Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
3-2014
Abstract
Previous research shows that men with higher facial width-to-height ratios (fWHRs) have higher testosterone, are more aggressive, more powerful, and more financially successful, but are they more attractive to women in an ecologically valid mating context, speed-dating? Male fWHR was positively associated with perceptions of dominance, being chosen for a second date, and attractiveness to women for short-term, but not long-term relationships. Perceived dominance mediated (by itself and through physical attractiveness) the relationship between fWHR and women’s interest in short-term relationships. Furthermore, men’s perceptions of own dominance reflected patterns in mating desirability similar to those of fWHR. These results support the idea that fWHR is a physical marker of dominance. This is the first study to show that men with high fWHR are attractive to women for short-term relationships, and that male dominance is attractive in an interactive situation that could actually lead to dating and mating.
Keywords
good genes sexual selection, dominance, facial width-to-height ratio, speed-dating, mate selection
Discipline
Gender and Sexuality | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Psychological Science
Volume
25
Issue
3
First Page
806
Last Page
811
ISSN
0956-7976
Identifier
10.1177/0956797613511823
Publisher
SAGE
Citation
VALENTINE, Katherine A., LI, Norman P., PENKE, Lars, & PERRETT, David I..(2014). Judging a Man by the Width of his Face: The Role of Facial Ratios and Dominance in Mate Choice at Speed-Dating Events. Psychological Science, 25(3), 806-811.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1471
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613511823