She is not a beauty even when she smiles: Possible evolutionary basis for a relationship between facial attractiveness and hemispheric specialization

Zaidel, Dahlia W.; Chen, Audrey C.; German, Craig

doi:10.1016/0028-3932(94)00135-c

Cited by 74 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A cracked ceramic jug, or an isolated dilapidated wooden hut, a cloudy sky with asymmetrical misshapen clouds, and asymmetrical flower arrangements are considered beautiful (see Figure 1). With human faces, attractiveness has been associated with left-right symmetry [13] as well as with asymmetry [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asymmetry and Symmetry in the Beauty of Human Faces

Zaidel

Hessamian

2010

Symmetry

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Abstract:The emphasis in the published literature has mostly been on symmetry as the critical source for beauty judgment. In fact, both symmetry and asymmetry serve as highly aesthetic sources of beauty, whether the context is perceptual or conceptual. The human brain is characterized by symbolic cognition and this type of cognition facilitates a range of aesthetic reactions. For example, both art and natural scenery contain asymmetrical elements, which nevertheless render the whole effect beautiful. A further good case in point is, in fact, human faces. Normally, faces are structurally left-right symmetrical content-wise but not size-wise or function-wise. Attractiveness has often been discussed in terms of content-wise full-face symmetry. To test whether or not attractiveness can be gleaned only from the presence of left-right full-faces we tested half faces. Three separate groups of participants viewed and rated the attractiveness of 56 full-faces (women's and men's), their 56 vertical left hemi-faces and 56 vertical right hemi-faces. We found no statistically significant differences in the attractiveness ratings of full-and hemi-faces (whether left or right). Instead, we found a strong and significant positive correlation between the ratings of the hemi-and full-faces. These results are consistent with the view that the underpinning of human facial beauty is complex and that bilateral symmetry does not constitute a principle factor in beauty assessment. We discuss that the highly evolved human brain, compared to other animals, as well as symbolic and abstract cognition in humans enable a wide variety of aesthetic reactions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asymmetry and Symmetry in the Beauty of Human Faces

Zaidel

Hessamian

2010

Symmetry

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“…It would appear that attractiveness in humans is relatively independent of health or symmetry. However, the latter two features seem to be related in humans as they are in animals (mate selection strategies are reviewed in Grammer &Thornhill, 1994 andin Zaidel et al, 1995). It is indeed difficult to say whether ''beauty'' is a cognitive feature in animal considerations of potential mates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is not to say that health and facial beauty are unrelated in humans. The human face has evolved to communicate both language and expressions most likely through the same adaptive biological considerations that have shaped human brain asymmetries (Zaidel et al, 1995). While deviations from symmetry are critical perceptual units in detecting appearance of health, in both animals and humans, the natural subtle asymmetry of the human face may be relatively unimportant for judgment of facial attractiveness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In human interactions, the face is a principle source of communication (speech and facial expressions) and inspection. However, the symmetry status in faces is not clear considering previous evidence that human faces are both structurally and functionally asymmetric (Zaidel, Chen, & German, 1995) and inconsistent published reports regarding the relationship between symmetry and attractiveness (Grammer & Thornhill, 1994;Knowner, 1996;Rhodes, Proffitt, Grady, & Sumich, 1998;Samuels, Butterworth, Roberts, Graupner, & Hole, 1994). Moreover, animals have largely left-right symmetrical brains whereas humans do not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Appearance of symmetry, beauty, and health in human faces

Zaidel

Aarde

Baig

2005

Brain and Cognition

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Symmetry is an important concept in biology, being related to mate selection strategies, health, and survival of species. In human faces, the relevance of left-right symmetry to attractiveness and health is not well understood. We compared the appearance of facial attractiveness, health, and symmetry in three separate experiments. Participants inspected front views of faces on the computer screen and judged them on a 5-point scale according to their attractiveness in Experiment 1, health in Experiment 2, and symmetry in Experiment 3. We found that symmetry and attractiveness were not strongly related in faces of women or men while health and symmetry were related. There was a significant difference between attractiveness and symmetry judgments but not between health and symmetry judgments. Moreover, there was a significant difference between attractiveness and health. Facial symmetry may be critical for the appearance of health but it does not seem to be critical for the appearance of attractiveness, not surprisingly perhaps because human faces together with the human brain have been shaped by adaptive evolution to be naturally asymmetrical.

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“…(iii) The selective emphasis on the left half of women's faces in portraits by Rembrandt, and by many other portrait painters over several centuries, has led to numerous psychological experiments, including discovering facial asymmetry in the manifestation of beauty in women's faces and speculating about adaptive coevolution between face and brain 4 . Because artistic productions reflect the mind in the brain, art holds many insights for behavioural brain researchers.…”

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confidence: 99%