Human Skin Color: A Possible Relationship Between Its Sexual Dimorphism and Its Social Perception

Fröst, Peter

doi:10.1353/pbm.1988.0010

Cited by 96 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…This was done to further explore whether using lower WHRs than what has been commonly used so far (0.7, 0.8, 0.9, and 1.0) would significantly affect attractiveness ratings. In previous studies (e.g., Frost, 1988Frost, , 2007Frost, , 2008Frost, , 2011Swami, Furnham, & Joshi, 2008;van den Berghe & Frost, 1986), participants found lighter-skinned women to be more attractive. If skin tone plays a role in attractiveness, we would expect dark and light complexions to be assessed differently, as shown by eye movements and attractiveness ratings.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Neotenous traits are associated with childlike or juvenile characteristics, such as body fat, highpitched voice, and lighter skin. In women, a lighter skin tone may be associated with what is known as infantile mimicry, that is, these physical characteristics are said to serve as an elicitor of male nurturance, similar to nurturance given to a child (Frost, 1988(Frost, , 2007(Frost, , 2008(Frost, , 2011van den Berghe & Frost, 1986). A childlike appearance may also reduce aggressive male feelings and hence the likelihood of aggressive behavior.…”

Section: Attraction and Mate Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Male and Female Perception of Physical Attractiveness

2016

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Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and breast size are morphological traits that are associated with female attractiveness. Previous studies using line drawings of women have shown that men across cultures rate low WHRs (0.6 and 0.7) as most attractive. In this study, we used additional viewing measurements (i.e., first fixation duration and visual regressions) to measure visual attention and record how long participants first focused on the female body and whether they regressed back to an area of interest. Additionally, we manipulated skin tone to determine whether they preferred light-or dark-skinned women. In two eye tracking experiments, participants rated the attractiveness of female nude images varying in WHR (0.5-0.9), breast size, and skin tone. We measured first fixation duration, gaze duration, and total time. The overall results of both studies revealed that visual attention fell mostly on the face, the breasts, and the midriff of the female body, supporting the evolutionary view that reproductively relevant regions of the female body are important to female attractiveness. Because the stimuli varied in skin tone and the participants were mainly Hispanic of Mexican American descent, the findings from these studies also support a preference for low WHRs and reproductively relevant regions of the female body.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Attraction and Mate Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male and Female Perception of Physical Attractiveness

2016

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“…However, black has also been found to influence perception of aggression in athletes [22], and across cultures both black and red have been found to influence scoring of combat sport bouts [23]. In these studies, luminance and chroma were confounded, and it is known that these different dimensions have independent effects on social perceptions [16] and that skin darkness is sexually dimorphic and positively associated with testosterone [24]. Further work is needed to test for and separate out effects of hue and luminance and to determine whether there is an 'optimal red' related to biological signalling of traits such as aggressiveness and dominance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Red clothing increases perceived dominance, aggression and anger

et al. 2015

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The presence and intensity of red coloration correlate with male dominance and testosterone in a variety of animal species, and even artificial red stimuli can influence dominance interactions. In humans, red stimuli are perceived as more threatening and dominant than other colours, and wearing red increases the probability of winning sporting contests. We investigated whether red clothing biases the perception of aggression and dominance outside of competitive settings, and whether red influences decoding of emotional expressions. Participants rated digitally manipulated images of men for aggression and dominance and categorized the emotional state of these stimuli. Men were rated as more aggressive and more dominant when presented in red than when presented in either blue or grey. The effect on perceived aggression was found for male and female raters, but only male raters were sensitive to red as a signal of dominance. In a categorization test, images were significantly more often categorized as 'angry' when presented in the red condition, demonstrating that colour stimuli affect perceptions of emotions. This suggests that the colour red may be a cue used to predict propensity for dominance and aggression in human males.

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“…This pattern was consistent with the pattern widely reported in previous studies. 4,17,60 That females show a lower variance in L* than males would also indicate either usage of sunscreen or avoidance of exposure to UV among females. This finding may reflect the trend among Japanese females living in Okinawa to desire a light skin tone, as documented in other cities in East Asia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of melanocortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R) polymorphisms with skin reflectance and freckles in Japanese

et al. 2012

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Most studies on the genetic basis of human skin pigmentation have focused on people of European ancestry and only a few studies have focused on Asian populations. We investigated the association of skin reflectance and freckling with genetic variants of melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene in Japanese. DNA samples were obtained from a total of 653 Japanese individuals (ages 19-40 years) residing in Okinawa; skin reflectance was measured using a spectrophotometer and freckling status was determined for each individual. Lightness index (L*) and freckling status were not correlated with age, body mass index or ancestry (Ryukyuan or Main Islanders of Japan). Among the 10 nonsynonymous variants that were identified by direct sequencing of the coding region of MC1R, two variants-R163Q and V92M-with the derived allele frequencies of 78.6 and 5.5%, respectively, were most common. Multiple regression analysis showed that the 163Q allele and the presence of nonsynonymous rare variants (allele frequencies o5%) were significantly associated with an increase in sex-standardized skin lightness (L* of CIELAB (CIE 1976 (L*a*b*) color space)) of the inner upper arm. Relative to the 92V allele, the 92M allele was significantly associated with increased odds of freckling. This is the first study to show an association between the 163Q allele and skin reflectance values; this association indicated that light-toned skin may have been subjected to positive selection in East Asian people.

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Human Skin Color: A Possible Relationship Between Its Sexual Dimorphism and Its Social Perception

Cited by 96 publications

References 55 publications

Male and Female Perception of Physical Attractiveness

Male and Female Perception of Physical Attractiveness

Red clothing increases perceived dominance, aggression and anger

Association of melanocortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R) polymorphisms with skin reflectance and freckles in Japanese

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