Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces
In a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether – as in non-human species – it is also asso...
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2012-07-01
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Series: | Evolutionary Psychology |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000312 |
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doaj-b7a7c0fc83b64badb0ba61fb16294f4e2020-11-25T03:01:07ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492012-07-011010.1177/14747049120100031210.1177_147470491201000312Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's FacesIan D. StephenFrancesca H. OldhamDavid I. PerrettRobert A. BartonIn a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether – as in non-human species – it is also associated with dominance and links to attractiveness have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we allow female participants to manipulate the CIELab a* value (red-green axis) of skin to maximize the perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness of photographs of men's faces, and make two findings. First, participants increased a* (increasing redness) to enhance each attribute, suggesting that facial redness is perceived as conveying similar information about a male's qualities in humans as it does in non-human species. Second, there were significant differences between trial types: the highest levels of red were associated with aggression, an intermediate level with dominance, and the least with attractiveness. These differences may reflect a trade-off between the benefits of selecting a healthy, dominant partner and the negative consequences of aggression.https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000312 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ian D. Stephen Francesca H. Oldham David I. Perrett Robert A. Barton |
spellingShingle |
Ian D. Stephen Francesca H. Oldham David I. Perrett Robert A. Barton Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces Evolutionary Psychology |
author_facet |
Ian D. Stephen Francesca H. Oldham David I. Perrett Robert A. Barton |
author_sort |
Ian D. Stephen |
title |
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces |
title_short |
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces |
title_full |
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces |
title_fullStr |
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces |
title_full_unstemmed |
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces |
title_sort |
redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces |
publisher |
SAGE Publishing |
series |
Evolutionary Psychology |
issn |
1474-7049 |
publishDate |
2012-07-01 |
description |
In a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether – as in non-human species – it is also associated with dominance and links to attractiveness have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we allow female participants to manipulate the CIELab a* value (red-green axis) of skin to maximize the perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness of photographs of men's faces, and make two findings. First, participants increased a* (increasing redness) to enhance each attribute, suggesting that facial redness is perceived as conveying similar information about a male's qualities in humans as it does in non-human species. Second, there were significant differences between trial types: the highest levels of red were associated with aggression, an intermediate level with dominance, and the least with attractiveness. These differences may reflect a trade-off between the benefits of selecting a healthy, dominant partner and the negative consequences of aggression. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000312 |
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