Sex-typicality and attractiveness: Are supermale and superfemale faces super-attractive

被引:161
作者
Rhodes, G [1 ]
Hickford, C
Jeffery, L
机构
[1] Univ Western Australia, Dept Psychol, Perth, WA 6907, Australia
[2] Univ Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand
关键词
D O I
10.1348/000712600161718
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
Many animals find extreme versions of secondary sexual characteristics attractive, and such preferences can enhance reproductive success (Andersson, 1994). We hypothesized, therefore, that extreme versions of sex-typical traits may be attractive in human faces. We created supermale and superfemale faces by exaggerating all spatial differences between an average male and an average female face. In Expt 1 the male average was preferred to a supermale (50% exaggeration of differences from the female average). There was no clear preference for the female average or the superfemale (50% exaggeration). In Expt 2, participants chose the most attractive face from sets of images containing feminized as well as masculinized images for each sex, and spanning a wider range of exaggeration levels than in Expt 1. Chinese sets were also shown, to see whether similar preferences would occur for a less familiar race (participants were Caucasian). The most attractive female image was significantly feminized for faces of both races. However, the most attractive male image for both races was also significantly feminized. These results indicate that feminization, rather than sex exaggeration per se, is attractive in human faces, and they corroborate similar findings by Perrett: ed al. (1998).
引用
收藏
页码:125 / 140
页数:16
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