Facialmetric similarities mediate mate choice: sexual imprinting on opposite-sex parents

Abstract

Former studies have suggested that imprinting-like processes influence the shaping of human mate preferences. In this study, we provide more direct evidence for assessing facial resemblance between subjects' partner and subjects' parents. Fourteen facial proportions were measured on 312 adults belonging to 52 families, and the correlations between family members were compared with those of pairs randomly selected from the population. Spouses proved to be assortatively mated in the majority of measured facial proportions. Significant correlations have been found between the young men and their partner's father (but not his mother), especially on facial proportions belonging to the central area of the face. Women also showed resemblance to their partner's mother (but not to their father) in the facial characteristics of their lower face. Replicating our previous studies, facial photographs of participants were also matched by independent judges who ascribed higher resemblance between partners, and subjects and their partners' opposite-sex parents, compared with controls. Our results support the sexual imprinting hypothesis which states that children shape a mental template of their opposite-sex parents and search for a partner who resembles that perceptual schema. The fact that only the facial metrics of opposite-sex parents showed resemblance to the partner's face tends to rule out the role of familiarity in shaping mating preferences. Our findings also reject several other rival hypotheses. The adaptive value of imprintingrelated human mating is discussed, and a hypothesis is made of why different facial areas are involved in males' and females' search for resemblance.

Variation in Human Mate Choice: Simultaneously Investigating Heritability, Parental Influence, Sexual Imprinting, and Assortative Mating

“…In particular, the sexual imprinting hypothesis was not supported: twins’ spouses showed no more similarity to the twin’s opposite-sex parent than would be expected given assortative mating and genetic relatedness between the twin and his or her parent. A strong previous demonstration of sexual imprinting was subsequently found to contain serious errors (Bereczkei, Hegedus, and Hajnal 2009). The distinct lack of an effect in the current large sample using appropriate genetic controls indicates that sexual imprinting does not play a role in human mate choice, at least in terms of the range of physical and psychological traits investigated here.…”

Like father, like self: emotional closeness to father predicts women's preferences for self-resemblance in opposite-sex faces

“…Evidence for familial imprinting in humans comes from studies of preferences for parental traits. For example, romantic partners and opposite-sex parents tend to be similar in measured facial proportions (Bereczkei, Hegedus & Hajnal, 2009), eye colour (Little et al, 2003), ethnicity (Jedlicka, 1980), age (Perrett et al, 2002) and general facial appearance (Bereczkei, Gyuris & Weisfeld, 2004). Additionally, the extent to which romantic partners or preferred faces resemble opposite-sex parents is positively correlated with their reported emotional closeness to the opposite-sex parent (Bereczkei et al, 2002(Bereczkei et al, , 2004Wiszewska, Pawlowski & Boothroyd, 2007).…”

Facial attractiveness: Variation, adaptiveness and consequences of facial preferences

“…Faces of partners are similar in regard to the majority of facial features [SPUHLER 1968, GRIFFITHS and KUNZ 1973, SU-SANNE 1977, ZAJONC et al 1987, HINSZ 1989, BERECZKEI et al 2008. It suggests a preference for faces similar to one's own.…”

“…Many studies suggest that the preference for faces similar to one's own face is actually a preference for faces similar to the face of the opposite-sex parent: (1) A man's wife's face is more similar to his mother's face than to his own face [BERECZKEI et al 2002]. 2A person's partner's face is similar (both objectively and subjectively) to the person's oppositesex parent, and not to the own-sex parent [BERECZKEI et al 2008]. (3) In adopted women, the face of the partner is similar to the face of the adoptive father, but not to their own face or the face of the adoptive mother [BERECZKEI et al 2004].…”