Physical attractiveness has important social consequences.
It may not be surprising that attractive individuals fare better in the world of dating.
Beauty also correlates with upward economic mobility, especially for women.
Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou
This is true even when they have comparable education and experience to other applicants.
There seems to be anattractivenessstereotype.
Read on to find out more about the latest findings about beauty from a scientific perspective.
Where Does Our Idea of Beauty Come From?
If this were true, that would mean that what defines attractiveness would differ based on culture and era.
None of that is true.
How Babies Perceive Beauty
It turns out that we are only partially influenced by culture and experience.
Some human facial features seem to be universally and reliably appraised as attractive, and even babies will agree.
How can we measure what infants understand about beauty?
In one study, infants preferences were calculated based on eye-tracking technology.
Their visual attraction to certain facial characteristics represents a more pure neurobiological response.
How Is Beauty Defined?
There is then an analysis of what attributes were common to the more favorably rated faces.
Researchers can also digitally manipulate features of the images and observe how that influences opinion.
Below are some of the characteristics and the evolutionary theory behind why those attributes may be sought after.
While Verywell aims to be inclusive to all genders, sexualities, etc.
Our faces are not exactly the same on both halves.
In men, a symmetrical body correlates to increased sperm count and sperm health.
Breast symmetry in women is associated with increased fertility.
Skin condition is a particularly useful marker of current health status.
This includes things such as skin color, tone, and texture.
Faces shown smiling are almost always rated as more beautiful than neutral faces.
The same is true of things such as fuller lips and higher or fuller cheeks in women.
Women with more feminized faces were found to have higher circulating estrogen, on average.
Similarly, increased testosterone relates to more typically manly features.
These outward indications of a persons greater hormonal levels are valued in potential mates.
What features are women attracted to in their romantic partner?
Well, it depends.
Instead of dominance, feminine traits are associated with honesty, warmth, and being cooperative.
In other words, features that wouldnt necessarily be associated with fertility but with stable parenting.
Have you ever noticed some couples look like each other?
Or how some people marry someone who looks like their opposite-sex parent?
Research explains some of these preferences.
People who look like you:Women seem to have an aversion to opposite-sex faces that look like them.
Men have a mixed response.
However, this is not true regarding longer-term unions.
Not everything can be measured.
The loveliest of things are on the inside and unquantifiable.
Little AC, Jones BC, DeBruine LM.Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary based research.Phil Trans R Soc B.
2011;366(1571):1638-1659. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0404
Little AC.Facial attractiveness.Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews(WIREs) Cognitive Science.
