Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness.
Facial appearance expresses numerous cues about physical qualities as well as psychosocial and personality traits. Attractive faces are recognized clearly when seen and are often viewed advantageously in professional, social and romantic relationships. On the other hand, self-perceived attractivenes...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245557 |
| _version_ | 1831665224493563904 |
|---|---|
| author | Georgios Kanavakis Demetrios Halazonetis Christos Katsaros Nikolaos Gkantidis |
| author_facet | Georgios Kanavakis Demetrios Halazonetis Christos Katsaros Nikolaos Gkantidis |
| author_sort | Georgios Kanavakis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Facial appearance expresses numerous cues about physical qualities as well as psychosocial and personality traits. Attractive faces are recognized clearly when seen and are often viewed advantageously in professional, social and romantic relationships. On the other hand, self-perceived attractiveness is not well understood and has been mainly attributed to psychological and cognitive factors. Here we use 3-dimensional facial surface data of a large young adult population (n = 601) to thoroughly assess the effect of facial shape on self-perceived facial attractiveness. Our results show that facial shape had a measurable effect on self-perception of facial attractiveness in both sexes. In females, self-perceived facial attractiveness was linked to decreased facial width, fuller anterior part of the lower facial third and more pronounced middle forehead and root of the nose. Males favored a well-defined chin, flatter cheeks and zygomas, and more pronounced eyebrow ridges, nose and middle forehead. The findings of this study support the notion that self-perceived facial attractiveness is not only motivated by psychological traits, but objectively measured phenotypic traits also contribute significantly. The role of social stereotypes for facial attractiveness in modern society is also inferred and discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T19:30:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9dab6324c3b54fefa78442a8556cb8d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T19:30:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-9dab6324c3b54fefa78442a8556cb8d22022-12-21T20:08:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01162e024555710.1371/journal.pone.0245557Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness.Georgios KanavakisDemetrios HalazonetisChristos KatsarosNikolaos GkantidisFacial appearance expresses numerous cues about physical qualities as well as psychosocial and personality traits. Attractive faces are recognized clearly when seen and are often viewed advantageously in professional, social and romantic relationships. On the other hand, self-perceived attractiveness is not well understood and has been mainly attributed to psychological and cognitive factors. Here we use 3-dimensional facial surface data of a large young adult population (n = 601) to thoroughly assess the effect of facial shape on self-perceived facial attractiveness. Our results show that facial shape had a measurable effect on self-perception of facial attractiveness in both sexes. In females, self-perceived facial attractiveness was linked to decreased facial width, fuller anterior part of the lower facial third and more pronounced middle forehead and root of the nose. Males favored a well-defined chin, flatter cheeks and zygomas, and more pronounced eyebrow ridges, nose and middle forehead. The findings of this study support the notion that self-perceived facial attractiveness is not only motivated by psychological traits, but objectively measured phenotypic traits also contribute significantly. The role of social stereotypes for facial attractiveness in modern society is also inferred and discussed.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245557 |
| spellingShingle | Georgios Kanavakis Demetrios Halazonetis Christos Katsaros Nikolaos Gkantidis Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness. PLoS ONE |
| title | Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness. |
| title_full | Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness. |
| title_fullStr | Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness. |
| title_short | Facial shape affects self-perceived facial attractiveness. |
| title_sort | facial shape affects self perceived facial attractiveness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245557 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT georgioskanavakis facialshapeaffectsselfperceivedfacialattractiveness AT demetrioshalazonetis facialshapeaffectsselfperceivedfacialattractiveness AT christoskatsaros facialshapeaffectsselfperceivedfacialattractiveness AT nikolaosgkantidis facialshapeaffectsselfperceivedfacialattractiveness |