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The self prefers itself? Self-referential versus parental standards in face attractiveness
1Department of Psychology, University of Oslo , Norway.
Peerj
|October 3, 2014
Summary
People prefer faces resembling themselves over those resembling their parents. This study on facial attractiveness suggests a self-based phenotype preference, also known as "self-imprinting," influences mate choice.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Human Behavior
- Facial Recognition
Background:
- Assortative mating, the tendency to choose mates with similar phenotypes, is a common human behavior.
- The underlying drivers of phenotypic similarity preference are debated, with theories suggesting a preference for self-similarity or parent-similarity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether facial attractiveness preferences are influenced by resemblance to one's own face (self-based phenotype) or to an opposite-sex parent's face (parental phenotype).
- To explore the concept of "self-imprinting" in mate selection.
Main Methods:
- Computerized facial morphing techniques were used to create composite images.
- Participants' faces were blended with opposite-sex prototype faces to create self-based morphs.
- Morphs were also created using participants' parents' faces.
- Participants ranked the attractiveness of these morphs, prototype faces, and other familiar morphs.
Main Results:
- Female participants showed a significant preference for self-based morphs over prototype faces.
- Male participants exhibited a general tendency towards a self-referential standard in attractiveness.
- Parental face morphs were consistently ranked lower in attractiveness compared to self-based morphs.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest that self-based phenotypic resemblance, or "self-imprinting," plays a significant role in shaping facial attractiveness preferences.
- The preference for self-similarity may be a stronger influence on mate choice than resemblance to parental phenotypes.
- Age differences in photographic stimuli may have influenced the lower ranking of parental morphs.
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