Changes in women’s facial skin color over the ovulatory cycle are not detectable by the human visual system

Human ovulation is not advertised, as it is in several primate species, by conspicuous sexual swellings. However, there is increasing evidence that the attractiveness of women’s body odor, voice, and facial appearance peak during the fertile phase of their ovulatory cycle. Cycle effects on facial attractiveness may be underpinned by changes in facial skin color, but it is not clear if skin color varies cyclically in humans or if any changes are detectable. To test these questions we photographed women daily for at least one cycle. Changes in facial skin redness and luminance were then quantified by mapping the digital images to human long, medium, and shortwave visual receptors. We find cyclic variation in skin redness, but not luminance. Redness decreases rapidly after menstrual onset, increases in the days before ovulation, and remains high through the luteal phase. However, we also show that this variation is unlikely to be detectable by the human visual system. We conclude that changes in skin color are not responsible for the effects of the ovulatory cycle on women’s attractiveness

Cross-cultural effects of color, but not morphological masculinity, on perceived attractiveness of men's faces

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ElsevierMuch attractiveness research has focused on face shape. The role of masculinity (which for adults is thought to be a relatively stable shape cue to developmental testosterone levels) in male facial attractiveness has been examined, with mixed results. Recent work on the perception of skin color (a more variable cue to current health status) indicates that increased skin redness, yellowness, and lightness enhance apparent health. It has been suggested that stable cues such as masculinity may be less important to attractiveness judgments than short-term, more variable health cues. We examined associations between male facial attractiveness, masculinity, and skin color in African and Caucasian populations. Masculinity was not found to be associated with attractiveness in either ethnic group. However, skin color was found to be an important predictor of attractiveness judgments, particularly for own-ethnicity faces. Our results suggest that more plastic health cues, such as skin color, are more important than developmental cues such as masculinity. Further, unfamiliarity with natural skin color variation in other ethnic groups may limit observers' ability to utilize these color cues

Skin-Tone and Academic Achievement Among 5-year-old Mexican Children

Skin-tone based social stratification has been characterized as an enduring part of the U.S. racial landscape (Hunter, 2002). Despite the plethora of research that examines the racial disparities in education (e.g., Reardon & Portilla, 2015), and an emerging literature finding that lighter skin-tones are associated with higher educational attainment among adults (Hunter, 2002) few studies have examined whether similar processes emerge during early childhood. Thus, grounded in Garcia Coll and colleagues’ (1996) integrative model, we tested whether skin-tone predicted children’s academic achievement, and whether these relations were modified by children’s ethnic-racial identification (i.e., positive ethnic-racial attitudes and centrality). Consistent with expectations, darker skin-tones were associated with lower math scores. Positive attitudes did not significantly moderate the relation between skin-tone and academic achievement. However, contrary to our hypothesis, high levels of ethnic racial centrality strengthened the association between skin-tone and academic achievement. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the literature by providing evidence for the early development of within race skin-tone based disparities in academic achievement and underscoring the need for further exploration of ethnic racial identification as protective or risk factors in the positive development of minority children

The role of human body movements in mate selection

It is common scientific knowledge, that most of what we say within a conversation is not only expressed by the words meaning alone, but also through our gestures, postures, and body movements. This non-verbal mode is possibly rooted firmly in our human evolutionary heritage, and as such, some scientists argue that it serves as a fundamental assessment and expression tool for our inner qualities. Studies of nonverbal communication have established that a universal, culture-free, non-verbal sign system exists, that is available to all individuals for negotiating social encounters. Thus, it is not only the kind of gestures and expressions humans use in social communication, but also the way these movements are performed, as this seems to convey key information about an individuals quality. Dance, for example, is a special form of movement, which can be observed in human courtship displays. Recent research suggests that people are sensitive to the variation in dance movements, and that dance performance provides information about an individuals mate quality in terms of health and strength. This article reviews the role of body movement in human non-verbal communication, and highlights its significance in human mate preferences in order to promote future work in this research area within the evolutionary psychology framework

Concordant cues in faces and voices: testing the backup signal hypothesis

Information from faces and voices combines to provide multimodal signals about a person. Faces and voices may offer redundant, overlapping (backup signals), or complementary information (multiple messages). This article reports two experiments which investigated the extent to which faces and voices deliver concordant information about dimensions of fitness and quality. In Experiment 1, participants rated faces and voices on scales for masculinity/femininity, age, health, height, and weight. The results showed that people make similar judgments from faces and voices, with particularly strong correlations for masculinity/femininity, health, and height. If, as these results suggest, faces and voices constitute backup signals for various dimensions, it is hypothetically possible that people would be able to accurately match novel faces and voices for identity. However, previous investigations into novel face–voice matching offer contradictory results. In Experiment 2, participants saw a face and heard a voice and were required to decide whether the face and voice belonged to the same person. Matching accuracy was significantly above chance level, suggesting that judgments made independently from faces and voices are sufficiently similar that people can match the two. Both sets of results were analyzed using multilevel modeling and are interpreted as being consistent with the backup signal hypothesis

Do masculine men smell better? An association between skin color masculinity and female preferences for body odor

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and Programa Operacional de Potencial Humano/Fundo Social Europeu (SFRH/BD/77592/2011 to M.L.C.).A recent study claimed face skin color as a sexually dimorphic variable that influences attractiveness preferences in mate choice. Thereby, skin color may assume the role of a mate quality signal influencing attractiveness preferences. As body odor is linked to attractiveness, this study aimed to explore whether the odors of men with more masculine facial skin color would be evaluated more positively than odors from less masculine men. Female raters were presented with body odors of 18 men and were asked to rate them in various characteristics. Multilevel modelling revealed that the odors of the donors with more masculine color were rated not only as more attractive, more pleasant, and sexier, but also healthier. This indicates that odor associated with men with more masculine skin color is attractive, just as other sexually dimorphic traits. Furthermore, we found a negative relation between skin color masculinity and perceived odor maleness. Regarding this last finding, a new discussion is introduced with respect to the influence of cognitive stereotypes in odor judgments. Altogether, the study supports the possibility that chemosensory signals may be communicating signs of mate quality associated with masculinity.PostprintPeer reviewe

Perceptions of Cosmetic Alteration in Different Sized Attractive Women.

Two experimental phases examined the characteristics impacting the physical attractiveness stereotype and a potential stereotype shift. From reading a description of a hypothetical target, Phase 1 of this study revealed that participants considered an overweight attractive woman significantly more likely to help a friend in need and significantly more likely to become a friend than an underweight attractive woman. These findings provide understanding of how particular stereotypes may provide social benefits. In Phase 2, knowledge of the woman\u27s plans for liposuction, which was disclosed in a second description of the target, dramatically lowered the participants\u27 evaluations of her physical attractiveness, willingness to help a friend in need, and likelihood as a potential friend. The women\u27s ratings of the target\u27s willingness to help a friend dropped significantly more than the men\u27s ratings. These results indicate that evaluations of physically attractive women may decline if they choose to unnaturally alter their appearance

Computer analysis of face beauty: a survey

The human face conveys to other human beings, and potentially to computer systems, information such as identity, intentions, emotional and health states, attractiveness, age, gender and ethnicity. In most cases analyzing this information involves the computer science as well as the human and medical sciences. The most studied multidisciplinary problems are analyzing emotions, estimating age and modeling aging effects. An emerging area is the analysis of human attractiveness. The purpose of this paper is to survey recent research on the computer analysis of human beauty. First we present results in human sciences and medicine pointing to a largely shared and data-driven perception of attractiveness, which is a rationale of computer beauty analysis. After discussing practical application areas, we survey current studies on the automatic analysis of facial attractiveness aimed at: i) relating attractiveness to particular facial features; ii) assessing attractiveness automatically; iii) improving the attractiveness of 2D or 3D face images. Finally we discuss open problems and possible lines of research

Body image and appearance management among older married dyads: factors influencing body image in the aging process

This study examined how older married persons\u27 body image related to their engagement in appearance management practices and the personal and relational factors influencing the formation of body image among older persons. Various appearance management practices---exercise, dieting, use of anti-aging products and techniques, daily grooming, and apparel-related behavior---were studied. Personal and relationship factors explained for influence on older persons\u27 body image were aging-related physical changes, health, marital relationship, cognitive age, and moods. In addition, coorientation effects in the perception of attractiveness in older marital dyads were investigated;Data were collected via a mail survey of older married couples residing in three metropolitan areas in Florida. Data from 94 married couples who were 60 years and older were entered into data analysis. The average length of living with a current spouse was 43.6 years;Results indicated that men had a more positive attitude about and were more satisfied with their bodies and appearance than were women, while women engaged more in appearance management practices such as dieting, use of anti-aging products and techniques, daily grooming, and apparel shopping and expenditures than did men. Both men\u27s and women\u27s body image were related to their engagement in exercise, dieting, use of anti-aging products and techniques, and apparel expenditures. Among factors examined, aging-related physical changes, effect of physical changes on the self, self-assessed health, and evaluation of spouse\u27s attractiveness, and perceived attractiveness (one\u27s perception of the other spouse\u27s appraisals of his or her attractiveness) were found to be significantly related to the body image of older men and women;Older husbands\u27 self-assessment of appearance was positively correlated with wives\u27 self-assessment of appearance. Husbands\u27 actual evaluation of their wives\u27 appearance affected wives\u27 self-assessment of their own appearance (self-other agreement), and wives\u27 actual evaluation of their husbands\u27 appearance influenced husbands\u27 self-assessment of their own appearance (self-other agreement). Also, husbands\u27 evaluation of their wives\u27 appearance corresponded to wives\u27 evaluation of their husbands\u27 appearance (reciprocity). These results indicated that the agreement in two spouses\u27 self-assessment of appearance existed because the two coorientation effects (self-other agreement and reciprocity) occurred in two partners of marital dyads