Abstract
Exaggerated sexual dimorphism and symmetry in human faces have both been linked to potential 'good-gene' benefits and have also been found to influence the attractiveness of male faces. The current study explores how female self-rated attractiveness influences male face preference in females using faces manipulated with computer graphics. The study demonstrates that there is a relatively increased preference for masculinity and an increased preference for symmetry for women who regard themselves as attractive. This finding may reflect a condition-dependent mating strategy analogous to behaviours found in other species. The absence of a preference for proposed markers of good genes may be adaptive in women of low mate value to avoid the costs of decreased parental investment from the owners of such characteristics.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (767.9 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Buss D. M., Schmitt D. P. Sexual strategies theory: an evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychol Rev. 1993 Apr;100(2):204–232. doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.100.2.204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cunningham M. R., Barbee A. P., Pike C. L. What do women want? Facialmetric assessment of multiple motives in the perception of male facial physical attractiveness. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1990 Jul;59(1):61–72. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.59.1.61. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gangestad S. W., Simpson J. A. The evolution of human mating: trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behav Brain Sci. 2000 Aug;23(4):573–644. doi: 10.1017/s0140525x0000337x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Grammer K., Thornhill R. Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: the role of symmetry and averageness. J Comp Psychol. 1994 Sep;108(3):233–242. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.108.3.233. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- López S. Parasitized female guppies do not prefer showy males. Anim Behav. 1999 May;57(5):1129–1134. doi: 10.1006/anbe.1998.1064. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mealey L., Bridgstock R., Townsend G. C. Symmetry and perceived facial attractiveness: a monozygotic co-twin comparison. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999 Jan;76(1):151–158. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.76.1.151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pawłowski B., Dunbar R. I. Impact of market value on human mate choice decisions. Proc Biol Sci. 1999 Feb 7;266(1416):281–285. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1999.0634. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Penton-Voak I. S., Perrett D. I., Castles D. L., Kobayashi T., Burt D. M., Murray L. K., Minamisawa R. Menstrual cycle alters face preference. Nature. 1999 Jun 24;399(6738):741–742. doi: 10.1038/21557. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Perrett D. I., Lee K. J., Penton-Voak I., Rowland D., Yoshikawa S., Burt D. M., Henzi S. P., Castles D. L., Akamatsu S. Effects of sexual dimorphism on facial attractiveness. Nature. 1998 Aug 27;394(6696):884–887. doi: 10.1038/29772. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Robertson IC. Paternal care enhances male reproductive success in pine engraver beetles. Anim Behav. 1998 Sep;56(3):595–602. doi: 10.1006/anbe.1998.0816. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Scheib J. E., Gangestad S. W., Thornhill R. Facial attractiveness, symmetry and cues of good genes. Proc Biol Sci. 1999 Sep 22;266(1431):1913–1917. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1999.0866. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]