Gazing Behavior During Mixed-Sex Interactions: Sex and Attractiveness Effects

Straaten, Ischa van; Holland, Rob W.; Finkenauer, Catrin; Hollenstein, Tom; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.

doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9482-x

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…For instance, facial attractiveness was revealed to positively affect gaze behavior (e.g., longer gaze duration, larger cone of gaze etc.) in human beings (see e.g., Maner et al, 2003, 2007; Leder et al, 2010, 2016; van Straaten et al, 2010; Baranowski et al, 2016). Research in the field of social psychology revealed that attractive individuals are perceived as more socially capable, popular, and competent (Dion et al, 1972; Eagly et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking the Perfect Selfie: Investigating the Impact of Perspective on the Perception of Higher Cognitive Variables

Schneider

Carbon

2017

Front. Psychol.

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Taking selfies is now becoming a standard human habit. However, as a social phenomenon, research is still in the fledgling stage and the scientific framework is sparse. Selfies allow us to share social information with others in a compact format. Furthermore, we are able to control important photographic and compositional aspects, such as perspective, which have a strong impact on the assessment of a face (e.g., demonstrated by the height-weight illusion, effects of gaze direction, faceism-index). In Study 1, we focused on the impact of perspective (left/right hemiface, above/below vs. frontal presentation) on higher cognitive variables and let 172 participants rate the perceived attractiveness, helpfulness, sympathy, dominance, distinctiveness, and intelligence, plus important information on health issues (e.g., body weight), on the basis of 14 3D faces. We could show that lateral snapshots yielded higher ratings for attractiveness compared to the classical frontal view. However, this effect was more pronounced for left hemifaces and especially female faces. Compared to the frontal condition, 30° right hemifaces were rated as more helpful, but only for female faces while faces viewed from above were perceived as significant less helpful. Direct comparison between left vs. right hemifaces revealed no effect. Relating to sympathy, we only found a significant effect for 30° right male hemifaces, but only in comparison to the frontal condition. Furthermore, female 30° right hemifaces were perceived as more intelligent. Relating to body weight, we replicated the so-called “height-weight illusion.” Other variables remained unaffected. In Study 2, we investigated the impact of a typical selfie-style condition by presenting the respective faces from a lateral (left/right) and tilted (lower/higher) vantage point. Most importantly, depending on what persons wish to express with a selfie, a systematic change of perspective can strongly optimize their message; e.g., increasing their attractiveness by shooting from above left, and in contrast, decreasing their expressed helpfulness by shooting from below. We could further extent past findings relating to the height-weight illusion and showed that an additional rotation of the camera positively affected the perception of body weight (lower body weight). We discuss potential explanations for perspective-related effects, especially gender-related ones.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking the Perfect Selfie: Investigating the Impact of Perspective on the Perception of Higher Cognitive Variables

Schneider

Carbon

2017

Front. Psychol.

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“…Relatively, facial attractiveness in male faces is not as important for women as is facial attractiveness in female faces for men. Although women showed attention bias toward HA male faces compared with LA male faces (Silva et al, 2016), the attentional bias toward HA oppositesex faces was significantly stronger for men than that for women (Kleck and Rubenstein, 1975;Fugita et al, 1977;van Straaten et al, 2010;Valuch et al, 2015;Mitrovic et al, 2018). Nevertheless, we should notice that the attractiveness in male faces may be different for women in different situations (e.g., in the ovulatory phase or not).…”

Section: Comparison Of the Cognitive Processing Of Facial Attractivenmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Some studies have revealed that men may show a stronger attentional bias toward HA oppositesex faces than women may (Fugita et al, 1977;van Straaten et al, 2010;Valuch et al, 2015;Mitrovic et al, 2018). For example, evidence showed that heterosexual men spent less time fixating on LA faces than on HA opposite-sex faces, while there was no significant difference of fixation time between LA and HA faces among heterosexual women (van Straaten et al, 2010). Neurophysiological evidence also revealed that HA oppositesex faces elicited larger N170 and LPP than LA opposite-sex faces did for heterosexual men (Morgan and Kisley, 2014;Zhang et al, 2018).…”

Section: Cognitive Processing Of Facial Attractiveness In Adult Facesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, the sex of the targets may determine the effect of facial attractiveness on visual attention. Some studies have revealed that men may show a stronger attentional bias toward HA oppositesex faces than women may (Fugita et al, 1977;van Straaten et al, 2010;Valuch et al, 2015;Mitrovic et al, 2018). For example, evidence showed that heterosexual men spent less time fixating on LA faces than on HA opposite-sex faces, while there was no significant difference of fixation time between LA and HA faces among heterosexual women (van Straaten et al, 2010).…”

Section: Cognitive Processing Of Facial Attractiveness In Adult Facesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanisms for the Cognitive Processing of Attractiveness in Adult and Infant Faces: From the Evolutionary Perspective

Kou

Xie

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Research on the cognitive processing of facial attractiveness has mainly focused on adult faces. Recent studies have revealed that the cognitive processing of facial attractiveness in infant faces is not the same as that in adult faces. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the evidence on the processing of facial attractiveness in each kind of face and compare their underlying mechanisms. In this paper, we first reviewed studies on the cognitive processing of facial attractiveness in adult faces, including attentional and mnemonic processing, and then discussed the underlying mechanisms. Afterward, studies on facial attractiveness in infant faces were reviewed, and the underlying mechanisms were also discussed. Direct comparisons between the two kinds of cognitive processing were subsequently made. The results showed that the mechanisms for the processing of attractiveness in adult faces and infant faces are mainly motivated by the perspectives of mate selection and raising offspring, respectively, in evolutionary psychology. Finally, directions for future research are proposed.

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“…Each camera recorded the face of the opposite person from a higher perspective than the eyes of the perceiver, herewith providing a clear image of gazing directions. The setting of the experiment has been successfully used before in a study measuring social interaction behavior and gazing in opposite sex-dyads (Van Straaten, Holland, Finkenauer, Hollenstein, & Engels, 2010). When seated, the participants were given a short instruction to talk about nightlife in the city for five minutes (Task 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and Gazing Behavior during Social Interaction: An Observational Study in Young Adults

Verhagen¹,

Engels²,

Roekel³

2014

OJD

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Background: In the present study, the relation between a polymorphic marker within the OXTR gene (rs53576) and gazing behavior during two separate social interaction tasks was examined. Gazing behavior was considered to be an integral part of belonging regulation processes. Methods: We conducted an observational interaction study (N = 116; 58 dyads) in a naturalistic setting. Participants were seated face to face with hidden cameras positioned behind them. Each couple was instructed to have two short conversations about daily topics (nightlife in the city and movies), separated by a distraction task. We studied the role of the OXTR gene in relation to gaze duration (total duration and mean duration per event) at the interaction partner, both for the total interaction and for the first and second halves of the interaction, separately. Results: Analyses showed a significant relationship between the OXTR genetic variant and mean gaze duration at the interaction partner. Individuals carrying an A-allele showed increased gaze duration. This genetic association was particularly present during the first half of the conversation. In the second interaction task, we confirmed the findings that A-allele carriers showed longer mean gaze duration. No associations were found for total gaze duration. Conclusions: The OXTR A-allele was associated with longer mean gaze duration at an unknown interaction partner, especially during the first halves of the interaction times. This might illustrate that A-carriers, compared to GG-homozygous individuals, need slightly more time to read the micro socio-emotional facial cues of a new interaction partner or need more time for social reconciliation processes. This could be indicative of a genetic liability for being less vulnerable to pick up new micro social cues.

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Gazing Behavior During Mixed-Sex Interactions: Sex and Attractiveness Effects

Cited by 19 publications

References 40 publications

Taking the Perfect Selfie: Investigating the Impact of Perspective on the Perception of Higher Cognitive Variables

Taking the Perfect Selfie: Investigating the Impact of Perspective on the Perception of Higher Cognitive Variables

Mechanisms for the Cognitive Processing of Attractiveness in Adult and Infant Faces: From the Evolutionary Perspective

The Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and Gazing Behavior during Social Interaction: An Observational Study in Young Adults

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