Are attractive men's faces masculine or feminine? The importance of controlling confounds in face stimuli

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Volumn 36, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 751-758

  DeBruine, Lisa M ^a   Jones, Benedict C ^a   Smith, Finlay G ^a   Little, Anthony C ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Attractiveness; Faces; Femininity; Masculinity; Methodology

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ARTICLE; ASSOCIATION; DECISION MAKING; ESTHETICS; FACE; FEMALE; HUMAN; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; PATTERN RECOGNITION; SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT; SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY; STEREOTYPING; YOUNG ADULT;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; CUES; ESTHETICS; FACE; FEMALE; HUMANS; JUDGMENT; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; PATTERN RECOGNITION, VISUAL; SEX CHARACTERISTICS; STEREOTYPING; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 77955527023     PISSN: 00961523     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/a0016457     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Andersson M. Sexual selection 1994, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
2. Booth A., Dabbs J. Testosterone and men's marriages. Social Forces 1993, 72:463-477.
3. Boothroyd L.G., Jones B.C., Burt D.M., Perrett D.I. Partner characteristics associated with masculinity, health and maturity in male faces. Personality and Individual Differences 2007, 43:1161-1173.
4. Buckingham G., DeBruine L.M., Little A.C., Welling L.L.M., Conway C.A., Tiddeman B.P., Jones B.C. Visual adaptation to masculine and feminine faces influences generalized preferences and perceptions of trustworthiness. Evolution and Human Behavior 2006, 27:381-389.
5. Burriss R.P., Little A.C., Nelson E. 2D:4D and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2007, 36:377-384.
6. Cornwell R.E., Boothroyd L.G., Burt D.M., Feinberg D.R., Jones B.C., Little A.C., et al. Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2004, 271:635-640.
7. 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. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1990, 59:61-72.
8. DeBruine L.M., Jones B.C., Little A.C., Boothroyd L.G., Perrett D.I., Penton-Voak I.S., et al. Correlated preferences for facial masculinity and ideal or actual partner's masculinity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2006, 273:1355-1360.
9. Feinberg D.R., DeBruine L.M., Jones B.C., Little A.C. Correlated preferences for men's facial and vocal masculinity. Evolution and Human Behavior 2008, 29:233-241.
10. Fink B., Penton-Voak I.S. Evolutionary psychology of facial attractiveness. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2002, 11:154-158.
11. Fleming A.S., Corter C., Stallings J., Steiner M. Testosterone and prolactin are associated with emotional responses to infant cries in new fathers. Hormones and Behavior 2002, 42:399-413.
12. Gangestad S.W., Simpson J.A. The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2000, 23:573-644.
13. Gangestad S.W., Simpson J.A., Cousins A.J., Garver-Apgar C.E., Christensen P.N. Women's preferences for male behavioral displays change across the menstrual cycle. Psychological Science 2004, 15:203-207.
14. Hamilton W.D., Zuk M. Heritable true fitness and bright birds: A role for parasites?. Science 1982, 218:384-387.
15. Johnston V.S., Hagel R., Franklin M., Fink B., Grammer K. Male facial attractiveness: Evidence for a hormone-mediated adaptive design. Evolution and Human Behavior 2001, 22:251-267.
16. Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M., Little A.C., Conway C.A., Welling L.L.M., Smith F.G. Sensation seeking and men's face preferences. Evolution and Human Behavior 2007, 28:439-446.
17. Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M., Perrett D.I., Little A.C., Feinberg D.R., Law Smith M.J. Effects of menstrual cycle phase on face preferences. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2008, 37:78-84.
18. Jones B.C., Little A.C., Boothroyd L.G., DeBruine L.M., Feinberg D.R., Law Smith M.J., et al. Commitment to relationships and preferences for femininity and apparent health in faces are strongest on days of the menstrual cycle when progesterone level is high. Hormones and Behavior 2005, 48:283-290.
19. Koehler N., Simmons L.W., Rhodes G., Peters M. The relationship between sexual dimorphism in human faces and fluctuating asymmetry. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2004, 271:S233-S236.
20. Kruger D.J. Male facial masculinity influences attributions of personality and reproductive strategy. Personal Relationships 2006, 13:451-463.
21. Little A.C., Burt D.M., Penton-Voak I.S., Perrett D.I. Self-perceived attractiveness influences human female preferences for sexual dimorphism and symmetry in male faces. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2001, 268:39-44.
22. Little A.C., Cohen D.L., Jones B.C., Belsky J. Human preferences for facial masculinity change with relationship type and environmental harshness. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 2007, 61:967-973.
23. Little A.C., DeBruine L.M., Jones B.C. Sex-contingent face aftereffects suggest distinct neural populations code male and female faces. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2005, 272:2283-2287.
24. Little A.C., Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M. Preferences for variation in masculinity in real male faces change across the menstrual cycle. Personality and Individual Differences 2008, 45:478-482.
25. Little A.C., Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M., Feinberg D.R. Symmetry and sexual-dimorphism in human faces: Interrelated preferences suggest both signal quality. Behavioral Ecology 2008, 19:902-908.
26. Little A.C., Jones B.C., Penton-Voak I.S., Burt D.M., Perrett D.I. Partnership status and the temporal context of relationships influence human female preferences for sexual dimorphism in male face shape. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2002, 269:1095-1103.
27. Little A.C., Mannion H. Viewing attractive or unattractive same-sex individuals changes self-rated attractiveness and face preferences in women. Animal Behaviour 2006, 72:981-987.
28. Neave N., Laing S., Fink B., Manning J.T. Second to fourth digit ratio, testosterone, and perceived male dominance. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2003, 270:2167-2172.
29. O'Toole A.J., Price T., Vetter T., Bartlett J., Blanz V. 3D shape and 2D surface textures of human faces: The role of " averages" in attractiveness and age. Image and Vision Computing 1999, 18:9-19.
30. Penton-Voak I.S., Chen J.Y. High salivary testosterone is linked to masculine male facial appearance in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior 2004, 25:229-241.
31. Penton-Voak I.S., Jacobson A., Trivers R. Populational differences in attractiveness judgements of male and female faces: Comparing British and Jamaican samples. Evolution and Human Behavior 2004, 25:355-370.
32. Penton-Voak I.S., Jones B.C., Little A.C., Baker S., Tiddeman B., Burt D.M., Perrett D.I. Symmetry, sexual dimorphism in facial proportions and male facial attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2001, 268:1617-1623.
33. Penton-Voak I.S., Little A.C., Jones B.C., Burt D.M., Tiddeman B.P., Perrett D.I. Female condition influences preferences for sexual dimorphism in faces of male humans (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology 2003, 117:264-271.
34. 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, 399:741-742.
35. Perrett D.I., Lee K., Penton-Voak I.S., Rowland D., Yoshikawa S., Burt D.M., et al. Effects of sexual dimorphism on facial attractiveness. Nature 1998, 394:884-887.
36. Pound N., Penton-Voak I.S., Surridge A.K. Testosterone responses to competition in men are related to facial masculinity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2009, 276:153-159.
37. Rennels J.L., Bronstad P.M., Langlois J.H. Are attractive men's faces masculine or feminine? The importance of type of facial stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 2008, 34:884-893.
38. Rhodes G. The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty. Annual Review of Psychology 2006, 57:199-226.
39. Rhodes G., Chan J., Zebrowitz L.A., Simmons L.W. Does sexual dimorphism in human faces signal health?. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2003, 270:S93-S95.
40. Rhodes G., Hickford C., Jeffery L. Sex-typicality and attractiveness: Are supermale and superfemale faces super-attractive?. British Journal of Psychology 2000, 91:125-140.
41. Rhodes G., Simmons L.W., Peters M. Attractiveness and sexual behaviour: Does attractiveness enhance mating success?. Evolution and Human Behavior 2005, 26:186-201.
42. Swaddle J.P., Riersen G.W. Testosterone increases perceived dominance but not attractiveness in human males. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 2002, 269:2285-2289.
43. Thornhill R., Gangestad S.W. Facial sexual dimorphism, developmental stability, and susceptibility to disease in men and women. Evolution and Human Behavior 2006, 27:131-144.
44. Tiddeman B.P., Perrett D.I., Burt D.M. Prototyping and transforming facial textures for perception research. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications 2001, 21:42-50.
45. Vukovic J., Feinberg D.R., Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M., Welling L.L.M., Little A.C., Smith F.G. Self-rated attractiveness predicts individual differences in women's preferences for masculine men's voices. Personality and Individual Differences 2008, 45:451-456.
46. Welling L.L.M., Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M. Sex drive is positively associated with women's preferences for sexual dimorphism in men's and women's faces. Personality and Individual Differences 2008, 44:161-170.
47. Welling L.L.M., Jones B.C., DeBruine L.M., Conway C.A., Law Smith M.J., Little A.C., et al. Raised salivary testosterone in women is associated with increased attraction to masculine faces. Hormones and Behavior 2007, 52:156-161.