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Related Experiment Videos

Infant preferences for attractive faces: a cognitive explanation.

A J Rubenstein1, L Kalakanis, J H Langlois

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 78712, USA.

Developmental Psychology
|June 25, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Infants prefer mathematically averaged faces, also known as prototypes, even before socialization influences them. This suggests general cognitive mechanisms, not just social learning, drive early attractiveness preferences in babies.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Infant Perception

Background:

  • Infant face perception research indicates preferences for attractive faces emerge early, predating social influences.
  • The origins of attractiveness preferences in infants are not fully understood.
  • Socialization is often cited as a factor, but early emergence suggests other mechanisms may be at play.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate a cognitive explanation for infant attractiveness preferences.
  • To test whether infants prefer mathematically averaged faces (prototypes).
  • To determine if infants can abstract central tendencies from facial stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Four studies were conducted involving adults and 6-month-old infants.
  • Participants were presented with prototypical (mathematically averaged) and naturalistic faces.

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  • Behavioral preference measures were used to assess responses to different face types.
  • Studies 3 and 4 specifically tested the ability to abstract central tendencies.

    • Main Results:

    • Both adults and 6-month-old infants showed a preference for prototypical faces over non-averaged faces.
    • 6-month-old infants demonstrated the ability to abstract the central tendency from a set of naturalistic faces.
    • These findings support the cognitive averaging hypothesis.

    Conclusions:

    • Infants' preferences for attractive faces can be explained by general information-processing mechanisms, specifically cognitive averaging.
    • The preference for prototypes suggests an innate basis for attractiveness perception in early development.
    • These findings challenge purely social explanations for the development of facial attractiveness preferences.