Evidence from Meta-Analyses of the Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as an Evolved Cue of Threat

Abstract

The facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) is the width of the face divided by the height of the upper face. There is mixed evidence for the hypothesis that the FWHR is a cue of threat and dominance in the human face. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses of all peer-reviewed studies (and 2 unpublished studies) to estimate the magnitude of the sex difference in the FWHR, and the magnitude of the relationship between the FWHR and threatening and dominant behaviours and perceptions. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the authors reported an analysis involving the FWHR. Our analyses revealed that the FWHR was larger in men than in women ( = .11, n = 10,853), cued judgements of masculinity in men ( = .35, n of faces = 487; n of observers = 339), and was related to body mass index ( = .31, n = 2,506). Further, the FWHR predicted both threat behaviour in men ( = .16, n = 4,603) and dominance behaviour in both sexes ( = .12, n = 948) across a variety of indices. Individuals with larger FWHRs were judged by observers as more threatening ( = .46, n of faces = 1,691; n of observers = 2,076) and more dominant ( = .20, n of faces = 603; n of observers = 236) than those with smaller FWHRs. Individuals with larger FWHRs were also judged as less attractive ( = -.26, n of faces = 721; n of observers = 335), especially when women made the judgements. These findings provide some support for the hypothesis that the FWHR is part of an evolved cueing system of intra-sexual threat and dominance in men. A limitation of the meta-analyses on perceptions of threat and dominance were the low number of stimuli involving female and older adult faces.

Predictably Angry: Facial Cues Provide a Credible Signal of Destructive Behavior

“…For males, we don't find a relation between fWHR and rejection, despite the fact that fWHR has been associated with threat behavior for men and not for women (Geniole et al 2015). …”

“…The facial measures we use are (1) facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), (2) facial masculinity (fM), (3) and facial asymmetry (fA). In human males, a small but significant relationship exists between fWHR and aggressive tendencies (see Geniole et al, 2015;Haselhuhn, Ormison and Wong, 2015 for meta-studies).…”

Facing humanness: Facial width-to-height ratio predicts ascriptions of humanity.

“…In the current work, we focused on fWHR as a facial stereotype, demonstrating the relationship between fWHR and how targets are perceived. Past work has found that individuals with relatively higher fWHR are perceived as threatening, dominant, and angry (e.g., Geniole et al, 2015). suggests that they should be the most deserving of protection.…”

Body Mass Index Predicts Fighting Ability in Female UFC Fighters, but Facial Width-to-Height Ratio May Not

“…However, in addition to the possibility that we were simply unable to detect effects of fWHR due to sample size, the results of a recent meta-analysis showed that BMI and fWHR are positively significantly correlated (Geniole et al 2015), suggesting that fWHR may still have an important association with formidability in women. Indeed, Lefevre et al (2014) showed that women's selfreported verbal aggression was positively related to fWHR.…”

“…Although the results of a recent meta-analaysis showed a positive association between fWHR and BMI in women (Geniole et al 2015), a relative lack of data from studies investigating the relationship between these variables and women's threat and dominance behavior precludes the conclusion that either is an exclusive indicator of their formidability. In order to determine whether fWHR or body size provides a more accurate indication of formidability in women, we investigated whether fWHR and BMI were significant predictors of fighting ability in professional female fighters.…”