Genetic Factors That Increase Male Facial Masculinity Decrease Facial Attractiveness of Female Relatives

Lee, Anthony J.; Mitchem, Dorian G.; Wright, Margaret J.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Keller, Matthew C.; Zietsch, Brendan P.

doi:10.1177/0956797613510724

Cited by 51 publications

(42 citation statements)

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“…However, the underlying mechanism for this preference is unclear. Facial masculinity in men may represent heritable genetic quality that improves offspring's fitness; however, this 'good genes' theory has recently been questioned (Scott, Clark, Boothroyd, & Penton-Voak, 2013), and recent evidence suggests that the genes increasing male facial masculinity are detrimental to female attractiveness, reinforcing doubt regarding the link between masculinity and good genes (Lee et al, 2014). Alternatively, indicators of good health may instead be preferred for more direct benefits (Scott et al, 2013;Tybur & Gangestad, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design

Lee

Zietsch

2015

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Facial masculinity in men is thought to be an indicator of good health. Consistent with this idea, previous research has found a positive association between pathogen avoidance (disgust sensitivity) and preference for facial masculinity. However, previous studies are mostly based on young adult participants and targets, using forced-choice preference measures; this begs the question whether the findings generalise to other adult age groups or other preference measures. We address this by conducting three studies assessing facial masculinity preferences of a wider age range of women for a wider age range of male faces. In studies 1 and 2, 447 and 433 women respectively made forced choices between two identical faces that were manipulated on masculinity/femininity. In study 1, face stimuli were manipulated on sexual dimorphism using age-matched templates, while in study 2 young face stimuli were manipulated with older templates and older face stimuli were manipulated using young templates. In the full sample for study 1, no association was found between women's pathogen disgust and masculinity preference, but when limiting the sample to younger women rating younger faces we replicated previous findings of significant association between pathogen disgust and preference for facial masculinity. Results for study 2 found no effect of pathogen disgust sensitivity on facial masculinity preferences regardless of participant and stimuli age. In study 3, the facial masculinity preferences of 386 women were revealed through their attractiveness ratings of natural (unmanipulated) faces. Here, we did not find a significant association of pathogen disgust on facial masculinity preferences, regardless of participant and stimuli age. These results call into question the robustness of the link between women's pathogen avoidance and facial masculinity preference, and raise questions as to why the effect is specific to younger adults and the forced-choice preference measure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design

Lee

Zietsch

2015

Evolution and Human Behavior

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“…Both attractiveness (Mitchem et al, 2014) and creativity (e.g. musicality; Mosing et al, 2014;Trainor, Honing, Peretz, Gingras, & Fisher, 2015) are heritable traits and may confer genetic benefits to offspring (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, secure attachment styles are substantially heritable, as is prosocial behaviour, parental warmth, and trustworthiness (for review see Ebstein, Israel, Chew, Zhong, & Knafo, 2010). More problematic for this model is that the same genes predisposing male offspring to develop facially masculine traits also lead females to develop facially masculine characteristics, decreasing their attractiveness, and subsequently, their reproductive fitness countering any benefits associated with 'good-genes' (Lee, Mitchem, et al, 2014). Any signal of genetic quality ought actually be associated with genetic benefits to offspring in order to be maintained.…”

Section: Re-evaluating Approaches To the Genetic Benefits And Parentamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, facially masculine males are consistently viewed as being more dominant (see section 4), which may increase the likelihood of success in competition with other males. In contrast, the genes that influence facial masculinity are harmful for females' attractiveness (Lee, Mitchem, et al, 2014). Consequently, the genes underlying preferences for facial masculinity may be balanced by the benefits of mating with a dominant male contrasting with the potential costs to fitness of female offspring.…”

Section: Further Understanding Genetic Causes Of Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Genetic benefits to offspring can, in theory, be any heritable traits with fitness benefits, but the focus has been on physical masculinity and attractiveness, which are commonly assumed to reflect genetic quality in men (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005; though see Lee, Mitchem, et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses Regarding Individual Differences in Human Mating Strategies

Sherlock¹

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Finding and attracting a mate is an enormous component of human life, and indeed the life of all sexually reproducing organisms. In this search, we share many common goals in attaining a partner. For instance, most people typically seek a partner who is kind, attractive, and funny. Yet, we also differ remarkably in the traits that we desire in our partners and what drives us towards choosing some mates over others. This variation represents somewhat of a Darwinian paradox, as selection typically reduces variation in traits under strong selection, such as those relating to mating strategy. To resolve this paradox, evolutionary psychologists have proposed adaptive mechanisms that cause variation in mating strategy in response to environmental contingencies. In this thesis, I present tests of a number of these hypotheses, and integrate approaches from evolutionary behavioural genetics to provide alternative explanations as to how variation in mating strategy arises.Firstly, I review broad evolutionary approaches to explaining variation in psychological traits. Specifically, I introduce evolutionary literature regarding a proposed trade-off between parenting traits and signals of genetic quality in males that permeates approaches to various aspects of mate choice. Evidence for and against this trade-off is reviewed in the context of the maintenance of variation in facial masculinity in males and inter-partner variation in female orgasm frequency during penetrative sex. I then introduce behavioural genetics as an approach to understanding both genetic and environmental causes of variation in human mating strategy.In my first empirical study, I present a paper testing evolutionary hypotheses regarding female variation in orgasm frequency in response to male characteristics. Where previous research has focused on women reporting on a single partner and observing male characteristics across the sample, this paper had females report on partners with whom orgasm was easy and with whom orgasm was difficult. This controls for the possibility of confounds relating to between-subject studies and increases our power to detect male traits associated with orgasm over and above between women differences. Furthermore, the study also included measures of male sexual behaviour, as these are highly likely to be related to female orgasmability. We showed mixed support for evolutionary theories regarding variation in the female orgasm, but were unable to distinguish the two leading hypotheses. Additionally, we found important contributions of male sexual behaviour to female orgasm. Consequently, little can be inferred about the role of variation in the evolution of the female orgasm. However, we demonstrate that within-subjects designs are able to detect between-partner variance with high resolution. We also demonstrate that future studies need account for male sexual behaviour when attempting to explain adaptive variation in female orgasm between different male partners.ii I then present a paper providing evidence that facial ...

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Evolutionary Genetics

Arslan

Penke

2015

The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology

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Evolutionary forces of selection, mutation, migration, and genetic drift interact to maintain heritable individual differences. Resolving the ostensible paradox posed by the fact that heritable differences in personality and intelligence, in spite of their links to mortality and fertility, have not been driven to fixation, is within the purview of evolutionary genetics. We introduce the tool kit available to psychologists who want to understand these forces. It assembles complementary tools from molecular and behavior genetics, as well as classical evolutionary psychology, including the study of genome‐wide associations, paternal age effects, inbreeding depression, developmental stability, and of course twins and families. We identify an unfortunate lack of cross‐pollination, but map ways in which these disciplines, which share a common evolutionary metatheory, could test the tacit assumptions inherent in much of our work. Although it may take some time and may in some cases be impossible to identify the causative genes behind individual differences, we make the case that understanding the evolutionary forces involved in their maintenance is a worthy task in its own right, permitting us to understand and predict the effects of changing mores, policy, and demographic trends.

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Genetic Factors That Increase Male Facial Masculinity Decrease Facial Attractiveness of Female Relatives

Cited by 51 publications

References 45 publications

Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design

Women's pathogen disgust predicting preference for facial masculinity may be specific to age and study design

Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses Regarding Individual Differences in Human Mating Strategies

Evolutionary Genetics

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