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Redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces
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dc.contributor.author | Stephen, Ian D. | |
dc.contributor.author | Oldham, Francesca H. | |
dc.contributor.author | Perrett, David I. | |
dc.contributor.author | Barton, Robert A. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-11-26T12:31:02Z | |
dc.date.available | 2012-11-26T12:31:02Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2012 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Stephen , I D , Oldham , F H , Perrett , D I & Barton , R A 2012 , ' Redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces ' , Evolutionary Psychology , vol. 10 , no. 3 , pp. 562-572 . | en |
dc.identifier.issn | 1474-7049 | |
dc.identifier.other | PURE: 38619965 | |
dc.identifier.other | PURE UUID: dcf9a424-a728-4f78-8006-317110823b8c | |
dc.identifier.other | WOS: 000309805900012 | |
dc.identifier.other | Scopus: 84872425057 | |
dc.identifier.other | ORCID: /0000-0002-6025-0939/work/64360904 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10023/3266 | |
dc.description | This work was supported by the BBSRC, Unilever Research and the ESRC. | en |
dc.description.abstract | In a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether - as in non-human species - it is also associated with dominance and links to attractiveness have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we allow female participants to manipulate the CIELab a* value (red-green axis) of skin to maximize the perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness of photographs of men's faces, and make two findings. First, participants increased a* (increasing redness) to enhance each attribute, suggesting that facial redness is perceived as conveying similar information about a male's qualities in humans as it does in non-human species. Second, there were significant differences between trial types: the highest levels of red were associated with aggression, an intermediate level with dominance, and the least with attractiveness. These differences may reflect a trade-off between the benefits of selecting a healthy, dominant partner and the negative consequences of aggression. | |
dc.format.extent | 11 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.relation.ispartof | Evolutionary Psychology | en |
dc.rights | This is an open access article published in Evolutionary Psychology, available at www.epjournal.net | en |
dc.subject | Attractiveness | en |
dc.subject | Face | en |
dc.subject | Men | en |
dc.subject | Aggression | en |
dc.subject | Dominance | en |
dc.subject | Perception | en |
dc.subject | BF Psychology | en |
dc.subject | SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being | en |
dc.subject.lcc | BF | en |
dc.title | Redness enhances perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness in men's faces | en |
dc.type | Journal article | en |
dc.description.version | Publisher PDF | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. School of Psychology and Neuroscience | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution | en |
dc.description.status | Peer reviewed | en |
dc.identifier.url | http://www.epjournal.net/articles/redness-enhances-perceived-aggression-dominance-and-attractiveness-in-mens-faces/ | en |
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