MHC-heterozygosity and human facial attractiveness

Roberts, S. Craig; Little, Anthony C.; Gosling, L. M.; Perrett, David; Carter, Vaughan; Jones, Benedict C.; Penton-Voak, Ian S.; Petrie, Marion

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.09.002

Cited by 171 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Studies of odour preferences support the hypothesis that humans are able to differentiate between the MHC composition of potential mates through olfactory cues, but disagree on whether 'smellers' prefer the odour of MHC dissimilar individuals [6][7][8], or of MHC intermediately related individuals [9]. Moreover, there is corroborating evidence suggesting that individuals with higher heterozygosity at MHC loci are found more facially attractive [10][11][12], and the degree of MHC relatedness between potential mates may also influence facial preferences, either positively [13] or negatively [11]. The lack of congruence between these studies, however, may result from differences in sampling schemes, especially in terms of the ethnic composition of the participants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MHC‐dependent mate choice in humans: Why genomic patterns from the HapMap European American dataset support the hypothesis

Laurent

Chaix

2012

BioEssays

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The role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mate choice in humans is controversial. Nowadays, the availability of genetic variation data at genomic scales allows for a careful assessment of this question. In 2008, Chaix et al. reported evidence for MHC‐dependent mate choice among European American spouses from the HapMap 2 dataset. Recently, Derti et al. suggested that this observation was not robust. Furthermore, when Derti et al. applied similar analyses to the HapMap 3 European American samples, they did not see a significant effect. Although some of the points raised by Derti et al. are relevant, we disagree with the reported absence of evidence for MHC‐dependent mate choice within the HapMap samples. More precisely, we show here that the MHC dissimilarity among HapMap 3 European American spouses is still extreme in comparison to the rest of the genome, even after multiple testing correction. This finding supports the hypothesis of MHC‐dependent mate choice in some human populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MHC‐dependent mate choice in humans: Why genomic patterns from the HapMap European American dataset support the hypothesis

Laurent

Chaix

2012

BioEssays

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“…Thus, rated facial masculinity can be considered to be a valid measure of masculinity. Similarly, rated facial health has been shown to relate to genotypes which purportedly contribute to immunity (Roberts et al 2005) and to symmetry, which is an indicator of health ( Jones et al 2001).…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Facial and bodily correlates of family background

Boothroyd

Perrett

2006

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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It has been suggested that absence of the father during early childhood has long-reaching effects on reproductive strategy and development of offspring. This paper reports two studies designed to investigate the physical characteristics of daughters associated with father absence. Study 1 used a facial averaging method to produce composite images of faces of women whose parents separated during their childhood (who were 'father absent'), women whose parents remained together, but had poor quality relationships and women whose parents were together and had good quality relationships. Images were then rated by male and female judges. Father absence and poor parental relationships were associated with apparent facial masculinity and reduced attractiveness in daughters. Poor parental relationships were also associated with reduced apparent health. Study 2 compared family background with body measurements and found that father absence or a poor quality relationship between parents were associated with body masculinity (high waist-to-hip ratio) and increased weight-for-height and adiposity. These results highlight the possibility of physical masculinization being associated with purported father absence 'effects'.

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“…In humans, negative outcomes of having offspring with closely related individuals include higher neonatal and infant mortality and higher incidences of single-gene disorders (Bittles and Neel 1994). Humans do show preferences for the faces of men who are heterozygous at the major histocompatibilty complex (MHC), genes involved in coding for immune function, rating them as more attractive than homozygous men (Roberts et al 2005). Within relationships, women who share a greater proportion of MHC alleles report more extra-pair sexual partners and are more attracted to men other than their primary partners at peak fertility than women who share fewer alleles, suggesting a preference in favour of outbreeding (Garver-Apgar et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed-Ethnicity Face Shape and Attractiveness in Humans

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Many studies show agreement within and between populations and cultures for general judgments of facial attractiveness. Studies that have examined the attractiveness of specific traits have also highlighted cross-cultural differences for factors such as symmetry, averageness, and masculinity. One trait that should be preferred across cultures is heterozygosity. Indeed, several studies suggest that mixed ethnicity, in terms of appearing to possess a mixture of traits from different human population groups, may be found attractive, which could reflect preferences for heterozygosity. We examined preferences for manipulated face shape associated with different populations in both Europeans (Britain) and Africans (Guinea-Bissau). We found that mixed-ethnicity face shapes were more attractive than enhanced single-ethnicity face shape across both populations. These results are consistent with evolutionary theories suggesting individuals should prefer heterozygosity in partners because facial cues to mixed-ethnicity are likely to indicate diverse genes compared to cues that indicate a face belongs to a single particular culture or population.

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MHC-heterozygosity and human facial attractiveness

Cited by 171 publications

References 55 publications

MHC‐dependent mate choice in humans: Why genomic patterns from the HapMap European American dataset support the hypothesis

MHC‐dependent mate choice in humans: Why genomic patterns from the HapMap European American dataset support the hypothesis

Facial and bodily correlates of family background

Mixed-Ethnicity Face Shape and Attractiveness in Humans

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