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PS4029/30
Perspectives on social attributions
Lecture 7
1. attractive faces deviate from average [recap]
2. sex. dim. and non-human mate choice
3. attitudes to masculinity in human faces
4. Systematic variation in female preferences for sexual dimorphism in male faces
5. Strategic female preferences for masculine males (intro)
Lecture 7: Sexual dimorphism & attractiveness
Perrett et al (1994) showed that very attractive faces are not average
1. Evidence against averageness accounts of attraction [recap]
Average of 60 Average of Most attractive
Hyper-attractive
Exaggerate differences between A + B
A BMost attractive of
3 faces
2. Sex dim and non-human mate choice (Andersson,1994)
IN MOST SPECIES FEMALES CHOOSE MATES WITH EXAGGERATED MASCULINE TRAITS - - WHY??
MASCULINE MALES & GOOD GENES FOR IMMUNOCOMPETENCE
masculine traits caused by testosterone
testosterone is an immunosuppressant
to develop masculine traits you need to have a strong immune system
masculine traits signal heritable immune system strength (but not necessarily current condition)
NON-HUMAN MALES PREFER FEMININE FEMALES
thought to choose feminine females as mates because such
females are fertile
This increases the males chances of increasing their
reproductive success
3. ATTITUDES TO MASCULINITY IN HUMAN F ACES
DO HUMAN MALES PREFER FEMININE FEMALE FACES?
DO HUMAN FEMALES PREFER MASCULINE MALE FACES?
THIS IS A VERY STRONG PREDICTION FROM ANIMAL LITERATURE
femininewarmhonestgood parent
“dad”masculinefeminine
3. ATTIUDES TO MASCULINITY IN HUMAN FACES
Perrett et al. Nature (1998)
masculinecolddishonestbad parent
“cad”
surprisingaversion to masculinityin both male + female faces
4. SYSTEMATIC VARIATION IN FEMALE PREFERENCES FOR
MASCULINE MALES
Although women seem to generally prefer feminine male faces, the strength of this preference seemed highly variable in the
Perrett et al 1998 study
Is this variation in female preferences for sexual dimorphism in male faces random or systematic?
MASCULINITY OF ODOUR
MALE PHEREMONE
(A CHEMICAL SIGNALOF ‘MALE’)
PEOPLE GENERALLYDON’T LIKE MASCULINEFACES
WHAT ABOUT ODOURS?
FEMALE ATTRACTION TO MASCULINITY IN MALE FACES AND ODOURS
r60=0.40, p=0.002
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
Pleasantness of male sex pheromone
Pre
ferr
ed
face
ma
scu
linity
(%
)
dislike
64%
neutral
20%
like
17%
Cornwell et al. Proc Roy Soc (2004)
Masculinity preferences and ‘perceptual bias’
Preferences for faces that deviate from average are hard
for perceptual bias accounts to explain
Systematic variation in preferences is also hard for perceptual bias accounts to
explain
5. Strategic female preferences for masculine males (intro)
There are possible benefits (e.g. healthy offspring) to choosing a masculine male for a short-term relationship
(where investment NOT important)
There are possible costs to choosing a masculine male as a long-term partner (e.g. low investment - Mazuur
and Booth 1998, Perrett et al 1998)
Are individual differences in women’s masculinity preferences ‘strategic’?
Key themes
People prefer feminised male and female faces to average or masculinised versions
It is surprising women do not prefer masculine male faces as facial masculinity may signal ‘good genes’ for
immunocompetence
Women’s preferences for masculinity seem to be systematic (some women more tolerant of masculinity than others are), suggesting there may be a strategy at
work
Next week
Strategic female preferences for masculine faces as evident in change in face preferences across the menstrual
cycle
Menstrual cycle, ‘pill’, pregnancy and illness avoidance