Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm
Published on: December 24, 2015
Appearance of symmetry, beauty, and health in human faces
Dahlia W Zaidel1, Shawn M Aarde, Kiran Baig
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951563 Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States. dahliaz@ucla.edu
Abstract:
Symmetry is an important concept in biology, being related to mate selection strategies, health, and survival of species. In human faces, the relevance of left-right symmetry to attractiveness and health is not well understood. We compared the appearance of facial attractiveness, health, and symmetry in three separate experiments. Participants inspected front views of faces on the computer screen and judged them on a 5-point scale according to their attractiveness in Experiment 1, health in Experiment 2, and symmetry in Experiment 3. We found that symmetry and attractiveness were not strongly related in faces of women or men while health and symmetry were related. There was a significant difference between attractiveness and symmetry judgments but not between health and symmetry judgments. Moreover, there was a significant difference between attractiveness and health. Facial symmetry may be critical for the appearance of health but it does not seem to be critical for the appearance of attractiveness, not surprisingly perhaps because human faces together with the human brain have been shaped by adaptive evolution to be naturally asymmetrical.
More Related Videos
06:26Quantitative Assessment Protocol for Facial Soft Tissue Volumetric Changes with Stereophotogrammetry
Published on: December 9, 2025
08:03Midface Hypoplasia and Cranial Base Morphology in Syndromic Craniosynostosis: A Comparative Analysis Study Using a Predictive Regression Model
Published on: November 4, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Relationship Formation
Symmetry
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Muscles for Facial Expressions
Accessory Structures of the Eye
Impression Management Techniques I: Managing Appearances