Romantic Partner Preferences for Facial Cues of Symmetry and Masculinity

Abstract

In this quasi-experiment, the relations among life history (LH) strategy, facial symmetry, and facial masculinity were studied. Subject LH was self-reported, and the facial symmetry and masculinity of male images were experimentally manipulated. There are two extremes of LH speed: slow and fast. The goal was to determine what female participants find attractive: symmetry, masculinity, or a combination of both. Such traits are used to assess the quality of potential mates. The females found slow LH strategy males as well as the combination of slow LH strategy and masculine features to be more attractive. However, females that were themselves more attractive, based on self-reports, had lower ratings of attractiveness for the males overall. Health of the female participants also impacted their ratings of the males. Healthier females had generally higher ratings for the males. This study also supported the validity of a self-constructed survey (SRIF) to assess participant immunocompetence.