1
|
Omotezako T, Neo E, Zhu H, Eharman M. Disordered spatial pattern of redness signal on facial skin and visual perception of health, stress, and hidden aging. Skin Res Technol 2024; 30:e13628. [PMID: 38445788 PMCID: PMC10915980 DOI: 10.1111/srt.13628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Well-being is commonly communicated across industries; however, experimental understanding how human perceive skin health and skin stresses are not sufficient. MATERIALS AND METHODS Image analysis algorithm, a* gradient, was developed to evaluate spatial pattern and shape of red signal on skin. Human perception for skin health and stresses were compared with technical measurements in two visual perception studies. RESULTS a* gradient correlated with perceived Inflamed Skin (R = 0.73, p < 0.01), Stressed Skin (R = 0.79, p < 0.01), Sensitive Skin (R = 0.75, p < 0.01), Healthy Skin (R = -0.83, p < 0.01), and Start Aging (R = 0.75, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Disordered spatial pattern of redness signal drives human perception of skin health, stress, and aging. This new skin index of redness signal shows higher correlation with those human perception than basal a* mean, unevenness of a*, and other conventional skin color attributes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Omotezako
- Research and Development, Beauty CareP&G International Operations (SA) Singapore BranchSingaporeSingapore
| | - Eleanor Neo
- Research and Development, Beauty CareP&G International Operations (SA) Singapore BranchSingaporeSingapore
| | - Hong Zhu
- Research and Development, Beauty CareP&G International Operations (SA) Singapore BranchSingaporeSingapore
| | - Matthew Eharman
- Research and Development, Beauty CareP&G International Operations (SA) Singapore BranchSingaporeSingapore
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Pavlovič O, Fiala V, Kleisner K. Congruence in European and Asian perception of Vietnamese facial attractiveness, averageness, symmetry and sexual dimorphism. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13320. [PMID: 37587194 PMCID: PMC10432390 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40458-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Attractiveness is a proposed universal cue to overall biological quality. Nonetheless, local raters and raters of the same ethnicity may be more accurate in assessing the cues for attractiveness than distant and unfamiliar raters. Shared ethnicity and shared environment may both affect rating accuracy: our aim was to compare their relative influence. Therefore, we photographed young Vietnamese participants (N = 93, 33 women) from Hanoi, Vietnam. The photographs were rated by Czechs, Asian Vietnamese, and Czech Vietnamese (raters of Vietnamese origin who lived in Czechia for all or most of their life). Using geometric morphometrics, we measured facial shape cues to biological quality: averageness, asymmetry, and sexual dimorphism. We expected that Vietnamese raters residing in Czechia and Vietnam would agree on perceived attractiveness and use shape-related facial cues to biological quality better than Czech European raters, who are less familiar with East Asians. Surprisingly, mixed-effect models and post hoc comparisons identified no major cross-group differences in attributed attractiveness and path analyses revealed that the three groups based their rating on shape-related characteristics in a similar way. However, despite the considerable cross-cultural agreement regarding perceived attractiveness, Czech European raters associated attractiveness with facial shape averageness significantly more than Vietnamese raters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Pavlovič
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Vojtěch Fiala
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wilson VAD, Masilkova M. Does the primate face cue personality? PERSONALITY NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 6:e7. [PMID: 38107779 PMCID: PMC10725780 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2023.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
When looking at others, primates primarily focus on the face - detecting the face first and looking at it longer than other parts of the body. This is because primate faces, even without expression, convey trait information crucial for navigating social relationships. Recent studies on primates, including humans, have linked facial features, specifically facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), to rank and Dominance-related personality traits, suggesting these links' potential role in social decisions. However, studies on the association between dominance and fWHR report contradictory results in humans and variable patterns in nonhuman primates. It is also not clear whether and how nonhuman primates perceive different facial cues to personality traits and whether these may have evolved as social signals. This review summarises the variable facial-personality links, their underlying proximate and evolutionary mechanisms and their perception across primates. We emphasise the importance of employing comparative research, including various primate species and human populations, to disentangle phylogeny from socio-ecological drivers and to understand the selection pressures driving the facial-personality links in humans. Finally, we encourage researchers to move away from single facial measures and towards holistic measures and to complement perception studies using neuroscientific methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A D Wilson
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michaela Masilkova
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Elson R, Schluppeck D, Johnston A. fMRI evidence that hyper-caricatured faces activate object-selective cortex. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1035524. [PMID: 36710782 PMCID: PMC9878608 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1035524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Many brain imaging studies have looked at the cortical responses to object categories and faces. A popular way to manipulate face stimuli is by using a "face space," a high dimensional representation of individual face images, with the average face located at the origin. However, how the brain responds to faces that deviate substantially from average has not been much explored. Increasing the distance from the average (leading to increased caricaturing) could increase neural responses in face-selective regions, an idea supported by results from non-human primates. Here, we used a face space based on principal component analysis (PCA) to generate faces ranging from average to heavily caricatured. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we first independently defined face-, object- and scene-selective areas with a localiser scan and then measured responses to parametrically caricatured faces. We also included conditions in which the images of faces were inverted. Interestingly in the right fusiform face area (FFA), we found that the patterns of fMRI response were more consistent as caricaturing increased. However, we found no consistent effect of either caricature level or facial inversion on the average fMRI response in the FFA or face-selective regions more broadly. In contrast, object-selective regions showed an increase in both the consistency of response pattern and the average fMRI response with increasing caricature level. This shows that caricatured faces recruit processing from regions typically defined as object-selective, possibly through enhancing low-level properties that are characteristic of objects.
Collapse
|
5
|
Amaya J, Wen YE, Shang Z, Jamieson A, Aly A. A Crowdsourced Evaluation of Facial Averageness and Attractiveness. Aesthet Surg J 2023; 43:NP1-NP11. [PMID: 35710301 DOI: 10.1093/asj/sjac163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evolutionary psychologists have demonstrated that humans are attracted to individuals who possess average anatomy for the population. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to prove that a composite of average facial features would be more attractive to raters than the cohort utilized to create the composite. METHODS The male and female cohorts each consisted of 41 standardized frontal-view monochrome photographs, with 1 composite image derived from the other 40 real images. Amazon Mechanical Turk, a widely used crowdsourcing platform, was utilized to obtain ratings of images ranging from 1 to 7, with 1 and 7 being least and most attractive, respectively. The strength of the preference for the composite over the real images was assessed by the difference between the mean rating of the composite and real images. RESULTS In total, 870 and 876 respondents were recruited to rate the male and female cohorts, respectively. For the male and female cohorts, the composite image was rated significantly higher than the rest of the cohort overall and across all ages, genders, and countries of residence (all P < 0.0001). For both cohorts, the strength of the preference was significantly higher for European respondents and lower for South American and nonbinary respondents (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study reveals that average facial anatomy is perceived as most attractive across all demographics, a finding that is hoped to serve as a stepping stone for further studies leading to objective cosmetic quantifications and integrating evidence-based medicine into aesthetic surgery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Amaya
- Department of Plastic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Y Edward Wen
- Department of Plastic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Zhiguo Shang
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Andrew Jamieson
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Al Aly
- Department of Plastic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Liu J, Guo H, Peng Y, Sun T, Tian Y. Facial attractiveness facilitates other-race faces recognizing: the role of facial attractiveness in other-race effect. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03734-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
|
7
|
It is All Relative: Associations of Facial Proportionality, Attractiveness, and Character Traits. J Craniofac Surg 2022; 33:1431-1435. [PMID: 35758512 DOI: 10.1097/scs.0000000000008662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Facial proportionality and symmetry are positively associated with perceived levels of facial attractiveness. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to confirm and extend the association of proportionality with perceived levels of attractiveness and character traits and determine differences in attractiveness and character ratings between "anomalous" and "typical" faces using a large dataset. METHODS Ratings of 597 unique individuals from the Chicago Face Database were used. A formula was developed as a proxy of relative horizontal proportionality, where a proportionality score of "0" indicated perfect proportionality and more negative scores indicated less proportionality. Faces were categorized as "anomalous" or "typical" by 2 independent reviewers based on physical features. RESULTS Across the ratings for all faces, Spearman correlations revealed greater proportionality was associated with attractiveness (ρ = 0.292, P < 0.001) and trustworthiness (ρ = 0.193, P < 0.001), while lesser proportionality was associated with impressions of anger (ρ = 0.132, P = 0.001), dominance (ρ = 0.259, P < 0.001), and threateningness (ρ = 0.234, P < 0.001). Mann-Whitney U tests revealed the typical cohort had significantly higher levels of proportionality (-13.98 versus -15.14, P = 0.030) and ratings of attractiveness (3.39 versus 2.99, P < 0.001) and trustworthiness (3.48 versus 3.35, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that facial proportionality is not only significantly associated with higher ratings of attractiveness, but also associated with judgements of trustworthiness. Proportionality plays a role in evoking negative attributions of personality characteristics to people with facial anomalies.
Collapse
|
8
|
Multi-View Graph Fusion for Semi-Supervised Learning: Application to Image-Based Face Beauty Prediction. ALGORITHMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/a15060207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Facial Beauty Prediction (FBP) is an important visual recognition problem to evaluate the attractiveness of faces according to human perception. Most existing FBP methods are based on supervised solutions using geometric or deep features. Semi-supervised learning for FBP is an almost unexplored research area. In this work, we propose a graph-based semi-supervised method in which multiple graphs are constructed to find the appropriate graph representation of the face images (with and without scores). The proposed method combines both geometric and deep feature-based graphs to produce a high-level representation of face images instead of using a single face descriptor and also improves the discriminative ability of graph-based score propagation methods. In addition to the data graph, our proposed approach fuses an additional graph adaptively built on the predicted beauty values. Experimental results on the SCUTFBP-5500 facial beauty dataset demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm compared to other state-of-the-art methods.
Collapse
|
9
|
Guimarães LK, Gasparello GG, Pithon MM, Bark MJ, Mota Júnior SL, Tanaka OM. Visual perception of repaired cleft lip scarring face associated with different malocclusions via eye-tracking. J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospects 2022; 16:45-52. [PMID: 35936939 PMCID: PMC9339742 DOI: 10.34172/joddd.2022.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. This study aimed to evaluate the visual facial perception in response to scars associated with repaired cleft lip (CL) on a male adolescent patient, as assessed via eye-tracking. Methods. Index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN) malocclusions, grades 1, 5, and 8 were added to the frontal view facial image of an adolescent male model showing asymmetries of the nose and upper lip after CL surgery using the software Photoshop CS5® software. The eye movements of 91 laypeople observers were tracked by an Eye Tribe infrared sensor connected to OGAMA© software. A Kruskal–Wallis test was used to identify differences in total fixation time and time until the first fixation for the areas of interest. A visual analog scale (VAS) of attractiveness was also used in the study. Statistical analysis was performed adopting a significance level of P<0.05. Results. The area of interest (AOI) were found to be the mouth and teeth, which were more focused on gazed at than any other area, regardless of the grade of IOTN. For observers of different ages, there were significant differences in the time until the first fixation on the scar of the repaired CL region for IOTN grade 1 (P=0.007). Images showing IOTN grade 1 repaired CL regions received the highest VAS scores. The older the age, the greater the tendency to give a higher VAS score for the same malocclusion. Conclusion. The presence of a CL scar on the upper lip did not attract the eye of laypeople observers of different ages, regardless of the degree of malocclusion in the non-smile image. The age of the observers did influence the perception of attractiveness, with older observers giving higher scores than younger ones. As the severity of the malocclusion increased, they were found to be less attractive.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lara Karolina Guimarães
- Department of Orthodontics, Post-Graduation Program, School of Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Gil Guilherme Gasparello
- Department of Orthodontics, Post-Graduation Program, School of Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Matheus Melo Pithon
- Department of Orthodontics , Dental School, Southwest Bahia State University, Jequié, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Mohamad Jamal Bark
- Department of Orthodontics, Post-Graduation Program, School of Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Sergio Luiz Mota Júnior
- Department of Orthodontics ,Dental School ,Juiz de Fora Federal University, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Orlando Motohiro Tanaka
- Department of Orthodontics, Post-Graduation Program, School of Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Pazhoohi F, Kingstone A. Unattractive faces are more attractive when the bottom-half is masked, an effect that reverses when the top-half is concealed. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2022; 7:6. [PMID: 35072804 PMCID: PMC8785149 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-022-00359-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial attractiveness in humans signals an individual's genetic condition, underlying physiology and health status, serving as a cue to one's mate value. The practice of wearing face masks for prevention of transmission of airborne infections may disrupt one's ability to evaluate facial attractiveness, and with it, cues to an individual's health and genetic condition. The current research investigated the effect of face masks on the perception of face attractiveness. Across four studies, we tested if below- and above-average attractive full faces are equally affected by wearing facial masks. The results reveal that for young faces (Study 1) and old faces (Study 2) a facial mask increases the perceived attractiveness of relatively unattractive faces, but there is no effect of wearing a face mask for highly attractive faces. Study 3 shows that the same pattern of ratings emerged when the bottom-half of the faces are cropped rather than masked, indicating that the effect is not mask-specific. Our final Study 4, in which information from only the lower half of the faces was made available, showed that contrary to our previous findings, highly attractive half-faces are perceived to be less attractive than their full-face counterpart; but there is no such effect for the less attractive faces. This demonstrates the importance of the eye-region in the perception of attractiveness, especially for highly attractive faces. Collectively these findings suggest that a positivity-bias enhances the perception of unattractive faces when only the upper face is visible, a finding that may not extend to attractive faces because of the perceptual weight placed on their eye-region.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Farid Pazhoohi
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
| | - Alan Kingstone
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Jones BC, Jones AL, Shiramizu V, Anderson C. What Does Women's Facial Attractiveness Signal? Implications for an Evolutionary Perspective on Appearance Enhancement. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2022; 51:67-71. [PMID: 33733308 PMCID: PMC8858290 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-01955-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benedict C Jones
- School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0LN, Scotland.
| | - Alex L Jones
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
| | - Victor Shiramizu
- Institute of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Claire Anderson
- Textile Design Programme, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London, London, England
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Enlargement of female pupils when perceiving something cute. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23367. [PMID: 34862420 PMCID: PMC8642513 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02852-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
It is reported that women's pupils dilate when they see a baby; it is unclear if this pupillary response is caused by the perception of cuteness itself. Since many objects besides babies can be perceived as cute, we investigated whether the perception of cuteness, or the type of object observed, is related to pupil dilation. In the first experiment, female participants were requested to rate the subjective cuteness of greyscale pictures of objects such as animals and foods; their pupil sizes were measured. The results showed a significant positive correlation between perceived cuteness and participants' pupil dilation. In the second experiment, participants rated the cuteness of images of female faces. Results revealed a significant negative correlation between perceived cuteness and pupil dilation. In our study, perceiving cuteness enlarged female observers' pupils except when observing female faces. Positive reactions associated with cuteness may be premised on the existence of unconscious perceptual alterations and physical responses.
Collapse
|
13
|
Locke A, Arnocky S. Breast symmetry, but not size or volume, predicts salivary immunoglobulin-A (sIgA) in women. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
|
14
|
|
15
|
Zhan J, Liu M, Garrod OGB, Daube C, Ince RAA, Jack RE, Schyns PG. Modeling individual preferences reveals that face beauty is not universally perceived across cultures. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2243-2252.e6. [PMID: 33798430 PMCID: PMC8162177 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Facial attractiveness confers considerable advantages in social interactions,1,2 with preferences likely reflecting psychobiological mechanisms shaped by natural selection. Theories of universal beauty propose that attractive faces comprise features that are closer to the population average3 while optimizing sexual dimorphism.4 However, emerging evidence questions this model as an accurate representation of facial attractiveness,5, 6, 7 including representing the diversity of beauty preferences within and across cultures.8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Here, we demonstrate that Western Europeans (WEs) and East Asians (EAs) evaluate facial beauty using culture-specific features, contradicting theories of universality. With a data-driven method, we modeled, at both the individual and group levels, the attractive face features of young females (25 years old) in two matched groups each of 40 young male WE and EA participants. Specifically, we generated a broad range of same- and other-ethnicity female faces with naturally varying shapes and complexions. Participants rated each on attractiveness. We then reverse correlated the face features that drive perception of attractiveness in each participant. From these individual face models, we reconstructed a facial attractiveness representation space that explains preference variations. We show that facial attractiveness is distinct both from averageness and from sexual dimorphism in both cultures. Finally, we disentangled attractive face features into those shared across cultures, culture specific, and specific to individual participants, thereby revealing their diversity. Our results have direct theoretical and methodological impact for representing diversity in social perception and for the design of culturally and ethnically sensitive socially interactive digital agents. We modeled individual preferences for attractive faces in two cultures Attractive face features differ from the face average and sexual dimorphism Instead, culture and individual preferences shape attractive face features Attractive face features from a culture are used to judge other-ethnicity faces
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Zhan
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK.
| | - Meng Liu
- School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK
| | - Oliver G B Garrod
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK
| | - Christoph Daube
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK
| | - Robin A A Ince
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK
| | - Rachael E Jack
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK; School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK
| | - Philippe G Schyns
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK; School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QB, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Carragher DJ, Thomas NA, Nicholls MER. The dissociable influence of social context on judgements of facial attractiveness and trustworthiness. Br J Psychol 2021; 112:902-933. [PMID: 33742452 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The cheerleader effect occurs when the same face is rated to be more attractive when it is seen in a group compared to when seen alone. We investigated whether this phenomenon also occurs for trustworthiness judgements, and examined how these effects are influenced by the characteristics of the individual being evaluated and those of the group they are seen in. Across three experiments, we reliably replicated the cheerleader effect. Most faces became more attractive in a group. Yet, the size of the cheerleader effect that each face experienced was not related to its own attractiveness, nor to the attractiveness of the group or the group's digitally averaged face. We discuss the implications of our findings for the hierarchical encoding and contrast mechanisms that have previously been used to explain the cheerleader effect. Surprisingly, judgements of facial trustworthiness did not experience a 'cheerleader effect'. Instead, we found that untrustworthy faces became significantly more trustworthy in all groups, while there was no change for faces that were already trustworthy alone. Taken together, our results demonstrate that social context can have a dissociable influence on our first impressions, depending on the trait being evaluated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Carragher
- College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Nicole A Thomas
- College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.,Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael E R Nicholls
- College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
A new data-driven mathematical model dissociates attractiveness from sexual dimorphism of human faces. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16588. [PMID: 33024137 PMCID: PMC7538911 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73472-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Human facial attractiveness is evaluated by using multiple cues. Among others, sexual dimorphism (i.e. masculinity for male faces/femininity for female faces) is an influential factor of perceived attractiveness. Since facial attractiveness is judged by incorporating sexually dimorphic traits as well as other cues, it is theoretically possible to dissociate sexual dimorphism from facial attractiveness. This study tested this by using a data-driven mathematical modelling approach. We first analysed the correlation between perceived masculinity/femininity and attractiveness ratings for 400 computer-generated male and female faces (Experiment 1) and found positive correlations between perceived femininity and attractiveness for both male and female faces. Using these results, we manipulated a set of faces along the attractiveness dimension while controlling for sexual dimorphism by orthogonalisation with data-driven mathematical models (Experiment 2). Our results revealed that perceived attractiveness and sexual dimorphism are dissociable, suggesting that there are as yet unidentified facial cues other than sexual dimorphism that contribute to facial attractiveness. Future studies can investigate the true preference of sexual dimorphism or the genuine effects of attractiveness by using well-controlled facial stimuli like those that this study generated. The findings will be of benefit to the further understanding of what makes a face attractive.
Collapse
|
18
|
Murray J, Williams B. The Role of Images on Illness Behaviour: Interdisciplinary Theory, Evidence, and Ideas. Psychol Rep 2020; 124:2453-2475. [PMID: 32757718 PMCID: PMC8647478 DOI: 10.1177/0033294120945602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
If illness behaviour is to be fully understood, the social and behavioural sciences must
work together to understand the wider forms in which illness is experienced and
communicated with individuals and society. The current paper synthesised literature across
social and behavioural sciences exploring illness experience and communication through
physical and mental images. It argues that images may have the capacity to embody and
influence beliefs, emotions, and health outcomes. While four commonalities exist,
facilitating understandings of illness behaviour across the fields (i.e., understanding
the importance of the patient perspective; perception of the cause, sense of identity with
the illness, consequences, and level of control; health beliefs influencing illness
experience, behaviours, and outcomes; and understanding illness beliefs and experiences
through an almost exclusive focus on the written or spoken word), we will focus on
exploring the fourth commonality. The choice to focus on the role of images on illness
behaviour is due to the proliferation of interventions using image-based approaches. While
these novel approaches show merit, there is a scarcity of theoretical underpinnings and
explorations into the ways in which these are developed and into how people perceive and
understand their own illnesses using image representations. The current paper identified
that the use of images can elucidate patient and practitioner understandings of illness,
facilitate communication, and potentially influence illness behaviours. It further
identified commonalities across the social and behavioural sciences to facilitate theory
informed understandings of illness behaviour which could be applied to visual intervention
development to improve health outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Murray
- School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Brian Williams
- School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Facial appearance and metabolic health biomarkers in women. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13067. [PMID: 32747662 PMCID: PMC7398920 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70119-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial appearance has been suggested to provide an honest cue of an individual’s biological condition. However, there is little direct evidence that facial attractiveness reflects actual health. Here we tested if facial appearance is related with metabolic health biomarkers. Face photographs of 161 healthy, young women (Mage = 28.59, SDage = 2.34) were assessed in terms of perceived attractiveness and health. Metabolic health was evaluated based on levels of markers of lipid and glucose metabolism balance, liver functioning, and inflammation. BMI, testosterone (T), and estradiol (E2) levels were controlled. Facial attractiveness, but not health, was negatively related with lipid profile components detrimental to health (total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides) but not with relatively protective for health HDL. When controlled for BMI, E2, and T, only the relationship between attractiveness and triglycerides remained significant. Facial appearance was unrelated with glucose metabolism, liver functioning, and inflammatory markers. The results suggest, that for healthy women of reproductive age, such measures as BMI and sex hormone levels may be better predictors of attractiveness, compared to measures of metabolic health. Markers of lipid, glucose homeostasis, liver functioning or low-grade inflammation may be rather indicators of future health, of lesser importance in mating context, thus only modestly reflected in facial appearance.
Collapse
|
20
|
Furger S, Stahnke A, Zengaffinen F, Federspiel A, Morishima Y, Papmeyer M, Wiest R, Dierks T, Strik W. Subclinical paranoid beliefs and enhanced neural response during processing of unattractive faces. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 27:102269. [PMID: 32413810 PMCID: PMC7226880 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The perception of faces and consequent social inferences are fundamental for interpersonal communication. While facial expression is important for interindividual communication, constitutional and acquired features are crucial for basic emotions of attraction or repulsion. An emotional bias in face processing has been shown in schizophrenia, but the neurobiological mechanisms are unclear. Studies on the interaction between face processing and the emotional state of healthy individuals may help to elucidate the pathogenesis of the paranoid syndrome in psychosis. This study addressed facial attractiveness and paranoid ideas in a non-clinical population. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated neural activation patterns of 99 healthy subjects during the passive perception of a dynamic presentation of faces with different attractiveness. We found that the perceived attractiveness of faces was linked to the activity of face processing and limbic regions including the fusiform gyrus, amygdala, and prefrontal areas. Paranoid beliefs interacted with perceived attractiveness in these regions resulting in a higher response range and increased activation after the presentation of unattractive faces. However, no behavioral interactions between reported subjective attractiveness and paranoid beliefs were found. The results showed that increased activation of limbic brain regions is linked to paranoid beliefs. Since similar correlations were found in clinical populations with paranoid syndromes, we suggest a dimension of emotional dysregulation ranging from subclinical paranoid beliefs to paranoid schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Furger
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Antje Stahnke
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Francilia Zengaffinen
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yosuke Morishima
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martina Papmeyer
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- University Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Dierks
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
What Experts Appreciate in Patterns: Art Expertise Modulates Preference for Asymmetric and Face-Like Patterns. Symmetry (Basel) 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/sym12050707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This study set out to investigate whether and how aesthetic evaluations of different types of symmetric, as well as abstract vs. representational patterns are modulated by art expertise. To this end, we utilized abstract asymmetric, symmetric, and “broken” patterns slightly deviating from symmetry, as well as more representational patterns resembling faces (also symmetric or broken). While it has already been shown that symmetry preference decreases with art expertise, it was still unclear whether an already established relationship between art expertise and preference for abstract over representational art can be similarly found as a preference for abstract over representational patterns, as these are non-art objects. Nevertheless, we found profound differences in aesthetic preferences between art experts and laypersons. While art experts rated asymmetric patterns higher than laypersons, as expected, they rated face-like patterns lower than laypersons. Also, laypersons rated all other types of patterns higher than asymmetric patterns, while art experts rated the other patterns similar or lower than asymmetric patterns. We found this both for liking and for interest ratings. As no differences between art experts and laypersons were found regarding memory recognition of new and old patterns, this effect is not likely due to differences in memory performance. In sum, this study further extends our knowledge about the influence of art expertise on aesthetic appreciation.
Collapse
|
22
|
Liang B, Yang N, He G, Huang P, Yang Y. Identification of the Facial Features of Patients With Cancer: A Deep Learning-Based Pilot Study. J Med Internet Res 2020; 22:e17234. [PMID: 32347802 PMCID: PMC7221634 DOI: 10.2196/17234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer has become the second leading cause of death globally. Most cancer cases are due to genetic mutations, which affect metabolism and result in facial changes. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to identify the facial features of patients with cancer using the deep learning technique. METHODS Images of faces of patients with cancer were collected to build the cancer face image data set. A face image data set of people without cancer was built by randomly selecting images from the publicly available MegaAge data set according to the sex and age distribution of the cancer face image data set. Each face image was preprocessed to obtain an upright centered face chip, following which the background was filtered out to exclude the effects of nonrelative factors. A residual neural network was constructed to classify cancer and noncancer cases. Transfer learning, minibatches, few epochs, L2 regulation, and random dropout training strategies were used to prevent overfitting. Moreover, guided gradient-weighted class activation mapping was used to reveal the relevant features. RESULTS A total of 8124 face images of patients with cancer (men: n=3851, 47.4%; women: n=4273, 52.6%) were collected from January 2018 to January 2019. The ages of the patients ranged from 1 year to 70 years (median age 52 years). The average faces of both male and female patients with cancer displayed more obvious facial adiposity than the average faces of people without cancer, which was supported by a landmark comparison. When testing the data set, the training process was terminated after 5 epochs. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.94, and the accuracy rate was 0.82. The main relative feature of cancer cases was facial skin, while the relative features of noncancer cases were extracted from the complementary face region. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we built a face data set of patients with cancer and constructed a deep learning model to classify the faces of people with and those without cancer. We found that facial skin and adiposity were closely related to the presence of cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Na Yang
- South Building #2 Division, The 3rd Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guosheng He
- People's Hospital of Beijing Daxing District, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Huang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yong Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Danel DP, Valentova JV, Sánchez OR, Leongómez JD, Varella MAC, Kleisner K. A cross-cultural study of sex-typicality and averageness: Correlation between frontal and lateral measures of human faces. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 30:e23147. [PMID: 30328226 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Revised: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Facial averageness and sexual dimorphism are extensively studied attractiveness markers, which are viewed as possible indicators of biological quality. Both are complex morphological traits, and both can be easily assessed from frontal and lateral projection of a human face. Interestingly, examination of mutual relations between the frontal and lateral dimensions of these markers has so far received little attention in published research. METHODS In our cross-cultural study, we used geometric morphometric data from male and female faces from Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, and the Czech Republic, and analyzed correlations between frontal and lateral measurements of averageness and degree of maleness/femaleness, that is, the individual variation in features that characterize sexual dimorphism. We also analyzed whether the association between frontal and lateral measurements differed in men and women. RESULTS In general, our results showed a moderate correlation in sexually dimorphic features between lateral and frontal facial configuration in both sexes, while frontal and lateral facial averageness was moderately correlated only in women. This pattern was less consistent when individual populations were analyzed separately. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that, in general, the weak association between lateral and frontal facial configurations may be the result of selection pressures in favor of individual identity signals. Moreover, especially in women, the frontal and lateral dimension of a given facial attractiveness marker may provide similar information about the qualities of the individual. The absence of a significant correlation in male facial averageness suggests that frontal and lateral averageness convey different information about an individual.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dariusz P Danel
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.,Department of Heart Diseases, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Oscar R Sánchez
- Human Behaviour Lab, Faculty of Psychology, El Bosque University, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Juan David Leongómez
- Human Behaviour Lab, Faculty of Psychology, El Bosque University, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Marco A C Varella
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Department of Philosophy and History of Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Vaca EE, Bricker JT, Helenowski I, Park ED, Alghoul MS. Identifying Aesthetically Appealing Upper Eyelid Topographic Proportions. Aesthet Surg J 2019; 39:824-834. [PMID: 30689709 DOI: 10.1093/asj/sjz014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The goal of upper eyelid procedures is to restore or create the ideal proportions between the pretarsal space and the upper lid fold. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to define the topographic features of the attractive upper lid. METHODS Caucasian female frontal facial photographs were obtained from public media and periorbital areas were cropped. A total of 294 photographs of eyes were rated by 6 evaluators using a 4-point Likert scale. Eyes rating an average ≥3.5 were defined as "attractive," whereas those rated ≤2.0 were defined as "unattractive" and analyzed using Adobe Illustrator. RESULTS Fifty-one and 19 eyes were included in the attractive and unattractive cohorts, respectively. (Upper lid foldPretarsal) shows ratios averaged between 1.8 and 3.0 among attractive eyes, and larger ratios were observed laterally. These ratios were significantly larger laterally among attractive vs unattractive eyes (P ≤ 0.003). The lash line peak (P < 10-4), lid crease peak (P < 10-3), and brow peak (P < 0.05) were significantly more lateralized in attractive eyes. CONCLUSIONS Attractive eyes tend to exhibit decreased pretarsal show. However, there is pronounced variability in these ratios among attractive eyes, suggesting the importance of other features. Interestingly, progressive lateralization of the lash line, lid crease, and brow peaks appears to be an undescribed feature common to attractive eyes. Knowledge of attractive eyelid features may be an important consideration for planning and optimization of upper lid rejuvenation procedures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elbert E Vaca
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Jonathan T Bricker
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Irene Helenowski
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Eugene D Park
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Mohammed S Alghoul
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Ip FW, Lewis GJ, Lefevre CE. Carotenoid skin colouration enhances face and body attractiveness: A cross-cultural study. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2019; 72:2565-2573. [PMID: 31035862 DOI: 10.1177/1747021819850970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has indicated that faces with higher levels of skin carotenoid colouration are perceived as healthier and more attractive. However, it is not known whether this preference is specific to faces or reflects a more generalised preference in biological stimuli: for example, non-face body parts. Moreover, it is not yet well established whether the preference for carotenoid colouration extends beyond Caucasian populations. Three studies were conducted to address these issues. In Studies 1 and 2, Caucasian and Hong Kong Chinese participants, respectively, selected the more attractive image in pairs of high and low carotenoid colouration versions of images of Caucasian faces and body parts, and also for non-face/body-part control stimuli (scrambled faces). In Study 3, a similar study protocol was used with an independent sample of Hong Kong Chinese participants using stimuli generated from Chinese individuals. The results showed that high carotenoid colouration was preferred across all the three studies in faces and body parts, but not in the control stimuli. In addition, there was a stronger preference for high carotenoid colouration in faces compared with body parts in Studies 1 and 2-although this preference was not observed in Study 3. Overall, these findings demonstrate that higher levels of skin carotenoid colouration are preferred both in face and body parts, but not in non-face stimuli, and that these preferences are evident in Caucasian and Hong Kong Chinese individuals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carmen E Lefevre
- Centre for Behaviour Change, University College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Sadr J, Krowicki L. Face perception loves a challenge: Less information sparks more attraction. Vision Res 2019; 157:61-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
27
|
Biological Bases of Beauty Revisited: The Effect of Symmetry, Averageness, and Sexual Dimorphism on Female Facial Attractiveness. Symmetry (Basel) 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/sym11020279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The factors influencing human female facial attractiveness—symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism—have been extensively studied. However, recent studies, using improved methodologies, have called into question their evolutionary utility and links with life history. The current studies use a range of approaches to quantify how important these factors actually are in perceiving attractiveness, through the use of novel statistical analyses and by addressing methodological weaknesses in the literature. Study One examines how manipulations of symmetry, averageness, femininity, and masculinity affect attractiveness using a two-alternative forced choice task, finding that increased masculinity and also femininity decrease attractiveness, compared to unmanipulated faces. Symmetry and averageness yielded a small and large effect, respectively. Study Two utilises a naturalistic ratings paradigm, finding similar effects of averageness and masculinity as Study One but no effects of symmetry and femininity on attractiveness. Study Three applies geometric face measurements of the factors and a random forest machine learning algorithm to predict perceived attractiveness, finding that shape averageness, dimorphism, and skin texture symmetry are useful features capable of relatively accurate predictions, while shape symmetry is uninformative. However, the factors do not explain as much variance in attractiveness as the literature suggests. The implications for future research on attractiveness are discussed.
Collapse
|
28
|
A Robust and Automatic Method for the Best Symmetry Plane Detection of Craniofacial Skeletons. Symmetry (Basel) 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/sym11020245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The accurate location of the mid-sagittal plane is fundamental for the assessment of craniofacial dysmorphisms and for a proper corrective surgery planning. To date, these elaborations are carried out by skilled operators within specific software environments. Since the whole procedure is based on the manual selection of specific landmarks, it is time-consuming, and the results depend on the operators’ professional experience. This work aims to propose a new automatic and landmark-independent technique which is able to extract a reliable mid-sagittal plane from 3D CT images. The algorithm has been designed to perform a robust evaluation, also in the case of large defect areas. The presented method is an upgraded version of a mirroring-and registration technique for the automatic symmetry plane detection of 3D asymmetrically scanned human faces, previously published by the authors. With respect to the published algorithm, the improvements here introduced concern both the objective function formulation and the method used to minimize it. The automatic method here proposed has been verified in the analysis of real craniofacial skeletons also with large defects, and the results have been compared with other recent technologies.
Collapse
|
29
|
|
30
|
Ekrami O, Claes P, White JD, Zaidi AA, Shriver MD, Van Dongen S. Measuring asymmetry from high-density 3D surface scans: An application to human faces. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0207895. [PMID: 30586353 PMCID: PMC6306226 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Perfect bilateral symmetry is the optimal outcome of the development of bilateral traits in the absence of developmental perturbations. Any random perturbation in this perfect symmetrical state is called Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA). Many studies have been conducted on FA as an indicator of Developmental Instability (DI) and its possible link with stress and individual quality in general and with attractiveness, health and level of masculinity or femininity in humans. Most human studies of facial asymmetry use 2D pictures and a limited number of landmarks. We developed a protocol to utilize high-density 3D scans of human faces to measure the level of asymmetry. A completely symmetric spatially dense anthropometric mask with paired vertices is non-rigidly mapped on target faces using an Iterative Closest Point (ICP) registration algorithm. A set of 19 manually indicated landmarks were used to validate the mapping precision. The protocol's accuracy in FA calculation is assessed, and results show that a spatially dense approach is more accurate. In addition, it generates an integrated asymmetry estimate across the entire face. Finally, the automatic nature of the protocol provides a great advantage by omitting the tedious step of manual landmark indication on the biological structure of interest.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Omid Ekrami
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Peter Claes
- Medical Imaging Research Center (MIRC), Department of Electrical Engineering–ESAT, Faculty of Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Julie D. White
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Arslan A. Zaidi
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Mark D. Shriver
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Stefan Van Dongen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
de Jager S, Coetzee N, Coetzee V. Facial Adiposity, Attractiveness, and Health: A Review. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2562. [PMID: 30622491 PMCID: PMC6308207 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between facial cues and perceptions of health and attractiveness in others plays an influential role in our social interactions and mating behaviors. Several facial cues have historically been investigated in this regard, with facial adiposity being the newest addition. Evidence is mounting that a robust link exists between facial adiposity and attractiveness, as well as perceived health. Facial adiposity has also been linked to various health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood pressure, immune function, diabetes, arthritis, oxidative stress, hormones, and mental health. Though recent advances in the analysis of facial morphology has led to significant strides in the description and quantification of facial cues, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a great deal of nuance in the way that humans use and integrate facial cues to form coherent social or health judgments of others. This paper serves as a review of the current literature on the relationship between facial adiposity, attractiveness, and health. A key component in utilizing facial adiposity as a cue to health and attractiveness perceptions is that people need to be able to estimate body mass from facial cues. To estimate the strength of the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and body mass, a meta-analysis was conducted on studies that quantified the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and BMI/percentage body fat. Summary effect size estimates indicate that participants could reliably estimate BMI from facial cues alone (r = 0.71, n = 458).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan de Jager
- Department of Psychology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa.,Department of Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Nicoleen Coetzee
- Department of Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Vinet Coetzee
- Department of Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Killian AC, Mitra S, Peissig JJ. The Role of Regional Contrast Changes and Asymmetry in Facial Attractiveness Related to Cosmetic Use. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2448. [PMID: 30618914 PMCID: PMC6302773 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study collected behavioral data for testing how regional contrast changes due to the addition of cosmetics would affect attractiveness ratings. In addition, we used an established model of asymmetry to look for a correlation between changes in attractiveness related to the application of cosmetics to specific regions of the face and changes in symmetry. Using this asymmetry model we compared female faces with and without makeup. Specifically, we used a highly controlled set of grayscale faces in which makeup application was standardized to explore these issues from a perceptual perspective. The human data showed that adding upper eye makeup significantly increased attractiveness ratings. In contrast, increases in contrast to the lower eyes and lips did not lead to increases in attractiveness ratings; application of cosmetics to the lower eyes led to a significant decrease in attractiveness. We found that for the makeup condition that led to increased attractiveness, asymmetry did not change significantly when makeup was applied to the female faces. This suggests a role for mechanisms other than symmetry related to increases in attractiveness related to makeup use in females.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C Killian
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
| | - Sinjini Mitra
- Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
| | - Jessie J Peissig
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
|
34
|
Pawlowski B, Borkowska B, Nowak J, Augustyniak D, Drulis-Kawa Z. Human body symmetry and immune efficacy in healthy adults. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 167:207-216. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2017] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Boguslaw Pawlowski
- Department of Human Biology; University of Wroclaw; Kuźnicza 35, Wrocław, 50-138 Poland
| | - Barbara Borkowska
- Department of Human Biology; University of Wroclaw; Kuźnicza 35, Wrocław, 50-138 Poland
| | - Judyta Nowak
- Department of Human Biology; University of Wroclaw; Kuźnicza 35, Wrocław, 50-138 Poland
| | - Daria Augustyniak
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology; University of Wroclaw; Przybyszewskiego 63, Wrocław, 51-148 Poland
| | - Zuzanna Drulis-Kawa
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology; University of Wroclaw; Przybyszewskiego 63, Wrocław, 51-148 Poland
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
|
36
|
Windhager S, Bookstein FL, Mueller H, Zunner E, Kirchengast S, Schaefer K. Calibrating facial morphs for use as stimuli in biological studies of social perception. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6698. [PMID: 29703983 PMCID: PMC5923288 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24911-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of human social perception become more persuasive when the behavior of raters can be separated from the variability of the stimuli they are rating. We prototype such a rigorous analysis for a set of five social ratings of faces varying by body fat percentage (BFP). 274 raters of both sexes in three age groups (adolescent, young adult, senior) rated five morphs of the same averaged facial image warped to the positions of 72 landmarks and semilandmarks predicted by linear regression on BFP at five different levels (the average, ±2 SD, ±5 SD). Each subject rated all five morphs for maturity, dominance, masculinity, attractiveness, and health. The patterns of dependence of ratings on the BFP calibration differ for the different ratings, but not substantially across the six groups of raters. This has implications for theories of social perception, specifically, the relevance of individual rater scale anchoring. The method is also highly relevant for other studies on how biological facial variation affects ratings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Windhager
- Department of Theoretical Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Fred L Bookstein
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Department of Statistics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Hanna Mueller
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elke Zunner
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sylvia Kirchengast
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Katrin Schaefer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Marcinkowska UM, Galbarczyk A, Jasienska G. La donna è mobile? Lack of cyclical shifts in facial symmetry, and facial and body masculinity preferences-A hormone based study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018; 88:47-53. [PMID: 29161637 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although under investigation for more than two decades, a common agreement on the occurrence of cyclical shifts in women's masculinity and symmetry preferences is still missing. Such shifts are considered to be an important feature of sexual selection as they supposedly direct women's attention towards cues for "good genes" (e.g. masculinity and symmetry) during times when probability of conception is the highest. Multiple studies have, however, failed to find these shifts. We attempt to address this lack of agreement analysing a sample of 110 healthy women, using intra-participant design and repeated measurements of oestradiol and LH during the cycle. To ensure the reliable detection of increased conception probability, both LH- based ovulation tests and multiple oestradiol measurements were used. We found no significant differences between women's preferences during different cycle phases for either body or facial masculinity, or for facial symmetry. Differences remained non-significant after controlling for participants' sexual openness, relationship status, and self-judged attractiveness. We suggest that putative cyclical shifts in preferences for cues for good genes are either very small (impossible to be tracked even with a relatively large sample) or they are far more complex than previously assumed, and further studies accounting for more confounding variables should be undertaken.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Urszula M Marcinkowska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 20 Grzegorzecka St., 31-531 Krakow, Poland
| | - Andrzej Galbarczyk
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 20 Grzegorzecka St., 31-531 Krakow, Poland.
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 20 Grzegorzecka St., 31-531 Krakow, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Żelaźniewicz A, Pawłowski B. Maternal breast and body symmetry in pregnancy and offspring condition. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:127-138. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
|
39
|
|
40
|
Schulz K, Hayn-Leichsenring GU. Face Attractiveness versus Artistic Beauty in Art Portraits: A Behavioral Study. Front Psychol 2017; 8:2254. [PMID: 29312091 PMCID: PMC5743918 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
From art portraits, the observer may derive at least two different hedonic values: The attractiveness of the depicted person and the artistic beauty of the image that relates to the way of presentation. We argue that attractiveness is a property that is predominantly driven by perceptual processes, while the perception of artistic beauty is based predominantly on cognitive processing. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two behavioral experiments. In a gist study (Experiment 1), we showed that ratings on attractiveness were higher after short-term presentation (50 ms) than after long-term presentation (3000 ms), while the opposite pattern was found for artistic beauty. In an experiment on perceptual contrast (Experiment 2), we showed that the perceptual contrast effect was stronger for attractiveness than for artistic beauty. These results are compatible with our hypothesis that appreciation of artistic beauty is cognitively modulated at least in part, while processing of attractiveness is predominantly driven perceptually. This dichotomy between cognitive and perceptual processing of different kinds of beauty suggests the participation of different neuronal mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Schulz
- Psychology of Beauty Group, Institute of Anatomy I, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Gregor U Hayn-Leichsenring
- Psychology of Beauty Group, Institute of Anatomy I, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany.,DFG Research Unit Person Perception, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.,Neurology Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Ristić AJ, Jovanović O, Popadić D, Pađen V, Moosa ANV, Krivokapić A, Parojčić A, Berisavac I, Ilanković A, Baščarević V, Vojvodić N, Sokić D. Does facial attractiveness influence perception of epilepsy diagnosis? An insight into stigma in epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2017; 77:1-7. [PMID: 29065282 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2017.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2017] [Revised: 09/16/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Using a group of young healthy individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis (pMS), we aimed to investigate whether the physical attractiveness judgment affects perception of epilepsy. We tested hypothesis that subjects, in the absence of relevant clues, would catch upon the facial attractiveness when asked to speculate which person suffers epilepsy and select less attractive choices. METHOD Two photo-arrays (7 photos for each gender) selected from the Chicago Face Database (180 neutral faces of Caucasian volunteers with unknown medical status) were shown to study participants. Photos were evenly distributed along a continuum of attractiveness that was estimated by independent raters in prestudy stage. In each photo-array, three photos had rating 1-3 (unattractive), one photo had rating 4 (neutral), and three photos had rating 5-7 (attractive). High-quality printed photo-arrays were presented to test subjects, and they were asked to select one person from each photo-array "who has epilepsy". Finally, all subjects were asked to complete questionnaire of self-esteem and 19-item Scale of stereotypes toward people with epilepsy. RESULTS In total, 71 students of psychology, anthropology, or andragogy (mean age: 21.6±1.7years; female: 85.9%) and 70 pMS (mean age: 37.9±8years; female: 71.4%) were tested. Majority of students or pMS had no previous personal experience with individuals with epilepsy (63.4%; 47.1%, p=0.052). Male photo was selected as epileptic in the following proportions: students - 84.5% unattractive, 8.5% neutral, and 7% attractive; pMS - 62.9% unattractive, 8.6% neutral, and 28.6% attractive (p=0.003). Female photo was selected as epileptic in the following proportions: students - 38% unattractive, 52.1% neutral, and 9.9% attractive; pMS - 32.9% unattractive, 34.3% neutral, and 32.9% attractive (0.003). Both groups showed very low potential for stigmatization: significantly lower in pMS in 10 items. Patients with multiple sclerosis showed significantly higher self-esteem than students (p=0.007). CONCLUSION Facial attractiveness influences the perception of diagnosis of epilepsy. Both students and pMS were less willing to attribute epilepsy to attractive person of both genders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandar J Ristić
- Center for Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Neurology Clinic, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Olja Jovanović
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Dragan Popadić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Višnja Pađen
- Center for Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Neurology Clinic, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | | | - Aleksandra Parojčić
- Center for Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Neurology Clinic, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ivana Berisavac
- Center for Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Neurology Clinic, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Andrej Ilanković
- Clinic for Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Nikola Vojvodić
- Center for Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Neurology Clinic, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Dragoslav Sokić
- Center for Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Neurology Clinic, Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Kleisner K, Kočnar T, Tureček P, Stella D, Akoko RM, Třebický V, Havlíček J. African and European perception of African female attractiveness. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
|
43
|
Stephen ID, Hiew V, Coetzee V, Tiddeman BP, Perrett DI. Facial Shape Analysis Identifies Valid Cues to Aspects of Physiological Health in Caucasian, Asian, and African Populations. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1883. [PMID: 29163270 PMCID: PMC5670498 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Facial cues contribute to attractiveness, including shape cues such as symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism. These cues may represent cues to objective aspects of physiological health, thereby conferring an evolutionary advantage to individuals who find them attractive. The link between facial cues and aspects of physiological health is therefore central to evolutionary explanations of attractiveness. Previously, studies linking facial cues to aspects of physiological health have been infrequent, have had mixed results, and have tended to focus on individual facial cues in isolation. Geometric morphometric methodology (GMM) allows a bottom–up approach to identifying shape correlates of aspects of physiological health. Here, we apply GMM to facial shape data, producing models that successfully predict aspects of physiological health in 272 Asian, African, and Caucasian faces – percentage body fat (21.0% of variance explained), body mass index (BMI; 31.9%) and blood pressure (BP; 21.3%). Models successfully predict percentage body fat and blood pressure even when controlling for BMI, suggesting that they are not simply measuring body size. Predicted values of BMI and BP, but not percentage body fat, correlate with health ratings. When asked to manipulate the shape of faces along the physiological health variable axes (as determined by the models), participants reduced predicted BMI, body fat and (marginally) BP, suggesting that facial shape provides a valid cue to aspects of physiological health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian D Stephen
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Vivian Hiew
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Vinet Coetzee
- Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Bernard P Tiddeman
- Department of Computer Science, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
| | - David I Perrett
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Sawada N, Auger E, Lydon JE. Activation of the Behavioral Immune System: Putting the Brakes on Affiliation. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2017; 44:224-237. [PMID: 29020867 DOI: 10.1177/0146167217736046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary psychologists propose that humans evolved a first line of defense against pathogens: the behavioral immune system (BIS). The BIS is thought to be functionally flexible such that the likelihood and magnitude of BIS activation depends on the individual's perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD). Because conspecifics are sources of infection, the BIS has implications for affiliation. By priming and measuring chronic levels of PVD, we examined PVD's relation to affiliation in zero-acquaintance situations in the laboratory, online, and during speed-dating events. Elevated BIS activation was associated with decreased attraction and affiliative behavior in situations that varied in the trade-off between social reward and potential risk of infection. These results were not due to attachment style, personality traits, or disgust sensitivity. This suggests that in social interactions, approach motivation associated with the need to belong may be weighed against avoidance motivation associated with the need to protect the self from disease.
Collapse
|
45
|
Martini M, Klausing A, Messing-Jünger M, Lüchters G. The self-defining axis of symmetry: A new method to determine optimal symmetry and its application and limitation in craniofacial surgery. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 2017; 45:1558-1565. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcms.2017.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
|
46
|
Phalane KG, Tribe C, Steel HC, Cholo MC, Coetzee V. Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men. Sci Rep 2017; 7:7443. [PMID: 28785075 PMCID: PMC5547115 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08015-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial appearance is thought to indicate immunity in humans, but very few studies have tested this relationship directly. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between direct measures of immunity, perceived facial health and attractiveness, and facial cues in African men. We show that men with a stronger cytokine response are considered significantly more attractive and healthy. Men with more masculine, heavier facial features (i.e. muscular appearance) have a significantly higher cytokine response and appear significantly healthier and more attractive, while men with a yellower, lighter, "carotenoid" skin colour, have a marginally higher immune response and are also considered significantly more healthy and attractive. In contrast, more symmetrical, skinnier looking men appeared more attractive and healthier, but did not have a stronger cytokine response. These findings also shed new light on the "androgen-mediated" traits proposed by the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) and we propose that facial muscularity serves as a better estimate of an "androgen-mediated" trait than facial masculinity. Finally, we build on previous evidence to show that men's facial features do indeed reveal aspects of immunity, even better than more traditional measures of health, such as body mass index (BMI).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Khutso G Phalane
- Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Catherine Tribe
- Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Helen C Steel
- Department of Immunology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Moloko C Cholo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Vinet Coetzee
- Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Wang S, Rochat P. Human Perception of Animacy in Light of the Uncanny Valley Phenomenon. Perception 2017; 46:1386-1411. [DOI: 10.1177/0301006617722742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The uncanny valley hypothesis by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori posits a nonlinear relation between human replicas’ human likeness and the emotional responses they elicit. In three studies, we corroborated the uncanny valley hypothesis, using the uncanny phenomenon as a vehicle to shed a new light on human animacy perception. In Study 1, 62 participants rated emotional responses and human likeness of 89 artificial and human faces. In Study 2, another 62 participants conducted a visual looming task with the same 89 faces allowing for the measurement of perceived threat. Results support the uncanny valley hypothesis, suggesting that the uncanny feeling may serve a function to wary humans of the potential danger of entities crossing the animate–inanimate boundary. In Study 3, 36 participants sorted faces as either real or unreal as quickly as possible in a reaction time sorting task allowing for the measurement of categorical uncertainty associated with animacy perception. Faces associated with longer sorting reaction times were also those associated with the highest ratings of negative emotions, suggesting that categorical uncertainty in animacy detection is related to the uncanny feeling. Results are discussed in light of human animacy perception and new directions for future research are suggested.
Collapse
|
48
|
Lee AJ, Wright MJ, Martin NG, Keller MC, Zietsch BP. Facial Trustworthiness is Associated with Heritable Aspects of Face Shape. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-017-0073-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
49
|
|
50
|
Schneider TM, Carbon CC. Taking the Perfect Selfie: Investigating the Impact of Perspective on the Perception of Higher Cognitive Variables. Front Psychol 2017. [PMID: 28649219 PMCID: PMC5465279 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Taking selfies is now becoming a standard human habit. However, as a social phenomenon, research is still in the fledgling stage and the scientific framework is sparse. Selfies allow us to share social information with others in a compact format. Furthermore, we are able to control important photographic and compositional aspects, such as perspective, which have a strong impact on the assessment of a face (e.g., demonstrated by the height-weight illusion, effects of gaze direction, faceism-index). In Study 1, we focused on the impact of perspective (left/right hemiface, above/below vs. frontal presentation) on higher cognitive variables and let 172 participants rate the perceived attractiveness, helpfulness, sympathy, dominance, distinctiveness, and intelligence, plus important information on health issues (e.g., body weight), on the basis of 14 3D faces. We could show that lateral snapshots yielded higher ratings for attractiveness compared to the classical frontal view. However, this effect was more pronounced for left hemifaces and especially female faces. Compared to the frontal condition, 30° right hemifaces were rated as more helpful, but only for female faces while faces viewed from above were perceived as significant less helpful. Direct comparison between left vs. right hemifaces revealed no effect. Relating to sympathy, we only found a significant effect for 30° right male hemifaces, but only in comparison to the frontal condition. Furthermore, female 30° right hemifaces were perceived as more intelligent. Relating to body weight, we replicated the so-called “height-weight illusion.” Other variables remained unaffected. In Study 2, we investigated the impact of a typical selfie-style condition by presenting the respective faces from a lateral (left/right) and tilted (lower/higher) vantage point. Most importantly, depending on what persons wish to express with a selfie, a systematic change of perspective can strongly optimize their message; e.g., increasing their attractiveness by shooting from above left, and in contrast, decreasing their expressed helpfulness by shooting from below. We could further extent past findings relating to the height-weight illusion and showed that an additional rotation of the camera positively affected the perception of body weight (lower body weight). We discuss potential explanations for perspective-related effects, especially gender-related ones.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias M Schneider
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of BambergBamberg, Germany.,Bamberg Graduate School of Affective and Cognitive Sciences, University of BambergBamberg, Germany.,Research Group EPÆG (Ergonomics, Psychological Æsthetics, Gestalt)Bamberg, Germany
| | - Claus-Christian Carbon
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of BambergBamberg, Germany.,Bamberg Graduate School of Affective and Cognitive Sciences, University of BambergBamberg, Germany.,Research Group EPÆG (Ergonomics, Psychological Æsthetics, Gestalt)Bamberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|