Face-referenced or Viewer-referenced:Effects of Sexual Dimorphism Cues, Emotional Expression and Physical Attractiveness on Preferences for Direct-gazing Face

wen fangfang BIN ZUO

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2014, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (4) : 834-839.

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PDF(3996 KB)
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2014, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (4) : 834-839.

Face-referenced or Viewer-referenced:Effects of Sexual Dimorphism Cues, Emotional Expression and Physical Attractiveness on Preferences for Direct-gazing Face

  • wen fangfang1,BIN ZUO
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Abstract

Perceived facial attractiveness can influence people’s social interactions with one another, including mate selection, intimate relationship, hiring decision, and voting behavior. Facial attractiveness represents one’s conception of the ideal in face and gives the greatest degree of pleasure to the senses. Most of the studies showed that masculinity- femininity cues, gaze direction and emotional expression played important roles in the facial attractiveness. Interactions among the effects of sexual dimorphism cues, emotional expression and physical attractiveness on preferences for direct-gazing face were examined in this two-phase experiment. From the perspective of face-referenced, using FaceGen 3.1 to adjust the eye’s gaze direction, Experiment 1 found that preferences for direct gaze when judging different sexual dimorphism cues, emotional expression and physical attractiveness face; Preferences for direct gaze are stronger when judging feminine/happy and neutral/physical attractive face than when judging masculine/disgust and angry/ unattractive face; For the different physical attractive and sexual dimorphism cues, preferences for direct gaze are stronger when judging happy and neutral face than when judging disgust and angry face. From the perspective of viewer-referenced, using FaceGen 3.1 to generate front versus three-quarter views of faces, Experiment 2 found that there were no significant preferences for direct gaze when judging different sexual dimorphism cues, emotional expression and physical attractiveness face; Preferences for direct gaze are stronger when judging feminine/happy, disgust and angry face than when judging masculine/neutral face. These findings present novel evidence that preferences for direct gaze on facial attractiveness are based on face-referenced processing, rather than viewer-referenced. The preferences for the attractive, positive emotional expression and direct gaze face are on the straight line with the adaptation for efficient allocation of evolution, and the preferences for feminine face can be interpreted from Chinese feminine, long-term orientation and collective cultures.

Key words

Face-referenced,Viewer-referenced, gaze direction, sexual dimorphism cues, facial attractiveness, emotional expression

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wen fangfang BIN ZUO. Face-referenced or Viewer-referenced:Effects of Sexual Dimorphism Cues, Emotional Expression and Physical Attractiveness on Preferences for Direct-gazing Face[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2014, 37(4): 834-839

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