Judging a Man by the Width of his Face: The Role of Facial Ratios and Dominance in Mate Choice at Speed-Dating Events

Author

Katherine A. VALENTINE, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Norman P. LI, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Lars PENKE, Georg August University Göttingen
David I. PERRETT, University of St Andrews

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