Facial attractiveness in the eyes of men with high arousal

Abstract

IntroductionIndividuals differ in how they judge facial attractiveness. However, little is known about the role of arousal level and gender differences in individuals’ facial attractiveness judgments.MethodsWe used resting‐state electroencephalogram (EEG) to investigate this issue. A total of 48 men (aged 22.5 ± 3.03 years [mean ± SD], range: 18–30 years) and 27 women (aged 20.3 ± 2.03 years [mean ± SD], range: 18–25 years) participated in the experiment. After the EEG was collected, participants were instructed to complete a facial attractiveness judgment task. Connectome‐based predictive modeling was used to predict individual judgment of facial attractiveness.ResultsMen with high arousal judged female faces as more attractive (M = 3.85, SE = 0.81) than did men with low arousal (M = 3.33, SE = 0.81) and women (M = 3.24, SE = 1.02). Functional connectivity of the alpha band predicted judgment of female facial attractiveness in men but not in women. After controlling for the age and variability, the prediction effect was still significant.ConclusionOur results provide neural evidence for the enhancement of the judgment of facial attractiveness in men with high arousal levels, which supports the hypothesis that individuals’ spontaneous arousal contributes to variations in facial attractiveness preferences.