Facial attractiveness judgements reflect learning of parental age characteristics

Perrett, David I.; Penton-Voak, Ian S.; Little, Anthony C.; Tiddeman, Bernard; Burt, D. M.; Schmidt, Natalie; Oxley, Roz; Kinloch, Nicholas; Barrett, Louise

doi:10.1098/rspb.2002.1971

Cited by 120 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…A side effect of developmental plasticity in the face processing regions of the brain may bias mate choice towards specific familial traits. As children are exposed to the faces of their parents more than those of other adults, these characteristics may be particularly important in influencing mate preferences ( Perrett et al 2002). However, as we have seen, familiarity, in itself, is not likely to lead individuals to search for a partner who fits their parents' mental template.…”

Section: R E T R a C T E Dmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Using a computer-graphic method, it was found that women born to 'old' parents (over 30) were more attracted to older faces than those born to younger parents, and men's preferences for female faces were R e t r a c t e d influenced by their mother's age and not their father's age in a long-term relationship (Perrett et al 2002). A study that examined hair and eye colour of male and female participants, their partners and their parents found positive correlations between parental characteristics and actual partner characteristics (Little et al 2002b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Facialmetric similarities mediate mate choice: sexual imprinting on opposite-sex parents

2008

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Former studies have suggested that imprinting-like processes influence the shaping of human mate preferences. In this study, we provide more direct evidence for assessing facial resemblance between subjects' partner and subjects' parents. Fourteen facial proportions were measured on 312 adults belonging to 52 families, and the correlations between family members were compared with those of pairs randomly selected from the population. Spouses proved to be assortatively mated in the majority of measured facial proportions. Significant correlations have been found between the young men and their partner's father (but not his mother), especially on facial proportions belonging to the central area of the face. Women also showed resemblance to their partner's mother (but not to their father) in the facial characteristics of their lower face. Replicating our previous studies, facial photographs of participants were also matched by independent judges who ascribed higher resemblance between partners, and subjects and their partners' opposite-sex parents, compared with controls. Our results support the sexual imprinting hypothesis which states that children shape a mental template of their opposite-sex parents and search for a partner who resembles that perceptual schema. The fact that only the facial metrics of opposite-sex parents showed resemblance to the partner's face tends to rule out the role of familiarity in shaping mating preferences. Our findings also reject several other rival hypotheses. The adaptive value of imprintingrelated human mating is discussed, and a hypothesis is made of why different facial areas are involved in males' and females' search for resemblance.

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Section: R E T R a C T E Dmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facialmetric similarities mediate mate choice: sexual imprinting on opposite-sex parents

2008

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“…They arise for a number of reasons, such as parental influence, sexual history, and self-perceived attractiveness (Jennions & Petrie, 1997;Perrett et al, 2002;Pfaus, Kippin, & Centeno, 2001). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Human Attractiveness Comprising Face and Voice Cues

et al. 2013

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In human mate choice, sexually dimorphic faces and voices comprise hormone-mediated cues that purportedly develop as an indicator of mate quality or the ability to compete with samesex rivals. If preferences for faces communicate the same biologically relevant information as do voices, then ratings of these cues should correlate. Sixty participants (30 male and 30 female) rated a series of opposite-sex faces, voices, and faces together with voices for attractiveness in a repeated measures computer-based experiment. The effects of face and voice attractiveness on face-voice compound stimuli were analyzed using a multilevel model.Faces contributed proportionally more than voices to ratings of face-voice compound attractiveness. Faces and voices positively and independently contributed to the attractiveness of male compound stimuli although there was no significant correlation between their rated attractiveness. A positive interaction and correlation between attractiveness was shown for faces and voices in relation to the attractiveness of female compound stimuli. Rather than providing a better estimate of a single characteristic, male faces and voices may instead communicate independent information that, in turn, provides a female with a better assessment of overall mate quality. Conversely, female faces and voices together provide males with a more accurate assessment of a single dimension of mate quality.

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“…In other words, why would some men and women choose lower-quality markers over higher-quality markers? Speculation as to how individual differences develop include learning and differences in life history Perrett et al 2002), self-perceived attractiveness and hormonal shifts (PentonVoak & Perrett 2000). Our findings do not elucidate the mechanisms influencing individual differences, rather they offer more enticing evidence for their existence and appeal for further investigation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Cornwell

Boothroyd

Burt

et al. 2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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We have investigated whether preferences for masculine and feminine characteristics are correlated across two modalities, olfaction and vision. In study 1, subjects rated the pleasantness of putative male (4,16-androstadien-3-one; 5α-androst-16-en-3-one) and female (1,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol) pheromones, and chose the most attractive face shape from a masculine-feminine continuum for a long-and a shortterm relationship. Study 2 replicated study 1 and further explored the effects of relationship context on pheromone ratings. For long-term relationships, women's preferences for masculine face shapes correlated with ratings of 4,16-androstadien-3-one and men's preferences for feminine face shapes correlated with ratings of 1,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol. These studies link sex-specific preferences for putative human sex pheromones and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics. Our findings suggest that putative sex pheromones and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics convey common information about the quality of potential mates.

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Facial attractiveness judgements reflect learning of parental age characteristics

Cited by 120 publications

References 64 publications

Facialmetric similarities mediate mate choice: sexual imprinting on opposite-sex parents

Facialmetric similarities mediate mate choice: sexual imprinting on opposite-sex parents

Perceptions of Human Attractiveness Comprising Face and Voice Cues

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

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