TY  - GEN
ID  - cogprints151
UR  - http://cogprints.org/151/
A1  - Chen, Audrey C.
A1  - German, Craig
A1  - Zaidel, Dahlia W.
Y1  - 1997/04//
N2  - We recently reported finding asymmetry in the appearance of beauty on the face [39]. Here we investigated whether facial beauty is a stable characteristic (on the owner's very face) or is in the perceptual space of the observer. We call the question 'the owner versus observer hypothesis'. We compared identity judgements and attractiveness ratings of observers. Subjects viewed left-left and right-right composites of faces and decided which most resembled the normal face (Experiment 1). Identity judgements (resemblance) are known to be associated with perceptual factors in the observer. Another group viewed the same normal faces and rated them on attractiveness (Experiment 2). In each experiment there were two separate viewing conditions, original and reversed (mirror-image). Lateral reversal did affect the results of Experiment 1 (confirming previous findings [3,18]) but did not affect the results of Experiment 2. The fact that lateral reversal did not affect the results of Experiment 2 suggests that facial attractiveness is more dependent on physiognomy (of the owner) and less dependent on an asymmetrical perceptual process (in the observer) than is facial identity. The results are discussed in the context of beauty’s biological significance and facial processing in the brain.
KW  - hemispheric specialization
KW  -  attractiveness
KW  -  attractive
KW  -  beautiful
KW  -  right hemisphere
KW  -  left hemisphere
KW  -  symmetry
KW  -  asymmetry
KW  -  mate selection
KW  -  evolution
KW  -  sexual selection
KW  -  identity
KW  -  face recognition
KW  -  sociobiology
KW  -  brain
KW  -  cortex
KW  -  cerebrum
KW  -  cerebral hemispheres
KW  -  human
KW  -  women
KW  -  men.
TI  - Brain asymmetry and facial attractiveness: Facial beauty is not simply in the eye of the beholder.
SP  - 471
AV  - public
EP  - 476
ER  -

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