Male facial cues to physical strength in Europe: Medium‐strength preference and higher aggressiveness attribution to the weakest.
More On Article
- The bioarchaeology of tobacco use: An exploratory study of nicotine and cotinine detection in tooth dentine.
- Buca della Iena and Grotta del Capriolo: New chronological, lithic, and faunal analyses of two late Mousterian sites in Central Italy
- New Publication by HEAS Member Offers New Insights into Ancient Roman Settlement Patterns in Austria
- Home is where my villa is: a machine learning-based predictive suitability map for Roman features in Northern Noricum (ca. 50–500 CE/Lower Austria/AUT)
- HEAS Keynote with Necmi Karul Takes Place in Vienna
Schaefer, K., Seiser, V.M., Prucha, S., Kerschbaumer, V., Fink, B., Windhager, S., 2024. Male facial cues to physical strength in Europe: Medium‐strength preference and higher aggressiveness attribution to the weakest. American journal of human biology, e24040.
Abstract
Objectives
The capacity to assess male physical strength from facial cues may be adaptive given health and fitness-related associations with muscular strength. Our study complements recent research on strength-related face perceptions of male Maasai by applying the protocol to male European faces and assessors.
Methods
Five distinct facial morphs calibrated for handgrip strength (HGS) were manufactured with geometric morphometrics performing regressions of the Procrustes shape coordinates on HGS in a sample of 26 European men (18–32 years). Young adult men and women (n = 445) rated these morphs on physical strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness.
Results
Facial morphs calibrated to lower HGS were rated as less strong, less attractive, and more aggressive than those calibrated to higher HGS. Medium levels of HGS were associated with the highest attractiveness ratings.
Conclusions
The rating patterns of physical strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness for European male facial morphs exhibit similarity to previous ratings of Maasai male faces. Therefore, the current findings corroborate the suggestion of a common mechanism for social attributions based on facial cues to physical strength, modulated by local ecology and societal context.