Is beauty in the face of the beholder?
Opposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Thus, mate choice may be a balancing of phenotypic similarity and dissimilarity between partners. In the present study, we assessed the role of resemblance t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3707967?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1830307043270983680 |
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| author | Bruno Laeng Oddrun Vermeer Unni Sulutvedt |
| author_facet | Bruno Laeng Oddrun Vermeer Unni Sulutvedt |
| author_sort | Bruno Laeng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Opposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Thus, mate choice may be a balancing of phenotypic similarity and dissimilarity between partners. In the present study, we assessed the role of resemblance to Self's facial traits in judgments of physical attractiveness. Participants chose the most attractive face image of their romantic partner among several variants, where the faces were morphed so as to include only 22% of another face. Participants distinctly preferred a "Self-based morph" (i.e., their partner's face with a small amount of Self's face blended into it) to other morphed images. The Self-based morph was also preferred to the morph of their partner's face blended with the partner's same-sex "prototype", although the latter face was ("objectively") judged more attractive by other individuals. When ranking morphs differing in level of amalgamation (i.e., 11% vs. 22% vs. 33%) of another face, the 22% was chosen consistently as the preferred morph and, in particular, when Self was blended in the partner's face. A forced-choice signal-detection paradigm showed that the effect of self-resemblance operated at an unconscious level, since the same participants were unable to detect the presence of their own faces in the above morphs. We concluded that individuals, if given the opportunity, seek to promote "positive assortment" for Self's phenotype, especially when the level of similarity approaches an optimal point that is similar to Self without causing a conscious acknowledgment of the similarity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:24:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a9c81355fab4d4c9493e24049043826 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:24:35Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a9c81355fab4d4c9493e240490438262022-12-21T20:25:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0187e6839510.1371/journal.pone.0068395Is beauty in the face of the beholder?Bruno LaengOddrun VermeerUnni SulutvedtOpposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Thus, mate choice may be a balancing of phenotypic similarity and dissimilarity between partners. In the present study, we assessed the role of resemblance to Self's facial traits in judgments of physical attractiveness. Participants chose the most attractive face image of their romantic partner among several variants, where the faces were morphed so as to include only 22% of another face. Participants distinctly preferred a "Self-based morph" (i.e., their partner's face with a small amount of Self's face blended into it) to other morphed images. The Self-based morph was also preferred to the morph of their partner's face blended with the partner's same-sex "prototype", although the latter face was ("objectively") judged more attractive by other individuals. When ranking morphs differing in level of amalgamation (i.e., 11% vs. 22% vs. 33%) of another face, the 22% was chosen consistently as the preferred morph and, in particular, when Self was blended in the partner's face. A forced-choice signal-detection paradigm showed that the effect of self-resemblance operated at an unconscious level, since the same participants were unable to detect the presence of their own faces in the above morphs. We concluded that individuals, if given the opportunity, seek to promote "positive assortment" for Self's phenotype, especially when the level of similarity approaches an optimal point that is similar to Self without causing a conscious acknowledgment of the similarity.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3707967?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Bruno Laeng Oddrun Vermeer Unni Sulutvedt Is beauty in the face of the beholder? PLoS ONE |
| title | Is beauty in the face of the beholder? |
| title_full | Is beauty in the face of the beholder? |
| title_fullStr | Is beauty in the face of the beholder? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is beauty in the face of the beholder? |
| title_short | Is beauty in the face of the beholder? |
| title_sort | is beauty in the face of the beholder |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3707967?pdf=render |
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