Human preferences for facial masculinity change with relationship type and environmental harshness |
| |
Authors: | Anthony C Little Danielle L Cohen Benedict C Jones Jay Belsky |
| |
Institution: | (1) British Academy Centenary Project, School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;(2) School of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK;(3) Department of Psychology, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA, USA;(4) School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK;(5) Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck University of London, London, UK |
| |
Abstract: | In humans (Homo sapiens), sexual dimorphism in face shape has been proposed to be linked to quality in both men and women. Although preferences for
high-quality mates might be expected, previous work has suggested that high quality may be associated with decreased investment
in partnerships. In line with a trade-off between partner quality and investment, human females have been found to prefer
higher levels of masculinity when judging under conditions where the benefits of quality would be maximised and the costs
of low investment would be minimised. In this study, we examined facultative preferences for masculinity/femininity under
hypothetical high and low environmental harshness in terms of resource availability in which participants were asked to imagine
themselves in harsh/safe environments. We demonstrate that environmental harshness influences preferences for sexual dimorphism
differently according to whether the relationship is likely to be short or long term. Women prefer less-masculine male faces
and men prefer less-feminine female faces for long-term than short-term relationships under conditions of environmental harshness.
Such findings are consistent with the idea that high-quality partners may be low investors and suggest that under harsh ecological
conditions, both men and women favour a low-quality/high-investment partner for long-term relationships. For short-term relationships,
where investment is not an important variable, preferences for sexual dimorphism were similar for the low and high environmental
harshness conditions. These results provide experimental evidence that human preferences may be contingent on the environment
an individual finds itself inhabiting. |
| |
Keywords: | Attractiveness Strategy Ecology Masculinity/femininity Harsh/safe |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|