Exposure to visual cues of pathogen contagion changes preferences for masculinity and symmetry in opposite-sex faces
Open accessAbstract
Evolutionary approaches to human attractiveness have documented several traits that are proposed to be attractive across individuals and cultures, although both cross-individual and cross-cultural variations are also often found. Previous studies show that parasite prevalence and mortality/health are related to cultural variation in preferences for attractive traits. Visual experience of pathogen cues may mediate such variable preferences. Here we showed individuals slideshows of images with cues to low and high pathogen prevalence and measured their visual preferences for face traits. We found that both men and women moderated their preferences for facial masculinity and symmetry according to recent experience of visual cues to environmental pathogens. Change in preferences was seen mainly for opposite-sex faces, with women preferring more masculine and more symmetric male faces and men preferring more feminine and more symmetric female faces after exposure to pathogen cues than when not exposed to such cues. Cues to environmental pathogens had no significant effects on preferences for same-sex faces. These data complement studies of cross-cultural differences in preferences by suggesting a mechanism for variation in mate preferences. Similar visual experience could lead to within-cultural agreement and differing visual experience could lead to cross-cultural variation. Overall, our data demonstrate that preferences can be strategically flexible according to recent visual experience with pathogen cues. Given that cues to pathogens may signal an increase in contagion/mortality risk, it may be adaptive to shift visual preferences in favour of proposed good-gene markers in environments where such cues are more evident.
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This relationship is consistent with a wide range of additional evidence indicating that individuals are sensitive to disease-connoting cues within their immediate environment, and respond to these cues with functionally adaptive shifts in cognition and behavior.
“This relationship is consistent with a wide range of additional evidence indicating that individuals are sensitive to disease-connoting cues within their immediate environment, and respond to these cues with functionally adaptive shifts in cognition and behavior [58], [59].”
From Pathogens and Politics: Further Evidence That Parasite Prevalence Predicts Authoritarianism (2013) · cites this paper as [58]
Viewing cues to disease salience increased preferences for facial cues of long-term health in potential mates, but not same-sex individuals.
“we have also found that viewing cues to disease salience increased preferences for facial cues of long-term health in potential mates, but not same-sex individuals (Little et al. 2011).”
From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Little et al. 2011
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Women’s Preference for Masculine Traits Is Disrupted by Images of Male-on-Female Aggression
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The parasite-stress theory may be a general theory of culture and sociality
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DISGUST SENSITIVITY AND GENDER DIFFERENCES: AN INITIAL TEST OF THE PARENTAL INVESTMENT HYPOTHESIS
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- Authors
- Little, A. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Jones, B. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Stirling (GB)
- University of Aberdeen (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Little, Anthony C.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2010-12
- Volume
- 278
- Issue
- 1714
- Pages
- 2032-2039
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC3107643
- OpenAlex
- W2136596950
- Cited by
- 172
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 15.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Strathprints: The University of Strathclyde institutional repository (University of Strathclyde) (acceptedVersion)
- Stirling Online Research Repository (University of Stirling) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- parasite prevalence, mate preferences, facial masculinity, facial symmetry, facial attractiveness, visual experience, cross-cultural variation, mate choice, evolutionary psychology
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Communicable Diseases, Cues, Face, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Sexual Behavior, Sex Characteristics, Visual Perception, Young Adult, Femininity, Masculinity
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