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Evidence for adaptive design in human gaze preference.

C A Conway1, B C Jones, L M DeBruine

  • 1Face Research Laboratory, School of Psychology, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2UB, UK. c.conway@abdn.ac.uk

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|November 8, 2007
PubMed
Summary

People prefer direct gaze more when viewing attractive happy faces than disgusted faces. This preference is stronger for opposite-sex faces, suggesting mating-related adaptive design in face perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Social Cognition
  • Human Face Perception

Background:

  • Previous research focused on physical cues influencing face preferences.
  • Limited investigation into how social cues, like gaze and expression, affect face preferences.
  • Social interest cues (gaze direction, facial expressions) are crucial for social interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of facial cues to social interest on face preferences.
  • To examine how gaze direction and facial expressions interact to influence attractiveness judgments.
  • To determine if these effects differ for opposite-sex versus same-sex faces and for attractiveness versus likeability.

Main Methods:

  • Participants judged attractiveness and likeability of faces displaying direct or averted gaze.

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  • Faces varied in emotional expression (happy vs. disgusted).
  • Two studies were conducted, focusing on attractiveness (Study 1) and likeability (Study 2).

    • Main Results:

    • Stronger preference for direct gaze when judging attractive happy faces compared to disgusted faces.
    • This effect was more pronounced for opposite-sex faces in attractiveness judgments (Study 1).
    • No opposite-sex bias in gaze preference was found for likeability judgments (Study 2).

    Conclusions:

    • Face preferences exhibit a context-sensitive, opposite-sex bias for perceiver-directed smiles.
    • Gaze preference appears to facilitate efficient allocation of mating effort, indicating adaptive design.
    • Perceptual mechanisms for face preferences are finely tuned to social and sexual contexts.