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What makes a face attractive?
The debate over the definition of beauty has been waged by both scientists and philosophers for centuries. We tested the idea that a facial configuration close to the population mean is fundamental to attractiveness (see:
Why Are Attractive Faces Preferred).
First, we digitized images of faces of male and female college students (i.e., transformed the facial images into little dots of lightness and darkness called "pixels"). Each face is represented by a matrix of pixel values that can be mathematically averaged with the matrices of other faces. Once digitized and averaged together, we can turn the averaged pixel values back into images and have the composite faces rated for attractiveness (see Langlois & Roggman, 1990; Langlois et al., 1994). To see some faces averaged together, please visit our
Image Morphing pages.
College students rated the male and female composite faces as significantly higher in attractiveness than the individual faces used to create them, if the composites had at least 16 different faces in them. Thus, averaged faces are attractive. Note that when we use the word, "average," we mean the arithmetical mean, and not an average-looking person. If, for example, you take a female composite (averaged) face made of 32 different faces and overlay it on the face of an extremely attractive female model, the two images line up almost perfectly indicating that the model's facial configuration is very similar to the composites' facial configuration.
Other researchers have suggested that the symmetry or youthfulness of a face make faces attractive. Although we agree that symmetry, youthfulness, or a smile can contribute to the attractiveness of a face, it does not necessarily make a face attractive. We have shown that faces can be highly symmetrical or youthful, but are not necessarily attractive. Thus, we view averageness as fundamental
and necessary to facial attractiveness. Averageness is not the only component of attractiveness, but without it, no face will be attractive.
Related Publications:
- Rubenstein, A.J., Langlois, J.H., & Roggman, L.A. (2002).
What makes a face attractive and why: The role of averageness in defining facial
beauty. In G. Rhodes & L.A. Zebrowitz (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary,
cognitive, and social perspectives. Ablex: Westport, CT.
- Langlois, J.H., & Roggman, L.A. (1990). Attractive faces are
only average. Psychological Science, 1, 115-121.
- Langlois, J.H., Roggman, L.A., Musselman, L., & Acton, S.
(1991). A picture is worth a thousand words: Reply to "On the
difficulty of averaging faces." Psychological Science, 2, 354-357.
- Langlois, J.H., Roggman, L.A., & Musselman, L. (1994). What
is average and what is not average about attractive faces?
Psychological Science, 5, 214-220.
- Rubenstein, A.J., Langlois, J.H., & Kalakanis, L. (1999).
Infant preferences for attractive faces: A cognitive explanation.
Developmental Psychology, 35, 848-855.
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