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Lee AJ, Jones BC, Zietsch BP, Jern P, Connolly H, Marcinkowska UM. No evidence that sociosexual orientation moderates effects of conception probability on women's preferences for male facial masculinity. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10245. [PMID: 37353614 PMCID: PMC10290078 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37404-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Although many researchers have proposed that women will show stronger preferences for male facial masculinity when conception probability is high, empirical tests of this hypothesis have produced mixed results. One possible explanation for these inconsistent findings is that effects of conception probability on women's preferences for facial masculinity are moderated by additional factors not typically considered in these empirical tests. One such potential moderator is individual differences in women's openness to uncommitted sexual relationships (i.e., individual differences in women's sociosexual orientation); women who are more open to uncommitted sexual relationships might show stronger positive effects of conception probability on masculinity preferences, as their sexuality is more overt and sexual attitudes and behaviours are more diversified. Consequently, we analysed data from three independent samples (N = 2304, N = 483, and N = 339) to assess whether sociosexual orientation moderates the hypothesised positive effect of conception probability on women's facial masculinity preferences. Analyses showed no evidence that higher conception probability increased preferences for facial masculinity or that sociosexual orientation moderated the effect of conception probability on women's preferences for facial masculinity. While it remains possible that factors other than sociosexual orientation moderate effects of conception probability on masculinity preferences, our null results suggest that the mixed results for the effects of conception probability on facial masculinity preferences in previous studies are unlikely to be a consequence of failing to consider the moderating role of sociosexual orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J Lee
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland.
| | - Benedict C Jones
- School of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Brendan P Zietsch
- Centre for Psychology and Evolution, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Patrick Jern
- Department of Psychology, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Henry Connolly
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland
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Hodges-Simeon CR, Albert G, Richardson GB, McHale TS, Weinberg SM, Gurven M, Gaulin SJC. Was facial width-to-height ratio subject to sexual selection pressures? A life course approach. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0240284. [PMID: 33711068 PMCID: PMC7954343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn R Hodges-Simeon
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Graham Albert
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - George B Richardson
- School of Human Services, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Timothy S McHale
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology and Museum Studies, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, United States of America
| | - Seth M Weinberg
- Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Steven J C Gaulin
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
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Leng H, Liu Y, Li Q, Wu Q, Li D, Jiang Z. Outcome Evaluation Affects Facial Trustworthiness: An Event-Related Potential Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:514142. [PMID: 33240058 PMCID: PMC7683520 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.514142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial trustworthiness and feedback information of trustees can influence trustors’ investment behavior in trust games. This study investigated the temporal features of outcome evaluation (evaluation of feedback) and how they influence the processing of facial trustworthiness. A total of 25 college students participated in a decision-making task in which feedback was presented prior to a face stimulus. The decision of participants to continue investing was evaluated. We observed that trustors were more inclined to keep investing in trustworthy trustees or those appearing after positive feedback (gains). Event-related potential (ERP) results revealed that in the face presentation stage, trustworthy faces with losses induced more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) than did trustworthy faces with gains and untrustworthy faces with losses. Further, faces that did not meet expectations induced more negative FRN. Trustworthy faces with gains induced more positive late positive component (LPC) than did trustworthy faces with losses and generated more motivated attention. Bottom–up and top–down processes were integrated for facial trustworthiness perception at different stages. In sum, top–down processing exerted a greater impact during the early stage of facial trustworthiness perception, both top–down and bottom–up processing were involved in the medium term, and bottom–up processing exerted a greater impact in the later stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haizhou Leng
- Element Education Department, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Ying Liu
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | - Qian Li
- Xingtai Special Education School, Xingtai, China
| | - Qi Wu
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | - Dong Li
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | - Zhongqing Jiang
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
- *Correspondence: Zhongqing Jiang
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