Concordant preferences for opposite–sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics

Cornwell, R. Elisabeth; Boothroyd, Lynda G.; Burt, D. M.; Feinberg, David R.; Jones, Benedict C.; Little, Anthony C.; Pitman, Robert M.; Whiten, S; Perrett, David I.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2649

Cited by 98 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…effects of menstrual cycle phase, oral contraceptive use, and pregnancy, JOHNSTON et al 2001;JONES et al 2005;PENTON-VOAK et al 1999), that the strengths of preferences for masculinity in different modalities are related (e.g. concordant preferences for masculine faces and putative male pheromones, CORNWELL et al 2004), and that physical and genetic similarity affect preferences (DEBRUINE 2004;ROBERTS et al 2005b). Complementing these demonstrations of systematic variations in face preferences, here we show that perceived vulnerability to disease predicts the strength of men and women's preferences for facial cues associated with illness, potentially reducing the likelihood of individuals who are particularly vulnerable to disease contracting illnesses during social interactions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived vulnerability to disease is positively related to the strength of preferences for apparent health in faces

Welling¹,

Conway²,

DeBruine³

et al. 2007

Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:People who are particularly vulnerable to disease may reduce their likelihood of contracting illnesses during social interactions by having particularly strong aversions to individuals who appear ill. Consistent with this proposal, here we show that men and women who perceive themselves to be particularly vulnerable to disease have stronger preferences for apparent health in dynamic faces than individuals who perceive themselves to be relatively less vulnerable to disease. This relationship was independent of possible effects of general disgust sensitivity. Furthermore, perceived vulnerability to disease was not related to preferences for other facial cues that are attractive but do not necessarily signal an individual's current health (i.e. perceiver-directed smiles). Our findings complement previous studies implicating perceived vulnerability to disease in attitudes to out-group individuals and those with physical abnormalities by implicating perceived vulnerability to disease as a factor in face preferences. Collectively, our findings reveal a relatively domain-specific association between perceived vulnerability to disease and the strength of aversions to facial cues associated with illness. Additionally, they are further evidence that variation in attractiveness judgments is not arbitrary, but rather reflects potentially adaptive individual differences in face preferences.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived vulnerability to disease is positively related to the strength of preferences for apparent health in faces

Welling¹,

Conway²,

DeBruine³

et al. 2007

Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Women have been found to prefer more masculinized male faces in some studies (Grammer & Thornhill 1994;Scheib et al 1999;, and to prefer more feminized male faces in others (Perrett et al 1998;Penton-Voak et al 1999. Women are not the only ones who appear fickle, as male preferences for feminine facial characteristics also vary among individuals (Cunningham et al 1995;Swaddle & Reierson 2002;Cornwell et al 2004). So, if women and men concur on facial attractiveness but differ on preferences of sexual dimorphism, is there an aesthetic quality in the human face that we do not yet fully understand?…”

Section: Sexual Development and Facial Attraction R E Cornwell And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive strategy, sexual development and attraction to facial characteristics

Cornwell

Smith

Boothroyd

et al. 2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual reproduction strategies vary both between and within species in the level of investment in offspring. Life-history theories suggest that the rate of sexual maturation is critically linked to reproductive strategy, with high investment being associated with few offspring and delayed maturation. For humans, age of puberty and age of first sex are two developmental milestones that have been associated with reproductive strategies. Stress during early development can retard or accelerate sexual maturation and reproduction. Early age of menarche is associated with absence of younger siblings, absence of a father figure during early life and increased weight. Father absence during early life is also associated with early marriage, pregnancy and divorce.Choice of partner characteristics is critical to successful implementation of sexual strategies. It has been suggested that sexually dimorphic traits (including those evident in the face) signal high-quality immune function and reproductive status. Masculinity in males has also been associated with low investment in mate and offspring. Thus, women's reproductive strategy should be matched to the probability of male investment, hence to male masculinity.Our review leads us to predict associations between the rate of sexual maturation and adult preferences for facial characteristics (enhanced sexual dimorphism and attractiveness). We find for men, engaging in sex at an early age is related to an increased preference for feminized female faces. Similarly, for women, the earlier the age of first sex the greater the preference for masculinity in opposite-sex faces. When we controlled sexual dimorphism in male faces, the speed of sexual development in women was not associated with differences in preference for male facial attractiveness.These developmental influences on partner choice were not mediated by self-rated attractiveness or parental relationships. We conclude that individuals assort in preferences based on the rapidity of their sexual development. Fast developing individuals prefer opposite-sex partners with an increased level of sexually dimorphic facial characteristics.

show abstract

“…6 of these base faces were then transformed along the dimensions of masculinity (sexual dimorphism) and 6 were transformed on apparent health using the same methodology as in Stimuli Set A but with new independent composites being used for the transforms. The masculinity and health stimuli have previously been reported by Cornwell et al (2004) and respectively. The only departure from the methodology used in Study 1a was in the age transforms applied to the remaining 6 base faces.…”

Section: Stimuli (Set B)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Facial masculinity is related to perceived age but not perceived health

Boothroyd¹,

Jones²,

Burt³

et al. 2005

Evolution and Human Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Publisher's copyright statement:Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTVariation in women's preferences for male facial masculinity may reflect variation in attraction to immunocompetence or to maturity. This paper reports two studies on a) the inter-relationships between women's preferences for masculinity, apparent health and age in male faces and b) the extent to which manipulating each of these characteristics affects women's attributions of the remaining characteristics.Both studies were carried out with a large sample of the general public (Studies 1a and 2a) and independently in a lab environment with smaller undergraduate samples (Studies 1b and 2b). In both samples, masculinity and age preferences were positively related and masculinity preferences were not associated with preferences for apparent health. There was also a positive relationship between perceived age and perceived masculinity in both samples, but evidence for a link between perceptions of masculinity and health was equivocal. Collectively these findings suggest that variation in women's preferences for masculine proportions in male faces reflect variation in attraction to male age and do not support a strict immunocompetence explanation of preferences for facial masculinity.

show abstract

Concordant preferences for opposite–sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics

Cited by 98 publications

References 42 publications

Perceived vulnerability to disease is positively related to the strength of preferences for apparent health in faces

Perceived vulnerability to disease is positively related to the strength of preferences for apparent health in faces

Reproductive strategy, sexual development and attraction to facial characteristics

Facial masculinity is related to perceived age but not perceived health

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About