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Parsa KM, Hakimi AA, Hollis T, Shearer SC, Chu E, Reilly MJ. Understanding the Impact of Aging on Attractiveness Using a Machine Learning Model of Facial Age Progression. Facial Plast Surg Aesthet Med 2023. [PMID: 37062756 DOI: 10.1089/fpsam.2022.0273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Advances in machine learning age progression technology offer the unique opportunity to better understand the public's perception on the aging face. Objective: To compare how observers perceive attractiveness and traditional gender traits in faces created with a machine learning model. Methods: Eight surveys were developed, each with 10 sets of photographs that were progressively aged with a machine learning model. Respondents rated attractiveness and masculinity or femininity of each photograph using a sliding scale (range: 0-100). Mean attractiveness scores were calculated and compared between men and women as well as between age groups. Results: A total of 315 respondents (51% men, 49% women) completed the survey. Accuracy of the facial age progression model was 85%. Females were considered significantly less attractive (-10.43, p < 0.01) and less feminine (-7.59, p < 0.01) per decade with the greatest drop over age 40 years. Male attractiveness and masculinity were relatively preserved until age 50 years where attractiveness scores were significantly lower (-5.45, p = 0.39). Conclusions: In this study, observers were found to perceive attractiveness at older ages differently between men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keon M Parsa
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Amir A Hakimi
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Tonja Hollis
- Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Sarah C Shearer
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Eugenia Chu
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Michael J Reilly
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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2
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Schleifenbaum L, Stern J, Driebe JC, Wieczorek LL, Gerlach TM, Arslan RC, Penke L. Men are not aware of and do not respond to their female partner's fertility status: Evidence from a dyadic diary study of 384 couples. Horm Behav 2022; 143:105202. [PMID: 35661968 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how human mating psychology is affected by changes in female cyclic fertility is informative for comprehending the evolution of human reproductive behavior. Based on differential selection pressures between the sexes, men are assumed to have evolved adaptations to notice women's within-cycle cues to fertility and show corresponding mate retention tactics to secure access to their female partners when fertile. However, previous studies suffered from methodological shortcomings and yielded inconsistent results. In a large, preregistered online dyadic diary study (384 heterosexual couples), we found no compelling evidence that men notice women's fertility status (as potentially reflected in women's attractiveness, sexual desire, or wish for contact with others) or display mid-cycle increases in mate retention tactics (jealousy, attention, wish for contact or sexual desire towards female partners). These results extend our current understanding of the evolution of women's concealed ovulation and oestrus, and suggest that both might have evolved independently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Schleifenbaum
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Julia Stern
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | | | | | - Tanja M Gerlach
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany; Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lars Penke
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
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3
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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
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4
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Marcinkowska UM, Jones BC, Cai H, Contreras-Garduno J, Onyishi IE, Orjiakor CT, Prasai K, Pazhoohi F, Taniguchi H, Lee AJ. An exploratory, cross-cultural study on perception of putative cyclical changes in facial fertility cues. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16911. [PMID: 34413430 PMCID: PMC8377019 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96454-w] [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: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many researchers have argued that facial traits evolved as honest cues to women's current fertility (possibly via changes in facial femininity), evidence that women's facial attractiveness is significantly, positively related to probability of conception throughout menstrual cycle is mixed. These mixed results could reflect differences among studies in the methods used to assess facial attractiveness (i.e., forced choice versus rating-scale methods), differences in how fertility was assessed, differences in perceiver characteristics (e.g., their own attractiveness), and facial preferences possibly being moderated by the characteristics of the living environment. Consequently, the current study investigated the putative effect of cyclical changes in fertility on women's facial attractiveness and femininity (1) using forced choice and rating-scale method, (2) conducting both ovulation tests and repeated daily measures of estradiol assessing the conception probability, (3) based on a culturally diverse sample of perceivers, while (4) controlling for inter-individual variation. Although we found some limited evidence that women's faces became more attractive when conception probability increased, these effects differed depending on the methods used to assess both attractiveness and fertility. Moreover, where statistically significant effects were observed, the effect sizes were extremely small. Similarly, there was little robust evidence that perceivers' characteristics reliably predicted preferences for fertility cues. Collectively, these results suggest that mixed results in previous studies examining cyclical fluctuation in women's facial attractiveness are unlikely to reflect inter-cultural differences and are more likely to reflect differences in the methods used to assess facial attractiveness and fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benedict C Jones
- School of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Huaijan Cai
- Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Ike E Onyishi
- Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
| | | | | | - Farid Pazhoohi
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Anthony J Lee
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK
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5
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Żelaźniewicz A, Nowak-Kornicka J, Zbyrowska K, Pawłowski B. Predicted reproductive longevity and women's facial attractiveness. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248344. [PMID: 33690719 PMCID: PMC7946180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Physical attractiveness has been shown to reflect women's current fecundity level, allowing a man to choose a potentially more fertile partner in mate choice context. However, women vary not only in terms of fecundity level at reproductive age but also in reproductive longevity, both influencing a couple's long-term reproductive success. Thus, men should choose their potential partner not only based on cues of current fecundity but also on cues of reproductive longevity, and both may be reflected in women's appearance. In this study, we investigated if a woman's facial attractiveness at reproductive age reflects anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level, a hormone predictor of age at menopause, similarly as it reflects current fecundity level, estimated with estradiol level (E2). Face photographs of 183 healthy women (Mage = 28.49, SDage = 2.38), recruited between 2nd - 4th day of the menstrual cycle, were assessed by men in terms of attractiveness. Women's health status was evaluated based on C-reactive protein level and biochemical blood test. Serum AMH and E2 were measured. The results showed that facial attractiveness was negatively correlated with AMH level, a hormone indicator of expected age at menopause, and positively with E2, indicator of current fecundity level, also when controlled for potential covariates (testosterone, BMI, age). This might result from biological trade-off between high fecundity and the length of reproductive lifespan in women and greater adaptive importance of high fecundity at reproductive age compared to the length of reproductive lifespan.
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6
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Pavlovič O, Fiala V, Kleisner K. Environmental convergence in facial preferences: a cross-group comparison of Asian Vietnamese, Czech Vietnamese, and Czechs. Sci Rep 2021; 11:550. [PMID: 33436663 PMCID: PMC7804147 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79623-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that sociocultural environment has a significant impact on human behavior. This contribution focuses on differences in the perception of attractiveness of European (Czech) faces as rated by Czechs of European origin, Vietnamese persons living in the Czech Republic and Vietnamese who permanently reside in Vietnam. We investigated whether attractiveness judgments and preferences for facial sex-typicality and averageness in Vietnamese who grew up and live in the Czech Republic are closer to the judgements and preferences of Czech Europeans or to those of Vietnamese born and residing in Vietnam. We examined the relative contribution of sexual shape dimorphism and averageness to the perception of facial attractiveness across all three groups of raters. Czech Europeans, Czech Vietnamese, and Asian Vietnamese raters of both sexes rated facial portraits of 100 Czech European participants (50 women and 50 men, standardized, non-manipulated) for attractiveness. Taking Czech European ratings as a standard for Czech facial attractiveness, we showed that Czech Vietnamese assessments of attractiveness were closer to this standard than assessments by the Asian Vietnamese. Among all groups of raters, facial averageness positively correlated with perceived attractiveness, which is consistent with the "average is attractive" hypothesis. A marginal impact of sexual shape dimorphism on attractiveness rating was found only in Czech European male raters: neither Czech Vietnamese nor Asian Vietnamese raters of either sex utilized traits associated with sexual shape dimorphism as a cue of attractiveness. We thus conclude that Vietnamese people permanently living in the Czech Republic converge with Czechs of Czech origin in perceptions of facial attractiveness and that this population adopted some but not all Czech standards of beauty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Pavlovič
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, Prague, 128 44, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Fiala
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, Prague, 128 44, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, Prague, 128 44, Czech Republic.
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7
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Stereotypes and Structure in the Interaction between Facial Emotional Expression and Sex Characteristics. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-020-00141-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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8
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Wang K, Liang R, Yu X, Shum DHK, Roalf D, Chan RCK. The thinner the better: Evidence on the internalization of the slimness ideal in Chinese college students. Psych J 2020; 9:544-552. [PMID: 32043314 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Internalization of the "thin ideal" is a risk factor for eating pathology. It is unclear how pervasive the thin ideal is among young Chinese. In the current study, 97 participants reported their subjective willingness to be thin and their eating-disorder-related weight-controlling behaviors, and then finished a picture judgment task to implicitly detect their perception of the importance of thinness to attractiveness. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the data. Among female participants, 79.59% wanted a thinner body. Participants' level of willingness to be thin correlated positively with frequency of eating-disorder-related weight-controlling behaviors, r = .47, p < .05. In the implicit task, the judgment of others' attractiveness correlated negatively with body mass index (BMI) evaluation, and this relationship was stronger for women's pictures than for men's pictures. Additionally, an individual's willingness to be thin enhanced the relationship between BMI evaluation and attractiveness judgment. The notion "the thinner the better" seems to be widely accepted among young Chinese.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kui Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rui Liang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyang Yu
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - David H K Shum
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.,School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
| | - David Roalf
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Translational Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Shanghai Mental Health Centre, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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9
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Thomas AG, Jonason PK, Blackburn JD, Kennair LEO, Lowe R, Malouff J, Stewart-Williams S, Sulikowski D, Li NP. Mate preference priorities in the East and West: A cross-cultural test of the mate preference priority model. J Pers 2019; 88:606-620. [PMID: 31494937 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Mate choice involves trading-off several preferences. Research on this process tends to examine mate preference prioritization in homogenous samples using a small number of traits and thus provide little insight into whether prioritization patterns reflect a universal human nature. This study examined whether prioritization patterns, and their accompanying sex differences, are consistent across Eastern and Western cultures. METHOD In the largest test of the mate preference priority model to date, we asked an international sample of participants (N = 2,477) to design an ideal long-term partner by allocating mate dollars to eight traits using three budgets. Unlike previous versions of the task, we included traits known to vary in importance by culture (e.g., religiosity and chastity). RESULTS Under low budget conditions, Eastern and Western participants differed in their mate dollar allocation for almost every trait (average d = 0.42), indicating that culture influences prioritization. Despite these differences, traits fundamental for the reproductive success of each sex in the ancestral environment were prioritized by both Eastern and Western participants. CONCLUSION The tendency to prioritize reproductively fundamental traits is present in both Eastern and Western cultures. The psychological mechanisms responsible for this process produce similar prioritization patterns despite cross-cultural variation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter K Jonason
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
| | | | | | - Rob Lowe
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - John Malouff
- Department of Psychology, The University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Danielle Sulikowski
- Perception and Performance Research Group, School of Psychology, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Norman P Li
- School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore
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10
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Kanazawa S. An association between women's physical attractiveness and the length of their reproductive career in a prospectively longitudinal nationally representative sample. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23256. [PMID: 31120164 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Why is physical attractiveness more important for women's mate value in long-term mating than in short-term mating? This article replicates Bovet et al.'s (Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2018; 31:229-238) recent finding that physically attractive women have a later expected age of menopause. METHODS I analyzed the prospectively longitudinal, nationally representative sample of women in the National Child Development Study, applying t-test and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS Analyses showed that girls rated physically attractive at age 7 underwent menarche 3.12 months earlier than other girls, and they had 32% smaller odds of having undergone menopause before age 51. The results suggest that more physically attractive women have longer reproductive careers, explaining why physical attractiveness may be a more important determinant of women's mate value in long-term mating than in short-term mating. CONCLUSIONS Women's physical attractiveness predicts the timing of menarche and menopause, thereby the length of their reproductive careers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Kanazawa
- Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
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Cai Z, Hahn AC, Zhang W, Holzleitner IJ, Lee AJ, DeBruine LM, Jones BC. No evidence that facial attractiveness, femininity, averageness, or coloration are cues to susceptibility to infectious illnesses in a university sample of young adult women. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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12
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Thouzeau V, Raymond M. Emergence and maintenance of menopause in humans: A game theory model. J Theor Biol 2017; 430:229-236. [PMID: 28739172 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Menopause, the permanent cessation of ovulation, occurs in women well before the end of their expected life span. Several adaptive hypotheses have been proposed to solve this evolutionary puzzle, each based on a possible fitness benefit derived from an early reproductive senescence, but no consensus has emerged. The construction of a game theory model allowed us to jointly study the main adaptive hypotheses in emergence and maintenance of menopause. Four classical hypotheses on the benefits of menopause were considered (decreased maternal mortality, increased grandmothering, decreased conflict over reproductive resources between older and younger females, and changes in their relatedness) plus a fifth one derived from a possible pleiotropic trade-off. Interestingly, the conditions for the emergence of menopause are more restrictive than those for its maintenance due to the social and familial changes induced by the occurrence of non-reproductive older women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Thouzeau
- Institute of Evolutionary Sciences, CNRS, IRD, EPHE CC 065, University of Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cédex 05, France; Eco-Anthropology and Ethnobiology Lab, UMR 7206, 57 rue Cuvier, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Michel Raymond
- Institute of Evolutionary Sciences, CNRS, IRD, EPHE CC 065, University of Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cédex 05, France.
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