Abstract
If humans are sensitive to the costs and benefits of favouring kin in different circumstances, a strong prediction is that cues of relatedness will have a positive effect on prosocial feelings, but a negative effect on sexual attraction. Indeed, positive effects of facial resemblance (a potential cue of kinship) have been demonstrated in prosocial contexts. Alternatively, such effects may be owing to a general preference for familiar stimuli. Here, I show that subtly manipulated images of other-sex faces were judged as more trustworthy by the participants they were made to resemble than by control participants. In contrast, the effects of resemblance on attractiveness were significantly lower. In the context of a long-term relationship, where both prosocial regard and sexual appeal are important criteria, facial resemblance had no effect. In the context of a short-term relationship, where sexual appeal is the dominant criterion, facial resemblance decreased attractiveness. The results provide evidence against explanations implicating a general preference for familiar-looking stimuli and suggest instead that facial resemblance is a kinship cue to which humans modulate responses in a context-sensitive manner.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 919-922 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences |
| Volume | 272 |
| Issue number | 1566 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2005 |
Keywords
- kin recognition
- facial self-resemblance
- trustworthiness
- attractiveness
- inbreeding avoidance
- inclusive fitness
- sexual-dimorphism
- mere exposure
- mate choice
- faces
- preferences
- adaptation
- perception
- similarity
- increases
Cite this
Trustworthy but not lust-worthy : context-specific effects of facial resemblance. / Debruine, Lisa Marie.
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences, Vol. 272, No. 1566, 05.2005, p. 919-922.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Trustworthy but not lust-worthy
T2 - context-specific effects of facial resemblance
AU - Debruine, Lisa Marie
PY - 2005/5
Y1 - 2005/5
N2 - If humans are sensitive to the costs and benefits of favouring kin in different circumstances, a strong prediction is that cues of relatedness will have a positive effect on prosocial feelings, but a negative effect on sexual attraction. Indeed, positive effects of facial resemblance (a potential cue of kinship) have been demonstrated in prosocial contexts. Alternatively, such effects may be owing to a general preference for familiar stimuli. Here, I show that subtly manipulated images of other-sex faces were judged as more trustworthy by the participants they were made to resemble than by control participants. In contrast, the effects of resemblance on attractiveness were significantly lower. In the context of a long-term relationship, where both prosocial regard and sexual appeal are important criteria, facial resemblance had no effect. In the context of a short-term relationship, where sexual appeal is the dominant criterion, facial resemblance decreased attractiveness. The results provide evidence against explanations implicating a general preference for familiar-looking stimuli and suggest instead that facial resemblance is a kinship cue to which humans modulate responses in a context-sensitive manner.
AB - If humans are sensitive to the costs and benefits of favouring kin in different circumstances, a strong prediction is that cues of relatedness will have a positive effect on prosocial feelings, but a negative effect on sexual attraction. Indeed, positive effects of facial resemblance (a potential cue of kinship) have been demonstrated in prosocial contexts. Alternatively, such effects may be owing to a general preference for familiar stimuli. Here, I show that subtly manipulated images of other-sex faces were judged as more trustworthy by the participants they were made to resemble than by control participants. In contrast, the effects of resemblance on attractiveness were significantly lower. In the context of a long-term relationship, where both prosocial regard and sexual appeal are important criteria, facial resemblance had no effect. In the context of a short-term relationship, where sexual appeal is the dominant criterion, facial resemblance decreased attractiveness. The results provide evidence against explanations implicating a general preference for familiar-looking stimuli and suggest instead that facial resemblance is a kinship cue to which humans modulate responses in a context-sensitive manner.
KW - kin recognition
KW - facial self-resemblance
KW - trustworthiness
KW - attractiveness
KW - inbreeding avoidance
KW - inclusive fitness
KW - sexual-dimorphism
KW - mere exposure
KW - mate choice
KW - faces
KW - preferences
KW - adaptation
KW - perception
KW - similarity
KW - increases
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2004.3003
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2004.3003
M3 - Article
VL - 272
SP - 919
EP - 922
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences
SN - 0962-8452
IS - 1566
ER -