An Examination of the Associations Between Facial Structure, Aggressive Behavior, and Performance in the 2010 World Cup Association Football Players

Tracking sexual dimorphism of facial width-to-height ratio across the lifespan: implications for perceived aggressiveness

The facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) influences social judgements like perceived aggression. This may be because FWHR is a sexually dimorphic feature, with males having higher FWHR than females. However, evidence for sexual dimorphism is mixed, little is known about how it varies with age, and the relationship between sexual dimorphism and perceived aggressiveness is unclear. We addressed these gaps by measuring FWHR of 17 607 passport images of male and female faces across the lifespan. We found larger FWHR in males only in young adulthood, aligning with the stage most commonly associated with mate selection and intrasexual competition. However, the direction of dimorphism was reversed after 48 years of age, with females recording larger FWHRs than males. We then examined how natural variation in FWHR affected perceived aggressiveness. The relationship between FWHR and perceived aggressiveness was strongest for males at 27-33 and females at 34-61. Raters were most sensitive to differences in FWHR for young adult male faces, pointing to enhanced sensitivity to FWHR as a cue to aggressiveness. This may reflect a common mechanism for evaluating male aggressiveness from variability in structural (FWHR) and malleable (emotional expression) aspects of the face.

Tracking sexual dimorphism of facial width-to-height ratio across the lifespan: implications for perceived aggressiveness

The facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) influences social judgements like perceived aggression. This may be because FWHR is a sexually dimorphic feature, with males having higher FWHR than females. However, evidence for sexual dimorphism is mixed, little is known about how it varies with age, and the relationship between sexual dimorphism and perceived aggressiveness is unclear. We addressed these gaps by measuring FWHR of 17 607 passport images of male and female faces across the lifespan. We found larger FWHR in males only in young adulthood, aligning with the stage most commonly associated with mate selection and intrasexual competition. However, the direction of dimorphism was reversed after 48 years of age, with females recording larger FWHRs than males. We then examined how natural variation in FWHR affected perceived aggressiveness. The relationship between FWHR and perceived aggressiveness was strongest for males at 27-33 and females at 34-61. Raters were most sensitive to differences in FWHR for young adult male faces, pointing to enhanced sensitivity to FWHR as a cue to aggressiveness. This may reflect a common mechanism for evaluating male aggressiveness from variability in structural (FWHR) and malleable (emotional expression) aspects of the face.

The Association Between Facial Width-to-Height Ratio (fWHR) and Sporting Performances: Evidence From Professional Basketball Players in Japan

Previous research in evolutionary psychology has highlighted the potential role of facial structures in explaining human behavior. The facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) was found to be associated with testosterone-driven behavioral tendencies like achievement drive, aggression, and sporting success. The current study aimed to replicate such relationships using real-world data (i.e., professional basketball players; N = 482). Achievement drive, aggression, and sporting success were operationalized as field-goal attempts (FGA), the number of fouls committed (Foul), and player performance rating (EFF), respectively. The results indicated that fWHR was significantly associated with FGA and EFF, controlling for minutes of play and body-mass-index. The same results were obtained for separate analyses focusing on outsider players. However, analyses of inside players demonstrated that fWHR was associated only with EFF. The current research further provides empirical evidence supporting the effects of fWHR on achievement drive and sporting successes, although the effect sizes are notably small.

E-perceptions and Business 'Mating': The Communication Effects of the Relative Width of Males' Faces in Business Portraits

This study investigates the relative impacts of the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) on the first impressions business professionals form of business consultants when seeing their photographs on a corporate website or LinkedIn page. By applying conjoint analysis on field experiment data (n = 381), we find that in a zero-acquaintance situation business professionals prefer low-fWHR business consultants. This implies that they prefer a face that communicates trustworthiness to one that communicates success. Further, we have investigated the words that business professionals use to describe their preferred consultant. These approach motivations help practitioners to improve the picture-text alignment. The results underline the necessity to critically assess the pictures and text used on websites and media platforms such as LinkedIn for business purposes, and to see them as a key element of business and self-communication that can be altered in order to improve business 'mating.'

Quantitative EEG in sports: performance level estimation of professional female soccer players

Purpose

Measuring the peak performance of athletes remains a challenge in movement science and sports psychology. Non-invasive quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) recordings can be used to analyze various factors in sports psychology.

Method

In this context, sports-related psychological factors were used to estimate the performance of Thai professional female soccer players before a competition. The QEEG recordings of thirty-two players were recorded three times: twice before a competition (once a week) and a week after a competition. Four factors of sports psychology were estimated and observed: anxiety, perceptual response to an acute bout of brain activity, assertiveness, and brain central fatigue. A brain topographic map (absolute power) and brain connectivity (coherence and amplitude asymmetry) data were used to analyze sports-related psychological factors. These factors were measurable based on the brain activity of the athletes and could be used to evaluate their performance during competitions by using QEEG values.

Results

Sports-related psychological performance was estimated by Pearson's correlation coefficients, which revealed that a quick perceptual response to an acute bout of brain activity could predict an athlete's performance during competition (r = .584, p = .000). Additionally, Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to estimate athletes performance. The results revealed a strong relationship ( r s =.634, p = .000), which was derived from the summation of anxiety and perceptual response to an acute bout of brain activity.

Conclusion

Consequently, the results of the present study can provide information to help staff coaches to choose the best performing players, representing an alternative method for accurately selecting key players in the competitive sports community.

Was facial width-to-height ratio subject to sexual selection pressures? A life course approach

Sexual selection researchers have traditionally focused on adult sex differences; however, the schedule and pattern of sex-specific ontogeny can provide insights unobtainable from an exclusive focus on adults. Recently, it has been debated whether facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR; bi-zygomatic breadth divided by midface height) is a human secondary sexual characteristic (SSC). Here, we review current evidence, then address this debate using ontogenetic evidence, which has been under-explored in fWHR research. Facial measurements were collected from 3D surface images of males and females aged 3 to 40 (Study 1; US European-descent, n = 2449), and from 2D photographs of males and females aged 7 to 21 (Study 2; Bolivian Tsimane, n = 179), which were used to calculate three fWHR variants (which we call fWHRnasion, fWHRstomion, and fWHRbrow) and two other common facial masculinity ratios (facial width-to-lower-face-height ratio, fWHRlower, and cheekbone prominence). We test whether the observed pattern of facial development exhibits patterns indicative of SSCs, i.e., differential adolescent growth in either male or female facial morphology leading to an adult sex difference. Results showed that only fWHRlower exhibited both adult sex differences as well as the classic pattern of ontogeny for SSCs-greater lower-face growth in male adolescents relative to females. fWHRbrow was significantly wider among both pre- and post-pubertal males in the Bolivian Tsimane sample; post-hoc analyses revealed that the effect was driven by large sex differences in brow height, with females having higher placed brows than males across ages. In both samples, all fWHR measures were inversely associated with age; that is, human facial growth is characterized by greater relative elongation in the mid-face and lower face relative to facial width. This trend continues even into middle adulthood. BMI was also a positive predictor of most of the ratios across ages, with greater BMI associated with wider faces. Researchers collecting data on fWHR should target fWHRlower and fWHRbrow and should control for both age and BMI. Researchers should also compare ratio approaches with multivariate techniques, such as geometric morphometrics, to examine whether the latter have greater utility for understanding the evolution of facial sexual dimorphism.

Does Facial Width-to-Height Ratio Predict Aggressive Behavior in Association Football?

A growing body of research has emphasized the role of facial structures in affecting human social behavior. In particular, the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) was found to predict aggressive behavior, most notably in men of low social status. The current study aimed at broadening the insights into the role of fWHR in sports regarding the indicators of aggressive behavior and performance. We questioned the impact of fWHR in association football by analyzing fouls committed by players, their (yellow and red) cards received, and their goals scored and assists in the German ( n = 278) and Austrian ( n = 194) first division in the 2016–2017 season (306/180 matches). The market values of players were used as a measure of social status. Generalized estimating equation models taking negative binomial distribution into account did not reveal any significant impact of fWHR on fouls committed, yellow and red cards received, or assists and goals scored. Even the consideration of players’ field positions, players’ body mass index (BMI), their market value, and the interactional term of players’ fWHR and players’ market value did not affect the results. The analyses refuted any impact of fWHR in association football both on parameters of aggressive behavior (fouls and cards received) and performance (goals and assists). Merely, players’ market value was found to predict players’ goals and assists. The current study adds to the empirical evidence encouraging a critical assessment and discussion of fWHR research in sports.

Soccer players awarded one or more red cards exhibit lower 2D:4D ratios

Anatomical, cognitive and behavioral sex differences are widely recognized in many species. It has been proposed that some of these differences might result from the organizing effects of prenatal sex steroids. In humans, males usually exhibit higher levels of physical aggression and prowess. In this study, we analyze the relationship between second-to-fourth digit (2D:4D) ratios-a proxy for prenatal androgen levels-and foul play and sporting performance in a sample of junior soccer players from a professional Uruguayan soccer club. Our results show that the most aggressive players (i.e., those awarded one or more red cards) have a more masculine finger pattern (lower 2D:4D ratio), while no relationship could be found between sporting performance and 2D:4D ratios. The results are discussed in the context of previous findings. Aggr. Behav. 42:417-426, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Facial Width-To-Height Ratio (fWHR) Is Not Associated with Adolescent Testosterone Levels

Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) has been proposed as a sexually dimorphic signal in humans that develops under the influence of pubertal testosterone (T); however, no studies have examined the association between fWHR and T during the phase in which facial growth is canalized—adolescence. In a sample of adolescent Tsimane males, we evaluate the relationship between T, known T-derived traits (i.e. strength and voice pitch), and craniofacial measurements. If fWHR variation derives from T’s effect on craniofacial growth during adolescence, several predictions should be supported: 1) fWHR should increase with age as T increases, 2) fWHR should reflect adolescent T (rather than adult T per se), 3) fWHR should exhibit velocity changes during adolescence in parallel with the pubertal spurt in T, 4) fWHR should correlate with T after controlling for age and other potential confounds, and 5) fWHR should show strong associations with other T-derived traits. Only prediction 4 was observed. Additionally, we examined three alternative facial masculinity ratios: facial width/lower face height, cheekbone prominence, and facial width/full face height. In contrast to fWHR, all three alternative measures show a strong age-related trend and are associated with both T and T-dependent traits. Overall, our results question the status of fWHR as a sexually-selected signal of pubertal T and T-linked traits.

Within-person variability in men's facial width-to-height ratio

Background. In recent years, researchers have investigated the relationship between facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) and a variety of threat and dominance behaviours. The majority of methods involved measuring FWHR from 2D photographs of faces. However, individuals can vary dramatically in their appearance across images, which poses an obvious problem for reliable FWHR measurement.

Methods. I compared the effect sizes due to the differences between images taken with unconstrained camera parameters (Studies 1 and 2) or varied facial expressions (Study 3) to the effect size due to identity, i.e., the differences between people. In Study 1, images of Hollywood actors were collected from film screenshots, providing the least amount of experimental control. In Study 2, controlled photographs, which only varied in focal length and distance to camera, were analysed. In Study 3, images of different facial expressions, taken in controlled conditions, were measured.

Results. Analyses revealed that simply varying the focal length and distance between the camera and face had a relatively small effect on FWHR, and therefore may prove less of a problem if uncontrolled in study designs. In contrast, when all camera parameters (including the camera itself) are allowed to vary, the effect size due to identity was greater than the effect of image selection, but the ranking of the identities was significantly altered by the particular image used. Finally, I found significant changes to FWHR when people posed with four of seven emotional expressions in comparison with neutral, and the effect size due to expression was larger than differences due to identity.

Discussion. The results of these three studies demonstrate that even when head pose is limited to forward facing, changes to the camera parameters and a person’s facial expression have sizable effects on FWHR measurement. Therefore, analysing images that fail to constrain some of these variables can lead to noisy and unreliable results, but also relationships caused by previously unconsidered confounds.

Evidence from Meta-Analyses of the Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as an Evolved Cue of Threat

The facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) is the width of the face divided by the height of the upper face. There is mixed evidence for the hypothesis that the FWHR is a cue of threat and dominance in the human face. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses of all peer-reviewed studies (and 2 unpublished studies) to estimate the magnitude of the sex difference in the FWHR, and the magnitude of the relationship between the FWHR and threatening and dominant behaviours and perceptions. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the authors reported an analysis involving the FWHR. Our analyses revealed that the FWHR was larger in men than in women (d¯ = .11, n = 10,853), cued judgements of masculinity in men (r¯ = .35, n of faces = 487; n of observers = 339), and was related to body mass index (r¯ = .31, n = 2,506). Further, the FWHR predicted both threat behaviour in men (r¯ = .16, n = 4,603) and dominance behaviour in both sexes (r¯ = .12, n = 948) across a variety of indices. Individuals with larger FWHRs were judged by observers as more threatening (r¯ = .46, n of faces = 1,691; n of observers = 2,076) and more dominant (r¯ = .20, n of faces = 603; n of observers = 236) than those with smaller FWHRs. Individuals with larger FWHRs were also judged as less attractive (r¯ = -.26, n of faces = 721; n of observers = 335), especially when women made the judgements. These findings provide some support for the hypothesis that the FWHR is part of an evolved cueing system of intra-sexual threat and dominance in men. A limitation of the meta-analyses on perceptions of threat and dominance were the low number of stimuli involving female and older adult faces.

Facial Width-to-Height Ratio in a Large Sample of Commonwealth Games Athletes

Evidence that facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) is a sexually dimorphic morphological measure is mixed. Research has also linked FWHR with aggression and other behavioral tendencies, at least in men. Again, other research has found no such relationship. Here, I tested for both possible relationships using a sample of 2,075 male and 1,406 female athletes from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Men showed significantly greater FWHRs than women, but this difference could be attributed to differences in body size. In addition, I found greater FWHRs in men who competed in sports involving physical contact and those stereotyped as more masculine. Again, these results could be attributed to differences in body size between categories. For women, no differences in FWHR were found regarding the amount of contact involved in a sport and how that sport was stereotyped. Finally, the FWHRs of athletes showed no relationship with the amount of aggression and related traits that were judged as required for success in those sports, although FWHRs did correlate with perceived endurance demands in women. Therefore, in a large sample of athletes, the sex difference in FWHR could be attributed to body size, and little support was found for the predicted links between this facial measure and behavior.