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Visible skin
color distribution plays a role in the perception
of age, attractiveness, and health in female faces
Bernhard
Fink, Karl Grammer, Paul J. Matts
Department for Sociobiology/Anthropology, Institute for Zoology and
Anthropology, University of Göttingen,
D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute for Urban Ethology, c/o Department for Anthropology,
A-1090 Vienna, Austria
P&G Beauty, Rusham Park Technical Centre, Whitehall Lane, Egham,
KT15 2HT Surrey, United Kingdom
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Evolutionary psychologists have proposed that preferences for facial characteristics,
such as symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism, may reflect adaptations
for mate choice because they signal aspects of mate quality. Here, we
show that facial skin color distribution significantly influences the
perception of age and attractiveness of female faces, independent of
facial form and skin surface topography. A set of three-dimensional shape-standardized
stimulus faces—varying only in terms of skin color distribution
due to variation in biological age and cumulative photodamage—was
rated by a panel of naive judges for a variety of perceptual endpoints
relating to age, health, and beauty. Shapeand topography-standardized
stimulus faces with the homogeneous skin color distribution of young
people were perceived as younger and received significantly higher ratings
for
attractiveness and health than analogous stimuli with the relatively
inhomogeneous
skin color distribution of more elderly people. Thus, skin color distribution,
independent of facial form and skin surface topography, seems to have a major
influence on the perception of female facial age and judgments of attractiveness and
health as they may signal aspects of underlying physiological condition
of an individual relevant for mate choice. We suggest that studies on human
physical attractiveness and its perception need to consider the influence of
visible skin condition driven by color distribution and differentiate between
such effects and beauty-related traits due to facial shape and skin topography.
Evolution
and Human Behavior (27) 433-442. |
