TY - JOUR
T1 - Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics
AU - Cornwell, R. Elisabeth
AU - Boothroyd, Lynda
AU - Burt, D. Michael
AU - Feinberg, David R.
AU - Jones, Ben C.
AU - Little, Anthony C.
AU - Pitman, Robert
AU - Whiten, Susie
AU - Perrett, David I.
PY - 2004/3/22
Y1 - 2004/3/22
N2 - We have investigated whether preferences for masculine and feminine characteristics are correlated across two modalities, olfaction and vision. In study 1, subjects rated the pleasantness of putative male (4,16-androstadien-3- one; 5α-androst-16-en-3-one) and female (1,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol) pheromones, and chose the most attractive face shape from a masculine-feminine continuum for a long- and a short-term relationship. Study 2 replicated study 1 and further explored the effects of relationship context on pheromone ratings. For long-term relationships, women's preferences for masculine face shapes correlated with ratings of 4,16-androstadien-3-one and men's preferences for feminine face shapes correlated with ratings of 1,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol. These studies link sex-specific preferences for putative human sex pheromones and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics. Our findings suggest that putative sex pheromones and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics convey common information about the quality of potential mates.
AB - We have investigated whether preferences for masculine and feminine characteristics are correlated across two modalities, olfaction and vision. In study 1, subjects rated the pleasantness of putative male (4,16-androstadien-3- one; 5α-androst-16-en-3-one) and female (1,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol) pheromones, and chose the most attractive face shape from a masculine-feminine continuum for a long- and a short-term relationship. Study 2 replicated study 1 and further explored the effects of relationship context on pheromone ratings. For long-term relationships, women's preferences for masculine face shapes correlated with ratings of 4,16-androstadien-3-one and men's preferences for feminine face shapes correlated with ratings of 1,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol. These studies link sex-specific preferences for putative human sex pheromones and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics. Our findings suggest that putative sex pheromones and sexually dimorphic facial characteristics convey common information about the quality of potential mates.
KW - Facial attraction
KW - Male-female differences
KW - Mating strategies
KW - Pheromones
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=1642402734&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2649
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2003.2649
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2003.2649
M3 - Article
C2 - 15156922
AN - SCOPUS:1642402734
SN - 0962-8452
VL - 271
SP - 635
EP - 640
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
IS - 1539
ER -