Psych 307 Lecture 27 - Men's Long-Term Mate Preferences

Discusses men's long-term mating preferences, influenced by evolutionary factors and societal influences on perceptions of beauty.

Prior lecture highlighted the correlation between age and reproductive value of females, indicating that younger women are perceived as more attractive due to their higher fertility.

Aim of the lecture:

• Explore perceived aspects of age that contribute to beauty, particularly focusing on elements that signify youth and health, which are crucial for reproductive success.

• Understand how society's standards of beauty affect individual preferences and mating strategies.

Age and Attractiveness

• Strong correlation between perceived age and attractiveness; males tend to have a preference for younger females due to evolutionary drives that prioritize fertility.

• Preferential mating with younger women leads to higher reproductive success for men, aligning with the evolutionary benefits tied to mate selection.

• Men's preferences for youth may also reflect cultural messages that equate youth with vitality and desirability.

Characteristics of Female Beauty

• Features indicating youthfulness and health are key components of facial beauty. Common features among beautiful women observed:

  • Full lips, indicating higher estrogen levels which are associated with youth.

  • Clear, smooth skin, often a reflection of good health and genetic quality.

  • Bright eyes that symbolize vitality and youth.

  • Thick, lustrous hair, a sign of health and youthfulness.

  • Good muscle tone and body fat distribution, contributing to the perception of health and fertility.

Dimensions of Facial Attractiveness

• Individual features' impact on attractiveness hasn't been extensively studied due to complexity; overall assessments and combinations of features prevail in determining attractiveness.

  • Example: Charlize Theron's transformation from beauty to a less attractive character in "Monster" highlights how the absence of youthful features (dull hair, poor muscle tone) can influence perceived attractiveness adversely.

Research Findings on Attractiveness

• A study from the 1950s collected unattractive traits, establishing links between poor complexion, gray hair, and disfigurement with decreased attractiveness.

• Anthropological observations link beauty perceptions in traditional societies like the Tobriland islanders (melanesia) to health indicators such as lustrous hair and smooth skin, showcasing how ancient and modern beauty ideals intersect. Smooth Skin as a Youth Indicator. having lesions is unattractive. tooth quality also matters.

• Research showed individuals with clear, smooth skin rated more attractive than those with less clear skin, demonstrating clear skin's significant role in attractiveness perception. (skin quality study)

• Airbrushing is a common technique in beauty standardizing, as smooth skin is associated with youthfulness, affecting public perceptions of beauty.

Skin quality study-

one study looked at one dimension of youthfullness, skin. in the study, they photoshopped how clear and smooth the skin was of a woman. right pic had normal skin and left had a photoshopped version. clear skin pics were substantially chosen more. “air brushing” “‘wrinkle free”.

age and picture rating study-

men and women both looked at pictures and youth correlated with attractiveness consistently. The findings indicated that perceived youthfulness significantly influenced attractiveness ratings for both genders, suggesting a universal preference for youthful features in long-term mating choices.

Age Perception in Attractiveness Ratings

• Studies found younger women are consistently rated more attractive; When men assess attractiveness, their ratings tend to show stronger preferences, which suggests that their evaluations may be influenced by biases and societal norms regarding beauty.

Interview study- youthfulness and hair

interviewed people and asked questions about their health and well-being, measured their hair quality and hair length. they then see if their is any correlation between their health (self-reported), hair quality and length.

the result was a significant positive correlation between perceived health and both hair quality and length, indicating that individuals who rated their health higher tended to have fuller and better-maintained hair.

• Evaluations also indicated hair quality impacts perceived attractiveness; healthier hair generally correlates with youthfulness and vitality in evaluations.

Facial Symmetry

• Symmetry is an important attractiveness indicator for both genders, signaling genetic quality and overall health.

  Attractiveness and symmtery correlation study- This study investigated the relationship between facial symmetry and attractiveness, demonstrating a strong preference for symmetrical faces. Symmetry is associated with genetic quality and overall health, playing a critical role in attractiveness evaluations for both genders.

• Environmental factors can alter symmetry, and it tends to decrease with age or health issues.

• environmental stressors can alter symmetery

• symmetry reduces by age, parasites, physical and environmental insults or injuries

• symmetry could be a sign of lack of illness

• animals also use symmetry for mate selection. for example, swallows.. have a tail that has two feathers and females will assess males and have a strong preference for males that will have a strong symmetry.

• Empirical studies like attractiveness and symmetry manipulation study and Attractiveness and symmtery correlation study demonstrated a strong preference for symmetrical faces, linking it with better genetic health; symmetrical features are often interpreted as markers of developmental stability. in the early days, there was not much technology so for this study, they just mirrored the image and there would be a huge difference between faces.

• it is not a crazy high variable but it is still a factor

Manipulative Studies on Symmetry like Composite faces study

• Early attempts to create perceived symmetry sometimes amplified imperfections; later advances allowed for combining average features to create a more appealing symmetry representation.

• Composite faces study —results of blending individual features—are consistently rated as more attractive, effectively diminishing individual asymmetries and contributing to increased attractiveness ratings. this study was done by blending two faces together. the more symmetrical the faces were, they were able to increase the number of faces. faces made up of averaged feautures from 1, 4, 8, 16 or 32 faces were ranked for attractivness. the more faces you blended, the more attractiveness you got by blending those faces.

• a speculation to this study was that the average was washing out irregularities and cause a shift towards greater symmetry. there was also an increase in averageness. all features were average.

  speculation for that attractivness may be that individuals are subconsciously drawn to features that represent more human feautures as compared to apes and other animals.

Feminine Features and Attractiveness

• Feminine features (larger eyes, thicker lips, narrower jaws) are preferred and signal fertility, reflecting innate preferences for reproductive potential.

• Aging typically results in diminished feminine traits, which may contribute to decreased attractiveness ratings over time.

• Research supports a strong correlation between feminine features and attractiveness ratings; deviations from these traits often result in lower attractiveness judgments.

• high estrogen levels correlate with more feminine features and fertility

emperical evidence that feminity is another aspect that might be adaptive to prefer

• 2006 meta analysis- more feminine faces are more attractive.

• feminity scores on random pics and attractivness correlation

• rate a pic as how feminine it is

• computer face design and feminity.. where you construct a picture and it always ends up being more feminine inclined.

• men and women both find feminine faces more attractive.

Conclusion

• Male preferences lean toward visuals indicating youthfulness and health (smooth skin, hair quality, symmetry), while also favoring femininity as a marker for reproductive potential.

• The intersection of these factors plays a significant role in shaping societal beauty standards and individual mating strategies, demonstrating the complex nature of human attraction and preferences across cultures.