Male faces and bodies: Evidence of a condition-dependent ornament of quality

Male body movements as possible cues to physical strength: A biomechanical analysis

“…Our model found that in predicting observers dance ratings, handgrip strength explained a significant amount of the variance, such that males with greater upper body strength were also rated as being better dancers. This finding is in accord with a previous study reporting that male dance is associated with grip strength, despite different methodologies (Hugill et al, ), and supports the notion that both men and women have evolved cognitive adaptations for the visual assessment of strength from men's faces, bodies, and movements (Fink et al, ). However, we acknowledge that these results in themselves cannot be yet interpreted in terms of different mating strategies (i.e.…”

“…Male animals also display their physical qualities to other males in the form of intrasexual competition (threat displays). Positive relationships have also been found between men's dance movements and their actual physical strength (Hugill et al, ), and so the human face/body may be acting as a condition‐dependent ornament of certain aspects of male quality (Fink et al, ). The extent to which men's dancing provides cues as to the strength of the dancer to other men has yet to be investigated.…”

“…For example, Hugill et al () found a significant positive correlation between female ratings of the attractiveness and assertiveness of men's dances and their handgrip strength. The human face and body may thus be acting as a condition‐dependent ornament of certain aspects of male quality (Fink et al, ); although it is possible that the face and body may be signaling different socially relevant traits (see Kramer et al, ).…”

Sex difference in attractiveness perceptions of strong and weak male walkers

“…Physical strength and corresponding facial morphology are testosterone-linked phenotypic traits (Fink, Thanzami, Seydel, & Manning, 2006;Page et al, 2005;Penton-Voak and Chen, 2004) and this may account for observed positive relationships between women's attractiveness assessments of male facial and body characteristics. Fink, T€ aschner, Neave, Hugill, & Dane (2010) reported that women's judgments of male facial attractiveness, dominance, and masculinity correlate positively with parallel assessments of men's bodies, suggesting that similar developmental mechanisms build traits that serve as condition-dependent ornaments of quality. Women's attractiveness (and masculinity) perceptions of men's bodies correlate positively with male physical fitness, and physically fit men report greater mating success (H€ onekopp, Rudolph, Beier, Liebert, & M€ uller, 2007).…”

Concordant preferences for actual height and facial cues to height

“…Recent research has uncovered elements of facial attractiveness related to body characteristics. Male facial attractiveness has been found to positively correlate with body attractiveness (Fink, Taschner, Neave, Hugill, & Dane, 2010), and grip strength (Fink, Neave, & Seydel, 2007). Facial adiposity correlates with actual and perceived body mass index (BMI) (Coetzee, Chen, Perrett, & Stephen, 2010;Coetzee, Perrett, & Stephen, 2009), and altering facial adiposity in isolation affects facial attractiveness (Coetzee, Re, Perrett, Tiddeman, & Xiao, 2011;Re et al, 2011).…”