Averageness or symmetry: Which is more important for facial attractiveness?

Acta Psychologica

Volumn 131, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 136-142

  Komori, Masashi ^a   Kawamura, Satoru ^b   Ishihara, Shigekazu ^c  

^a OSAKA ELECTRO COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY   (Japan)

^b OSAKA UNIVERSITY   (Japan)

^c HIROSHIMA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Japan)

Author keywords

Face perception; Facial attractiveness; Facial averageness; Facial symmetry; Generalized Procrustes method

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ARTICLE; ESTHETICS; FACE; FACE ASYMMETRY; FEMALE; HISTOLOGY; HUMAN; MALE; MATHEMATICAL PHENOMENA; PATTERN RECOGNITION; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SEX DIFFERENCE;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ESTHETICS; FACE; FACIAL ASYMMETRY; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS; PATTERN RECOGNITION, VISUAL; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SEX FACTORS; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 67349149955     PISSN: 00016918     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2009.03.008     Document Type: Article

References (33)

1. Alley T.R., and Cunningham M.R. Averaged faces are attractive, but very attractive faces are not average. Psychological Science 2 (1991) 123-125
2. Bookstein F.L. Morphometric tools for landmark data (1991), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
3. Dryden I.L., and Mardia K.V. Statistical shape analysis (1998), Wiley and Sons, Chichester
4. Galton F. Composite portraits. Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 8 (1878) 132-142
5. Gangestad S.W., and Thornhill R. Facial masculinity and fluctuating asymmetry. Evolution and Human Behavior 24 (2003) 231-241
6. Grammer K., and Thornhill R. Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: The role of symmetry and averageness. Journal of Comparative Psychology 108 (1994) 233-242
7. Hume D.K., and Montgomerie R. Facial attractiveness signals different aspects of "quality" in women and men. Evolution and Human Behavior 22 (2001) 93-112
8. Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M., and Little A.C. The role of symmetry in attraction to average faces. Perception and Psychophysics 69 (2007) 1273-1277
9. Jones B.C., Little A.C., Penton-Voak I.S., Tiddeman B.P., Burt D.M., and Perrett D.I. Facial symmetry and judgments of apparent health: Support for a "good genes" explanation of the attractiveness-symmetry relationship. Evolution and Human Behavior 22 (2001) 417-429
10. Kamachi M., Bruce V., Mukaida S., Gyoba J., Yoshikawa S., and Akamatsu S. Dynamic properties influence the perception of facial expression. Perception 30 (2001) 875-887
11. Koehler N., Rhodes G., and Simmons L.W. Are human female preferences for symmetrical male faces enhanced when conception is likely?. Animal Behaviour 64 (2002) 233-238
12. Kowner R. Facial asymmetry and attractiveness judgment in developmental perspective. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 22 (1996) 662-675
13. Langlois J.H., and Roggman L.A. Attractive faces are only average. Psychological Science 1 (1990) 115-121
14. Langlois J.H., Roggman L.A., and Musselman L. What is average and what is not average about attractive faces. Psychological Science 5 (1994) 214-220
15. Light L.L., Hollander S., and Kayra-Stuart F. Why attractive people are harder to remember. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 7 (1981) 269-276
16. Little A.C., and Hancock P.J.B. The role of masculinity and distinctiveness in judgments of human male facial attractiveness. British Journal of Psychology 93 (2002) 451-464
17. Marcus L.F., Corti M., Loy A., Naylor G., and Slice D.E. Advances in morphometrics (1996), Plenum Press, NY
18. Penton-Voak I.S., Jones B.C., Little A.C., Baker S., Tiddeman B., Burt D.M., et al. Symmetry, sexual dimorphism in facial proportions, and male facial attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268 (2001) 1617-1623
19. Perrett D.I., Burt D.M., Penton-Voak I.S., Lee K.J., Rowland D.A., and Edwards R. Symmetry and human facial attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior 20 (1999) 295-307
20. Rhodes G. The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty. Annual Review of Psychology 57 (2006) 199-226
21. Rhodes G., Proffitt F., Grady J.M., and Sumich A. Facial symmetry and the perception of beauty. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 5 (1998) 659-669
22. Rhodes G., Sumich A., and Byatt G. Are average facial configurations attractive only because of their symmetry?. Psychological Science 10 (1999) 52-58
23. Rhodes G., and Tremewan T. Averageness exaggeration and facial attractiveness. Psychological Science 7 (1996) 105-110
24. Rhodes G., Yoshikawa S., Clark A., Lee K., McKay R., and Akamatsu S. Attractiveness of facial averageness and symmetry in non-Western cultures: In search of biologically based standards of beauty. Perception 30 (2001) 611-625
25. Rhodes G., Zebrowitz L.A., Clark A., Kalick S.M., Hightower A., and McKay R. Do facial averageness and symmetry signal health?. Evolution and Human Behavior 22 (2001) 31-46
26. Rubenstein A.J., Langlois J.H., and Roggman L.A. What makes a face attractive and why: The role of averageness in defining facial beauty. In: Rhodes G., and Zebrowitz L.A. (Eds). Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary cognitive and social perspectives (2002), Ablex, Westport, CT 1-33
27. Samuels C.A., Butterworth G., Roberts T., Graupner L., and Hole G. Facial aesthetics: Babies prefer attractiveness to symmetry. Perception 23 (1994) 823-831
28. Scheib J.E., Gangestad S.W., and Thornhill R. Facial attractiveness, symmetry and cues of good genes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 266 (1999) 1913-1917
29. Shackelford T.K., and Larsen R.J. Facial asymmetry as an indicator of psychological, emotional, and physiological distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72 (1997) 456-466
30. Tomkinson G.R., and Olds T.S. Physiological correlates of bilateral symmetry in humans. International Journal of Sports Medicine 21 (2000) 545-550
31. Valenzano D.R., Mennucci A., Tartarelli G., and Cellerino A. Shape analysis of female facial attractiveness. Vision Research 46 (2006) 1282-1291
32. Wagemans J. Detection of visual symmetries. Spatial Vision 9 (1995) 9-32
33. Weeden J., and Sabini J. Physical attractiveness and health in western societies: A review. Psychological Bulletin 131 (2005) 635-653