Self-reported impulsivity, rather than sociosexuality, predicts women's preferences for masculine features in male faces

Testing Mate Choice Hypotheses in a Transitional Small Scale Population

Objective

Tests of theories of mate choice often rely on data gathered in White, industrialised samples and this is especially the case for studies of facial attraction. Our understanding of preferences for sexual dimorphism is currently in flux and a number of hypotheses require testing in more diverse participant samples. The current study uses opportunistically gathered facial dimorphism preference data from 271 participants in rural Nicaragua, and 40 from the national capital Managua. We assess pre-registered hypotheses drawn from sexual selection theory, and from more recent approaches which consider the impacts of economic development and cultural ‘modernisation’ on mate preferences.

Methods

Participants verbally reported demographic data, and indicated preferences for five male and five female pairs of faces manipulated to differ in sexually dimorphic facial structure based on a sample of Salvadoran individuals.

Results

While urban participants showed a preference for more feminine female faces, this preference was not evident in the rural participants. Neither urban nor rural participants showed any directional preference for masculinised/feminised male faces. Furthermore, there was no support for any other pre-registered hypothesis.

Conclusions

Our results are consistent with previous studies showing no interest in facial dimorphism in less globally-acculturated, or market integrated, populations. Together, this suggests that while facial dimorphism may be subject to systematically varying preferences amongst some low-fertility, industrialised populations, it is not a feature which is likely to have been important in ancestral populations. We call for further work attempting to replicate well known mate choice phenomena in more diverse samples.

Mating Strategies and the Masculinity Paradox: How Relationship Context, Relationship Status, and Sociosexuality Shape Women's Preferences for Facial Masculinity and Beardedness

According to the dual mating strategy model, in short-term mating contexts women should forego paternal investment qualities in favor of mates with well-developed secondary sexual characteristics and dominant behavioral displays. We tested whether this model explains variation in women's preferences for facial masculinity and beardedness in male faces. Computer-generated composites that had been morphed to appear ± 50% masculine were rated by 671 heterosexual women (M age = 31.72 years, SD = 6.43) for attractiveness when considering them as a short-term partner, long-term partner, a co-parent, or a friend. They then completed the Revised Sociosexual Inventory (SOI-R) to determine their sexual openness on dimensions of desire, behavior, and attitudes. Results showed that women's preferences were strongest for average facial masculinity, followed by masculinized faces, with feminized faces being least attractive. In contrast to past research, facial masculinity preferences were stronger when judging for co-parenting partners than for short-term mates. Facial masculinity preferences were also positively associated with behavioral SOI, negatively with desire, and were unrelated to global or attitudinal SOI. Women gave higher ratings for full beards than clean-shaven faces. Preferences for beards were higher for co-parenting and long-term relationships than short-term relationships, although these differences were not statistically significant. Preferences for facial hair were positively associated with global and attitudinal SOI, but were unrelated to behavioral SOI and desire. Although further replication is necessary, our findings indicate that sexual openness is associated with women's preferences for men's facial hair and suggest variation in the association between sociosexuality and women's facial masculinity preferences.

Self-rated Attractiveness and Sociosexual Behavior Predict Gay Men's Preferences for Masculine Cues in Male Voices in China

Theory and some evidence suggest that masculine characteristics (e.g., lower pitched voice) will predict indices of men's long-term health. In a related finding, researchers have demonstrated that the attractiveness of individuals predicts variation in their mate preferences. As self-perceived attractiveness may predict sociosexuality (i.e., the willingness of individuals to engage in restricted or unrestricted sexual relationships), we investigated how self-rated attractiveness and sociosexuality influence preferences regarding male voices among 338 gay men across different cities in China. Each participant was randomly presented with six pairs of male voices and gave preferences using a forced-choice method; each pair of male voices consisted of a masculine (lower pitched) and feminine (higher pitched) version of the same original voice. Our findings suggested that gay men who perceived themselves as more attractive showed stronger preference for lower pitched voices compared with self-perceived less attractive individuals. In addition, we found that gay men's sociosexuality score was positively correlated with their preference for masculine cues in male voices, indicating that gay men who were less sociosexually restricted preferred lower pitched voices over higher pitched versions compared with men who were more restricted. Our study presents evidence contributing to a better understanding of condition-dependent strategies of partner choice in gay men.

Does testosterone predict women's preference for facial masculinity?

The influence of sex hormones on women’s mate preferences has been an intensively discussed topic for more than a decade. Yet the extent to which levels of sex hormones, and testosterone in particular, influence women’s mate preferences is unclear. Thus, the current study used multilevel modelling to investigate putative relationships between salivary testosterone and facial masculinity preferences in a sample of 68 women, while controlling for their age, partnership status, and sociosexuality. We found no significant associations between masculinity preferences and either individual differences or within-woman changes in testosterone. We did find however, that sociosexuality was positively correlated with masculinity preferences. Although it has previously been suggested that testosterone is related to women’s facial masculinity preference, our data do not support this proposal.

A Comparison of Masculinity Facial Preference Among Naturally Cycling, Pregnant, Lactating, and Post-Menopausal Women

Women show cyclical shifts in preferences for physical male traits. Here we investigated how fertility status influences women's facial masculinity preference in men by analyzing a large sample of heterosexual women (N = 3720). Women were regularly either cycling (in both low- and high-conception probability groups), lactating or were currently in a non-fertile state (pregnant or post-menopausal). Analyses simultaneously controlled for women's age and sexual openness. Participants via two alternative forced choice questions judged attractiveness of masculinized and feminized men's faces. After controlling for the effect of age and sociosexuality, regularly cycling and pregnant women showed a stronger preference for masculinity than lactating and post-menopausal women. However, there was no significant difference in masculinity preference between women in the low- and high-conception probability groups. Women's sociosexuality showed a positive, but very weak association with men's facial masculinity preference. We suggest that women's overall, long-term hormonal state (cycling, post-menopausal) is a stronger predictor of preference for sexual dimorphism than changes in hormonal levels through the cycle.

Correlated Preferences for Male Facial Masculinity and Partner Traits in Gay and Bisexual Men in China

Previous studies have documented the correlation between preferences for male facial masculinity and perceived masculinity: women who rate their male partner as more masculine tend to prefer more masculine faces. Men's self-rated masculinity predicts their female partner's preference for masculinity. This study examined the association between other trait preferences and preference for male facial masculinity among 556 gay and bisexual men across multiple cities in China. Participants were asked to choose the three most important traits in a romantic partner from a list of 23 traits. Each participant was then asked to choose a preferred face in each of 10 pairs of male faces presented sequentially, with each pair consisting of a masculinized and feminized version of the same base face. The results indicated that preferences for health and status-related traits were correlated with preferences for male facial masculinity in gay and bisexual men in China; individuals who were more health- or status-oriented in their preferences for a romantic partner preferred more masculine male faces than individuals with lower levels of these orientations. The findings have implications for the correlated preferences for facial masculinity and health- and status-related traits and may be related to perceived health and dominance/aggression of masculine faces based on a sample of non-Western gay and bisexual men.