among face pairs containing target faces manipulated to communicate extraversion or introversion, and indicated dispositional pathogen concerns. Contrary to hypotheses, acute disease activation did not influence face preferences. However, men with dispositionally higher perceived infectability (PI) demonstrated reduced preferences for extraverted female faces, whereas higher PI in women predicted a reduced preference for extraverted male faces. This relationship between higher PI and reduced preferences for extraverted faces provides partial support for the hypothesis that pathogen concerns facilitate stronger preferences for reticent individuals, an adaptive response to mitigate contact with disease vectors.

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Limbal rings are dark annuli encircling the iris that fluctuate in visibility based on health and age. Research also indicates their presence augments facial attractiveness. Given individuals' prioritization of health cues in short-term mates, those with limbal rings may be implicated as ideal short-term mates. Three studies tested whether limbal rings serve as veridical health cues, specifically the extent to which this cue enhances a person's value as a short-term mating partner. In Study 1, targets with limbal rings were rated as healthier, an effect that was stronger for female participants and male targets. In Study 2, temporally activated short-term mating motives led women to report a heightened preference for targets with limbal rings. In Study 3, women rated targets with limbal rings as more desirable short-term mates. Results provide evidence for limbal rings as veridical cues to health, particularly in relevant mating domains.

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