Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics

E. C. Cornwell; L. Boothroyd; D. M. Burt; D. R. Feinberg; Benedict Christopher Jones; A. C. Little; R. M. Pitman; S. Whiten; D. I. Perrett

doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2649

Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics

E. C. Cornwell, L. Boothroyd, D. M. Burt, D. R. Feinberg, Benedict Christopher Jones, A. C. Little, R. M. Pitman, S. Whiten, D. I. Perrett

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

88 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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; 5alpha-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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	635-640
Number of pages	5
Journal	Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences
Volume	271
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2649
Publication status	Published - 2004

Keywords

pheromones
mating strategies
facial attraction
male-female differences
HUMAN FEMALE PREFERENCES
PUTATIVE PHEROMONES
MENSTRUAL-CYCLE
PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY
MALE FACES
BODY ODOR
SYMMETRY
DIMORPHISM
MEN

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10.1098/rspb.2003.2649

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title = "Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics",

abstract = "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; 5alpha-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.",

keywords = "pheromones, mating strategies, facial attraction, male-female differences, HUMAN FEMALE PREFERENCES, PUTATIVE PHEROMONES, MENSTRUAL-CYCLE, PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS, FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY, MALE FACES, BODY ODOR, SYMMETRY, DIMORPHISM, MEN",

author = "Cornwell, {E. C.} and L. Boothroyd and Burt, {D. M.} and Feinberg, {D. R.} and Jones, {Benedict Christopher} and Little, {A. C.} and Pitman, {R. M.} and S. Whiten and Perrett, {D. I.}",

year = "2004",

doi = "10.1098/rspb.2003.2649",

language = "English",

volume = "271",

pages = "635--640",

journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences",

issn = "0962-8452",

publisher = "ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY",

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T1 - Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics

AU - Cornwell, E. C.

AU - Boothroyd, L.

AU - Burt, D. M.

AU - Feinberg, D. R.

AU - Jones, Benedict Christopher

AU - Little, A. C.

AU - Pitman, R. M.

AU - Whiten, S.

AU - Perrett, D. I.

PY - 2004

Y1 - 2004

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; 5alpha-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; 5alpha-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.

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KW - mating strategies

KW - facial attraction

KW - male-female differences

KW - HUMAN FEMALE PREFERENCES

KW - PUTATIVE PHEROMONES

KW - MENSTRUAL-CYCLE

KW - PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS

KW - FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY

KW - MALE FACES

KW - BODY ODOR

KW - SYMMETRY

KW - DIMORPHISM

KW - MEN

U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2003.2649

DO - 10.1098/rspb.2003.2649

M3 - Article

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SP - 635

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JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences

JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences

ER -

Concordant preferences for opposite-sex signals? Human pheromones and facial characteristics

Abstract

Keywords

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