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Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology of Beauty

Journal of Young Investigators

Undergraduate,PeerReviewedScienceJournal
FEATUREARTICLE

VolumeSix
RECENTISSUES|ARCHIVES|RESOURCES|JYINEWS|ABOUTJYI

Issue6,December2002

LookingGood:ThePsychologyandBiologyofBeauty
CharlesFeng
HumanBiology,StanfordUniversity
feng@jyi.org

InancientGreece,HelenofTroy,theinstigatoroftheTrojanWar,wastheparagonofbeauty,
exudingaphysical

brilliancethatwouldputCindyCrawfordtoshame.Indeed,shewasthetoast
ofAthens,celebratednotforherkindnessorherintellect,butforherphysical
perfection.ButwhydidtheGreekmenfindHelen,andotherbeautifulwomen,
sointoxicating?

ModelCindy
Crawford,anexample
ofsymmetry
Imagecourtesyof
www.cindy.com

Inanattempttoanswerthisquestion,thephilosophersofthedaydevoteda
greatdealoftimetothisconundrum.Platowroteofsocalled"golden
proportions,"inwhich,amongstotherthings,thewidthofanidealfacewould
betwothirdsitslength,whileanosewouldbenolongerthanthedistance
betweentheeyes.Plato'sgoldenproportions,however,haven'tquiteheldup
totherigorsofmodernpsychologicalandbiologicalresearchthoughthereis
credenceintheancientGreeks'attemptstodetermineafundamental
symmetrythathumansfindattractive.

Symmetryisattractivetothehumaneye

Today,thissymmetryhasbeenscientificallyproventobeinherentlyattractive
tothehumaneye.Ithasbeendefinednotwithproportions,butratherwithsimilaritybetweenthe
leftandrightsidesofthefaceThus,theGreekswereonlypartiallycorrect.
Byapplyingthestringentconditionsofthescientificmethod,researchersnowbelievesymmetryis
theanswertheGreekswerelookingfor.
Babiesspendmoretimestaringatpicturesofsymmetric
individualsthantheydoatphotosofasymmetricones.
Moreover,whenseveralfacesareaveragedtocreatea
compositethuscoveringuptheasymmetriesthatanyone
individualmayhaveapanelofjudgesdeemedthe
compositemoreattractivethantheindividualpictures.

Byapplyingthe

stringentconditionsof
thescientificmethod,
researchersnow
believesymmetryis
theanswertheGreeks
werelookingfor.

VictorJohnstonofNewMexicoStateUniversity,forexample,
utilizesaprogramcalledFacePrints,whichshowsviewers
facialimagesofvariableattractiveness.Theviewersthenrate
thepicturesonabeautyscalefromonetonine.Inwhatis
akintodigitalDarwinism,thepictureswiththebestratingsare
mergedtogether,whilethelessattractivephotosareweededout.Eachtrialendswhenaviewer
deemsthecompositea10.Alltheperfect10saresupersymmetric.

Scientistssaythatthepreferenceforsymmetryisahighlyevolvedtraitseeninmanydifferent
animals.Femaleswallows,forexample,prefermaleswithlongerandmoresymmetrictails,while
femalezebrafinchesmatewithmaleswithsymmetricallycoloredlegbands.
Therationalebehindsymmetrypreferenceinboth
humansandanimalsisthatsymmetricindividuals
haveahighermatevaluescientistsbelievethat
thissymmetryisequatedwithastrongimmune
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Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology of Beauty

system.Thus,beautyisindicativeofmorerobust
genes,improvingthelikelihoodthatanindividual's
offspringwillsurvive.Thisevolutionarytheoryis
supportedbyresearchshowingthatstandardsof
attractivenessaresimilaracrosscultures.
AccordingtoaUniversityofLouisvillestudy,when
shownpicturesofdifferentindividuals,Asians,
Latinos,andwhitesfrom13differentcountriesall
hadthesamegeneralpreferenceswhenrating
othersasattractivethatisthosethatarethe
mostsymmetric.

Beautybeyondsymmetry
However,JohnManningoftheUniversityof
LiverpoolinEnglandcautionsagainstover
generalization,especiallybyWesternscientists.
"Darwinthoughtthattherewerefewuniversalsof
physicalbeautybecausetherewasmuchvariance
inappearanceandpreferenceacrosshumangroups,"Manningexplainedinemailinterview.For
example,Chinesemenusedtopreferwomenwithsmallfeet.InShakespeareanEngland,ankles
weretherage.InsomeAfricantribalcultures,menlikewomenwhoinsertlargediscsintheirlips.
Femalezebrafinchesprefermaleswithsymmetric
colorings.
Imagecourtesyofwww.finchworld.com/zebra.html

Indeed,"weneedmorecrossculturalstudiestoshowthatwhatistrueinWesternizedsocietiesis
alsotrueintraditionalgroups,"Manningsaidhis1999article.
Asidefromsymmetry,malesinWesternculturesgenerallypreferfemaleswithasmalljaw,asmall
nose,largeeyes,anddefinedcheekbonesfeaturesoftendescribedas"babyfaced",thatresemble
aninfant's.Females,however,haveapreferenceformaleswholookmorematuregenerally
heartshaped,smallchinnedfaceswithfulllipsandfairskin.Butduringmenstruation,females
preferasoftfeaturedmaletoamasculineone.Indeed,researchersfoundthatfemaleperceptions
ofbeautyactuallychangethroughoutthemonth.
Whenviewingprofiles,bothmalesandfemalespreferafaceinwhichthe
foreheadandjawareinverticalalignment.Altogether,thepreferencefor
youthfulandeveninfantlike,features,especiallybymenstruating
women,suggestpeoplewiththesefeatureshavemorelongtermpotential
asmatesaswellasanincreasedlevelofreproductivefitness.
Scientistshavealsofoundthatthebody'sproportionsplayanimportant
roleinperceptionsofbeautyaswell.Ingeneral,menhaveapreference
forwomenwithlowwaisttohipratios(WHRs),thatis,moreadiposeis
depositedonthehipsandbuttocksthanonthewaist.Researchshows
thatwomenwithhighWHRs(whosebodiesaremoretubeshaped)are
morelikelytosufferfromhealthmaladies,includinginfertilityand
diabetes.However,asisoftenthecase,thereareexceptionstotherule.

Sizingupthewasittohip
ratio:Ingeneral,menprefer
womenwithalowWHR.
Imagecourtesyof
health.discovery.com

PsychologistsatNewcastleUniversityinEnglandhaveshownthatan
indigenouspeoplelocatedinsoutheastPeru,whohavehadlittlecontact
withtheWesternworld,actuallyhaveapreferenceforhighWHRs.Thesepsychologistsassertthata
generalpreferenceforlowWHRsisabyproductofWesternculture.

Beautyandchoosingamate
Psychologicalresearchsuggeststhatpeoplegenerallychoosemateswithasimilarlevelof
attractiveness.Theevolutionarytheoryisthatbymatingwithsomeonewhohassimilargenes,
one'sowngenesareconserved.Moreover,aperson'sdemeanorandpersonalityalsoinfluenceshow
othersperceivehisorherbeauty.
Inonestudy,70%ofcollegestudentsdeemedaninstructor
physicallyattractivewhenheactedinafriendlymanner,whileonly
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Psychological
research
suggeststhat
peoplegenerally
choosemates
withasimilar
levelof
attractiveness.

30%foundhimattractivewhenhewascoldanddistant.Indeed,
whensurveyedforattributesinselectingamate,bothmalesand
femalesfeltkindnessandanexcitingpersonalityweremoreimportant
inamatethangoodlooks.Thus,toacertaindegree,beautytrulyis
intheeyeofthebeholder.

DouglasYuoftheUniversityofEastAngliainNorwich,England,
agrees."It'struebydefinition.Beautyisalwaysjudgedbythe
receiver,"hesays.Atthesametime,hesaysinanemail"thereis
interobserverconcordance,ameasureofobjectivity,"sothat
individualperceptionsofbeauty,factoringinothercharacteristics
suchaspersonalityandintelligence,canoftenbeaggregatedtoform
aconsensusopinion.OneoftheoffshootsofYu'sworkin
ethnobiologywasapieceinNaturein1998thatshowedthatthehourglassbodystandardofbeauty
inwomen,previouslythoughttobe`universally'preferred,wasinfactlikelyswayedbyadvertising.

Thehaloeffect
Insociety,attractivepeopletendtobemoreintelligent,betteradjusted,andmorepopular.Thisis
describedasthehaloeffectduetotheperfectionassociatedwithangels.Researchshows
attractivepeoplealsohavemoreoccupationalsuccessandmoredatingexperiencethantheir
unattractivecounterparts.Onetheorybehindthishaloeffectisthatitisaccurateattractive
peopleareindeedmoresuccessful.
Analternativeexplanationforattractivepeopleachievingmore
inlifeisthatweautomaticallycategorizeothersbeforehaving
anopportunitytoevaluatetheirpersonalities,basedon
culturalstereotypeswhichsayattractivepeoplemustbe
intrinsicallygood,anduglypeoplemustbeinherentlybad.But
ElliotAronson,asocialpsychologistatStanfordUniversity,
believesselffulfillingpropheciesinwhichaperson't
confidentselfperception,furtherperpetuatedbyhealthy
feedbackfromothersmayplayaroleinsuccessaswell.
Aronsonsuggests,basedontheselffulfillingprophecythat
peoplewhofeeltheyareattractivethoughnotnecessarily
ratedassucharejustassuccessfulastheircounterpartswho
arejudgedtobegoodlooking.

Researchshows
attractivepeoplealso
havemore
occupationalsuccess
andmoredating
experiencethantheir
unattractive
counterparts.

Whateverthereason,thenotionthatattractivenesscorrelateswithsuccessstillringstrue.Yet
beautyisnotalwaysadvantageous,forbeautifulpeople,particularlyattractivewomen,tendtobe
perceivedasmorematerialistic,snobbish,andvain.
Forbetterorworse,thebottomlineisthatresearchshowsbeautymattersitpervadessocietyand
affectshowwechooselovedones.Thus,strivingtoappearattractivemaynotbesuchavain
endeavorafterall.Thisisn'ttosayplasticsurgeryisnecessarilytheanswer.Instead,leadahealthy
lifestylethatwillinturnmakeyouahappierperson.

SuggestedReading
Aronson,Elliot.1999.TheSocialAnimal.NewYork:WorthPublishers,Inc.
Cowley,Geoffrey.Thebiologyofbeauty.Newsweek.1996(127):6067.
Dion,Karen.2002.Culturalperspectivesonfacialattractiveness.FacialAttractiveness:Evolutionary,Cognitive,andSocial
Perspectives.Eds.Rhodes,Gillian,Zebrowitz,Leslie.Westport,CT:AblexPublishing.
Hill,C.T.etal.Breakupsbeforemarriage:theendof103affairs.JournalofSocialIssues.1976(32):147168.
Langlois,J.H.etal.Maximsormythsofbeauty?Ametaanalyticandtheoreticalreview.PsychologicalBulletin.2000(126):390
423.
Little,AandD.Perrett.Puttingbeautybackintheeyeofthebeholder.Psychologist.2002(15):2832.
Manning,JT,RLTrivers,DSingh,RThornhill.Themysteryoffemalebeauty.Nature.1999(399):214215.
Moller,A.P.andR.Thornhill.Bilateralsymmetryandsexualselection:ametaanalysis.AmericanNaturalist.1998(151):174192.

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Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology of Beauty

Perrett,Davidetal.Symmetryandhumanfacialattractiveness.Evolution&HumanBehavior.1999(20):295307.
Tovee,MJandPLCornelissen.Isbeautyintheeyeofthebeholder?Nature.1998(396):321322.
Zebrowitz,Leslie.1997.ReadingFaces:WindowtotheSoul?Boulder,Colorado:WestviewPress.
Websitesrelatedtothistopic
TryoutFacePrint
CalculateyourWHR
ABCNews:FacesLikeOurOwnarethemostAttractive
BBCNews:Beautyisintheeyeofthebeerholder
BrainStudyShowsDifferenceBetweenBeauty,Desire

JournalofYoungInvestigators.2002.VolumeSix.
Copyright2002byCharlesFengandJYI.Allrightsreserved.

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