Is facial width-to-height ratio reliably associated with social inferences?

Durkee, Patrick K.; Ayers, Jessica D.

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.06.003

Cited by 23 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…High-fWHR targets were perceived as more aggressive with their humor, an inference potentially rooted in the threat connoted in general aggressiveness that formidable facial features elicit (Durkee & Ayers, 2021). Low-fWHR targets were additionally perceived as likely to use self-defeating humor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Men have wider and longer lower faces (Simeon-Hodges et al, 2021), with the crux of the dimorphism being an overall wider face in men associated with testosteronization (Caton & Dixson, 2022;Whitehouse et al, 2015). Among men with wider faces, the signal value of their masculinization appears amplified by their upper face height, which facilitates perceptions of these men as more aggressive (Durkee & Ayers, 2021;Liu et al, 2022). In fact, men with a higher fWHR are more aggressive (Geniole et al, 2015).…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Covariation between formidability inferences and perceptions of men's preferred humor styles

Brown

Tracy

Boykin

2022

Personality and Individual Differences

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Covariation between formidability inferences and perceptions of men's preferred humor styles

Brown

Tracy

Boykin

2022

Personality and Individual Differences

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“…Studies could consider men's faces that differ in fWHR while holding physical attractiveness constant (Brown et al, in press-c). Recent findings suggest that men with formidable fWHRs, a threatening cue in faces, are both more desirable in STM and perceived as especially aggressive (Durkee & Ayers, 2021;Valentine et al, 2014).…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual desirability of strong men employing affiliative and aggressive humor

Brown

O'Neil

2022

Personal Relationships

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Women find men's upper body strength highly desirable, albeit primarily within short-term mating contexts. This boundary implicates strength as possessing both costs and benefits in longterm and short-term mating contexts. The desirability of strength could be contingent upon whether the costs or benefits of strength are more salient through behaviors. Men's humor style could be one modality to infer costs and benefits, namely their interest in affiliative humor relative to aggressive humor. This study represents a synergistic replication of previous work investigating the desirability of strength and various humor styles in mating domains. Women evaluated the short-term and long-term desirability of a prospective mate manipulated to appear physically strong or weak and described using affiliative or aggressive humor. We replicated previous findings implicating affiliative humor as desirable in long-term contexts and upper body strength in short-term contexts. However, no interactive effects between these traits emerged.Results indicate that women's mate choices are multimodal and frequently involve evaluating the costs and benefits of various constellations of traits.

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“…The authors attributed this result to the lengthening of the face with age. Although the authors did not examine age effects directly, Durkee & Ayers [ 34 ] speculated that the age-related decline in the FWHR may cause perceivers to view older people as less threatening than younger people.…”

Section: Tracking Sexual Dimorphism Of Facial Width-to-height Ratio A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking sexual dimorphism of facial width-to-height ratio across the lifespan: implications for perceived aggressiveness

et al. 2022

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The facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) influences social judgements like perceived aggression. This may be because FWHR is a sexually dimorphic feature, with males having higher FWHR than females. However, evidence for sexual dimorphism is mixed, little is known about how it varies with age, and the relationship between sexual dimorphism and perceived aggressiveness is unclear. We addressed these gaps by measuring FWHR of 17 607 passport images of male and female faces across the lifespan. We found larger FWHR in males only in young adulthood, aligning with the stage most commonly associated with mate selection and intrasexual competition. However, the direction of dimorphism was reversed after 48 years of age, with females recording larger FWHRs than males. We then examined how natural variation in FWHR affected perceived aggressiveness. The relationship between FWHR and perceived aggressiveness was strongest for males at 27–33 and females at 34–61. Raters were most sensitive to differences in FWHR for young adult male faces, pointing to enhanced sensitivity to FWHR as a cue to aggressiveness. This may reflect a common mechanism for evaluating male aggressiveness from variability in structural (FWHR) and malleable (emotional expression) aspects of the face.

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Is facial width-to-height ratio reliably associated with social inferences?

Cited by 23 publications

References 63 publications

Covariation between formidability inferences and perceptions of men's preferred humor styles

Covariation between formidability inferences and perceptions of men's preferred humor styles

Contextual desirability of strong men employing affiliative and aggressive humor

Tracking sexual dimorphism of facial width-to-height ratio across the lifespan: implications for perceived aggressiveness

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