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Singh P, Birkett L, Dhar S, Krumhuber E, Mosahebi A, Ponniah A. Facial Beauty and the Correlation of Associated Attributes: An Empirical Aesthetic Database Study. PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY-GLOBAL OPEN 2024; 12:e5382. [PMID: 38204867 PMCID: PMC10781122 DOI: 10.1097/gox.0000000000005382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Background The pursuit of understanding facial beauty has been the subject of scientific interest since time immemorial. How beauty is associated with other perceived attributes that affect human interaction remains elusive. This article aims to explore how facial attractiveness correlates with health, happiness, femininity, and perceived age. We review the existing literature and report an empirical study using expert raters. Methods A peer-reviewed database of 2870 aesthetic female faces with a global ethnic distribution was created. Twenty-one raters were asked to score frontal images on the attributes of health, happiness, femininity, perceived age, and attractiveness, on a Likert scale of 0-100. Results Pearson correlation coefficients ("r") were calculated to correlate attributes, with multiple regression analyses and P values calculated. Strong positive correlation was found between attractiveness and health (r = 0.61, P < 0.05), attractiveness and femininity (r = 0.7, P < 0.05), and health and femininity (r = 0.57, P < 0.05); medium positive correlation between health and happiness (r = 0.31, P < 0.05); and small positive correlation between happiness and femininity (r = 0.21, P < 0.05). A neutral relationship was observed between perceived age and happiness (0.01, P = 0.75), and medium negative correlation between perceived age and attractiveness (-0.32, P < 0.05), health (-0.36, P < 0.05), and femininity (-0.31, P < 0.05). Conclusions Our study illustrates a positive correlation between the positive attributes of health, happiness, femininity and attractiveness, with a negative correlation of all characteristics with increasing perceived age. This provides insight into the complexity of human interaction and provides a holistic view of attraction as being a gateway to the reflexive perception of other attributes. The implications encourage an aesthetic focus on facial reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prateush Singh
- From the Department of Surgery, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal London Hospital, United Kingdom
| | - Liam Birkett
- From the Department of Surgery, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal London Hospital, United Kingdom
| | - Shivani Dhar
- From the Department of Surgery, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal London Hospital, United Kingdom
| | - Eva Krumhuber
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Afshin Mosahebi
- From the Department of Surgery, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal London Hospital, United Kingdom
| | - Allan Ponniah
- From the Department of Surgery, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal London Hospital, United Kingdom
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Schwambergová D, Pátková Ž, Třebická Fialová J, Třebický V, Stella D, Havlíček J. Immunoactivation Affects Perceived Body Odor and Facial but Not Vocal Attractiveness. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 21:14747049231218010. [PMID: 38087426 PMCID: PMC10722934 DOI: 10.1177/14747049231218010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Several previous studies have shown that in mammals, the health status of conspecifics can be assessed based on perceptual cues. Olfactory, visual, or acoustic cues may lead to avoidant behavior, thus reducing the risk of contagion by close contact with infected individuals. We tested whether immune system activation after immunization leads to perceptible changes in body odor and facial and vocal attractiveness in humans. We have experimentally activated the immune system of male participants using vaccination against hepatitis A/B and meningococcus. Their body odor, facial photographs, and vocal recordings were collected before and 14 days after vaccination. Subsequently, the body odor samples, facial photographs, and vocal recordings were assessed by female raters for their attractiveness and healthiness. We have also measured skin coloration (from facial photographs and in vivo using a spectrophotometer), vocal parameters, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels as a marker of inflammation. We found an increase in perceived body odor attractiveness, a decrease in facial attractiveness and healthiness, and no change in vocal attractiveness 14 days after vaccination compared to the prevaccination condition. Moreover, there was no change in facial coloration or vocal parameters between the prevaccination and postvaccination conditions. Prevaccination CRP levels were negatively associated with body odor and facial attractiveness and positively associated with body odor intensity. Overall, our results suggest that perceived body odor as well as facial but not vocal attractiveness may provide cues to activation of the immune response and that each modality may carry specific information about the individual's condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dagmar Schwambergová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Žaneta Pátková
- Department of Philosophy and History of Sciences, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Vít Třebický
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - David Stella
- Department of the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Global Change Research Institute CAS, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Havlíček
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Bulczak G, Gugushvili A. Physical attractiveness and cardiometabolic risk. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23895. [PMID: 36932650 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES There is only limited evidence suggesting that physical attractiveness and individuals' actual health are causally linked. Past studies demonstrate that characteristics related to physical attractiveness are more likely to be present in healthy individuals, including those with better cardiovascular and metabolic health, yet many of these studies do not account for individuals' initial health and socioeconomic characteristics, which are related to both physical attractiveness and later life health. METHODS We use panel survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health in the United States to examine the relationship between interviewer-rated in-person physical attractiveness and actual cardiometabolic risk (CMR) based on a set of relevant biomarkers: LDL cholesterol, glucose mg/dL, C-reactive protein, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and resting heart rate. RESULTS We identify a robust relationship between individuals' physical attractiveness and 10-year follow up actual health measured by the levels of CMR. Individuals of above-average attractiveness appear to be noticeably healthier than those who are described as having average attractiveness. We find that individuals' gender and race/ethnicity do not have a major effect on the described relationship. The link between physical attractiveness and health is affected by interviewers' main demographic characteristics. We carefully address the possibility of confounders affecting our results including sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, cognitive and personality traits, initial health problems and BMI. CONCLUSION Our findings are largely in line with the evolutionary perspective which assumes that physical attractiveness is linked to individuals' biological health. Being perceived as physically attractive might also imply, among other aspects, high levels of satisfaction with life, self-confidence and ease of finding intimate partners, all of which can positively affect individuals' health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grzegorz Bulczak
- Faculty of Management, Gdynia Maritime University, Gdynia, Poland
- Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Alexi Gugushvili
- Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Sociology and Human Geography, Harriet Holters hus, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Tanikawa C, Kurata M, Tanizaki N, Takeuchi M, Zere E, Fukuo K, Takada K. Influence of the nutritional status on facial morphology in young Japanese women. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18557. [PMID: 36329131 PMCID: PMC9633753 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21919-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence regarding the possible influence of nutritional status on the facial morphology has thus far been insufficient. We examined whether or not the physical body compositions and dietary behaviors were correlated with any morphological characteristics of the face. One hundred and fifteen young Japanese women participated. Variables representing the dietary behaviors were extracted from self-reported survey data, and corresponding three-dimensional (3D) facial images and body compositions were examined. Multivariate analyses identified significant relationships between the nutritional status and facial topography (p < 0.05). The clustering method revealed the existence of three dietary condition patterns ("balanced diet", "high-calorie-diet" with obesity tendency, and "imbalanced low-calorie-diet" with sarcopenic obesity tendency). Among these three patterns, a round face (increased facial width; analysis of variance [ANOVA], p < 0.05) was observed in the high-calorie-diet pattern, while the imbalanced low-calorie-diet pattern showed a more masculine face (increased face height, decreased eye height, increased non-allometric sexual shape differences; ANOVA, p < 0.05), thus suggesting the possibility of sex-hormonal influences. In summary, the body composition and dietary behaviors were found to influence the facial morphology, and potential biological influences were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chihiro Tanikawa
- grid.136593.b0000 0004 0373 3971Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Osaka University Dental Hospital, Suita, Osaka Japan
| | - Miki Kurata
- grid.260338.c0000 0004 0372 6210Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, School of Human Environmental Sciences, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Japan
| | - Noriko Tanizaki
- grid.260338.c0000 0004 0372 6210Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, School of Human Environmental Sciences, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Japan
| | - Mika Takeuchi
- grid.260338.c0000 0004 0372 6210Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, School of Human Environmental Sciences, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Japan
| | - Edlira Zere
- grid.136593.b0000 0004 0373 3971Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Osaka University Dental Hospital, Suita, Osaka Japan
| | - Keisuke Fukuo
- grid.260338.c0000 0004 0372 6210Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, School of Human Environmental Sciences, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Japan
| | - Kenji Takada
- grid.136593.b0000 0004 0373 3971Center for Advanced Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka Japan
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Zheng S, Chen K, Lin X, Liu S, Han J, Wu G. Quantitative analysis of facial proportions and facial attractiveness among Asians and Caucasians. MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING : MBE 2022; 19:6379-6395. [PMID: 35603407 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2022299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
It has been proposed that the proportions of the human face are crucial for facial aesthetics. If this is the case, we should describe the relationship among proportions of face components quantitatively. This study aims to develop a mathematical model of facial proportions to provide a quantitative description of facial attractiveness. Furthermore, we expect that plastic surgeons can use models in clinical work to enhance communication efficiency between doctors and patients. Face alignment technique was used to analyse 5500 frontal faces with diverse properties (male/female, Asian/Caucasian, ages) to obtain the ratios among the nose length ($ {N}_{L} $), the nasal base width ($ N $), and the inner canthus width ($ {E}_{I} $). A mathematical model ($ {N}_{L}^{2} = a{E}_{I}\mathrm{*}{N}_{L}+b{E}_{I}\mathrm{*}N+cN\mathrm{*}{N}_{L} $) was developed to describe the relationship among these proportions. To validate the effectiveness of this approach, we simulated the post-operative photos using Adobe Photoshop. Our findings show that the ratio of nose length to nose width, the ratio of inner canthus width to nose length and the ratio of inner canthus to nose width play a significant role in determining facial attractiveness. These results provide a possible strategy to quantitatively describe the relationship among human face proportions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shikang Zheng
- Department of Oral, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Jilin 130021, China
| | - Kai Chen
- Department of Oral, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Jilin 130021, China
| | - Xinping Lin
- Department of Oral, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Jilin 130021, China
| | - Shiqian Liu
- College of Mathematics, Jilin University, Jilin 130021, China
| | - Jie Han
- Academy of Marxism, Jilin University, Jilin 130021, China
| | - Guomin Wu
- Department of Oral, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University, Jilin 130021, China
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Davis AC, Arnocky S. Response to Commentaries: A Socioevolutionary Approach to Self-Presentation Modification. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2022; 51:85-100. [PMID: 34713430 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02170-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam C Davis
- Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Steven Arnocky
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, North Bay, ON, P1B 8L7, Canada.
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Pandey G, Zayas V. What is a face worth? Facial attractiveness biases experience-based monetary decision-making. Br J Psychol 2021; 112:934-963. [PMID: 33969477 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
There is ample evidence that attractive individuals, across diverse domains, are judged more favourably. But most research has focused on single/one-shot decisions, where decision-makers receive no feedback following their decisions, and outcomes of their judgements are inconsequential to the self. Would attractive individuals still be judged favourably in experience-based decision-making where people make iterative decisions and receive consequential feedback (money gained/lost) following each decision? To investigate this question, participants viewed headshots of four financial partners presented side-by-side and repeatedly (over 50-100 trials) selected partners that would help maximize their profits. Following every partner-selection, participants received feedback about the net monetary gains/losses the partner had conferred. Unbeknownst to participants, two partners (one attractive, one unattractive) were equally advantageous (conferred net-gains overtime) and two partners (one attractive and one unattractive) were equally disadvantageous (conferred net-losses overtime). Even though attractive and unattractive partners were equally profitable and despite receiving feedback, participants selected attractive partners more throughout the task were quicker to reselect them even when they conferred losses and judged them as more helpful. Indeed, attractive-disadvantageous partners were preferred to the same extent (or more) as unattractive-advantageous partners. Importantly, the effect of attractiveness on decision-making was fully explained by the perceived trustworthiness of the financial partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayathri Pandey
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Vivian Zayas
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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Żelaźniewicz A, Nowak-Kornicka J, Figura R, Groyecka-Bernard A, Sorokowski P, Pawłowski B. Pharyngeal Detection of Staphylococcus aureus as a Possible Factor Related to Disgust Sensitivity in Humans. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17218286. [PMID: 33182475 PMCID: PMC7665136 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17218286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Disgust triggers behavioral avoidance of pathogen-carrying and fitness-reducing agents. However, because of the cost involved, disgust sensitivity should be flexible, varying as a function of an individual’s immunity. Asymptomatic colonization with Staphylococcus aureus often results from weakened immunity and is a potential source of subsequent infections. In this study, we tested if pharyngeal colonization with S. aureus, evaluated based on a single swab collection, is related to an individual’s disgust sensitivity, measured with the Three Domain Disgust Scale. Levels of immunomodulating hormones (cortisol and testosterone), general health, and body adiposity were controlled. Women (N = 95), compared to men (N = 137), displayed higher sexual disgust sensitivity, but the difference between individuals with S. aureus and without S. aureus was significant only in men, providing support for prophylactic hypothesis, explaining inter-individual differences in disgust sensitivity. Men (but not women) burdened with asymptomatic S. aureus presence in pharynx exhibit higher pathogen disgust (p = 0.04) compared to individuals in which S. aureus was not detected. The positive relationship between the presence of the pathogen and sexual disgust was close to the statistical significance level (p = 0.06), and S. aureus colonization was not related with moral disgust domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Judyta Nowak-Kornicka
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
| | - Renata Figura
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
| | - Agata Groyecka-Bernard
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50-529 Wroclaw, Poland; (A.G.-B.); (P.S.)
| | - Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50-529 Wroclaw, Poland; (A.G.-B.); (P.S.)
| | - Bogusław Pawłowski
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
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