Work

Genetic Factors That Increase Male Facial Masculinity Decrease Facial Attractiveness of Female Relatives

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: For women, choosing a facially masculine man as a mate is thought to confer genetic benefits to offspring. Crucial assumptions of this hypothesis have not been adequately tested. It has been assumed that variation in facial masculinity is due to genetic variation and that genetic factors that increase male facial masculinity do not increase facial masculinity in female relatives. We objectively quantified the facial masculinity in photos of identical (n = 411) and nonidentical (n = 782) twins and their siblings (n = 106). Using biometrical modeling, we found that much of the variation in male and female facial masculinity is genetic. However, we also found that masculinity of male faces is unrelated to their attractiveness and that facially masculine men tend to have facially masculine, less-attractive sisters. These findings challenge the idea that facially masculine men provide net genetic benefits to offspring and call into question this popular theoretical framework.

Source: Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/0956797613510724

Authors: Anthony J. Lee, Dorian G. Mitchem, Margaret J. Wright, Nicholas G. Martin, Matthew C. Keller, Brendan P. Zietsch

Institutions: The University of Queensland, University of Colorado Boulder, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Language: English

Topic: Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Institute of Mental Health