Facial first impressions and partner preference models: comparable or distinct underlying structures?

Jennifer K South Palomares (Corresponding Author), Clare AM Sutherland, Andrew Young

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Given the frequency of relationships nowadays initiated online, where impressions from face photographs may influence relationship initiation, it is important to understand how facial first impressions might be used in such contexts. We therefore examined the applicability of a leading model of verbally expressed partner preferences to impressions derived from real face images and investigated how the factor structure of first impressions based on potential partner preference-related traits might relate to a more general model of facial first impressions. Participants rated 1,000 everyday face photographs on 12 traits selected to represent (Fletcher, et al. 1999, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 72) verbal model of partner preferences. Facial trait judgements showed an underlying structure that largely paralleled the tripartite structure of Fletcher et al.'s verbal preference model, regardless of either face gender or participant gender. Furthermore, there was close correspondence between the verbal partner preference model and a more general tripartite model of facial first impressions derived from a different literature (Sutherland et al., 2013, Cognition, 127, 105), suggesting an underlying correspondence between verbal conceptual models of romantic preferences and more general models of facial first impressions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)538-563
Number of pages26
JournalBritish Journal of Psychology
Volume109
Issue number3
Early online date17 Dec 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2018

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Social Psychology
Cognition
Personality
Conceptual Model

Keywords

  • face perception
  • first impressions
  • person perception
  • romantic relationships
  • social inferences

Cite this

Facial first impressions and partner preference models : comparable or distinct underlying structures? / Palomares, Jennifer K South (Corresponding Author); Sutherland, Clare AM; Young, Andrew.

In: British Journal of Psychology, Vol. 109, No. 3, 08.2018, p. 538-563.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Palomares, JKS, Sutherland, CAM & Young, A 2018, 'Facial first impressions and partner preference models: comparable or distinct underlying structures?', British Journal of Psychology, vol. 109, no. 3, pp. 538-563. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12286
Palomares JKS, Sutherland CAM, Young A. Facial first impressions and partner preference models: comparable or distinct underlying structures? British Journal of Psychology. 2018 Aug;109(3):538-563. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12286
Palomares, Jennifer K South ; Sutherland, Clare AM ; Young, Andrew. / Facial first impressions and partner preference models : comparable or distinct underlying structures?. In: British Journal of Psychology. 2018 ; Vol. 109, No. 3. pp. 538-563.
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title = "Facial first impressions and partner preference models: comparable or distinct underlying structures?",
abstract = "Given the frequency of relationships nowadays initiated online, where impressions from face photographs may influence relationship initiation, it is important to understand how facial first impressions might be used in such contexts. We therefore examined the applicability of a leading model of verbally expressed partner preferences to impressions derived from real face images and investigated how the factor structure of first impressions based on potential partner preference-related traits might relate to a more general model of facial first impressions. Participants rated 1,000 everyday face photographs on 12 traits selected to represent (Fletcher, et al. 1999, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 72) verbal model of partner preferences. Facial trait judgements showed an underlying structure that largely paralleled the tripartite structure of Fletcher et al.'s verbal preference model, regardless of either face gender or participant gender. Furthermore, there was close correspondence between the verbal partner preference model and a more general tripartite model of facial first impressions derived from a different literature (Sutherland et al., 2013, Cognition, 127, 105), suggesting an underlying correspondence between verbal conceptual models of romantic preferences and more general models of facial first impressions.",
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  • Palomares_et_al_BJCP_AAM

    This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: South Palomares, J. K., Sutherland, C. A. and Young, A. W. (2018), Facial first impressions and partner preference models: Comparable or distinct underlying structures?, Br J Psychol, 109: 538-563. , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12286. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

    Accepted author manuscript, 1.38 MBLicence: Unspecified