Comparing theory-driven and data-driven attractiveness models using images of real women's faces

Holzleitner, Iris J.; Lee, Anthony J.; Hahn, Amanda C.; Kandrik, Michal; Bovet, Jeanne; Renoult, Julien P.; Simmons, David; Garrod, Oliver; DeBruine, Lisa M.; Jones, Benedict C.

Abstract

Facial attractiveness plays a critical role in social interaction, influencing many different social outcomes. However, the factors that influence facial attractiveness judgments remain relatively poorly understood. Here, we used a sample of 594 young adult female face images to compare the performance of existing theory-driven models of facial attractiveness and a data-driven (i.e., theory-neutral) model. Our data-driven model and a theory-driven model including various traits commonly studied in facial attractiveness research (asymmetry, averageness, sexual dimorphism, body mass index, and representational sparseness) performed similarly well. By contrast, univariate theory-driven models performed relatively poorly. These results (a) highlight the utility of data driven models of facial attractiveness and (b) suggest that theory-driven research on facial attractiveness would benefit from greater adoption of multivariate approaches, rather than the univariate approaches that they currently almost exclusively employ.

Citation

Holzleitner, I. J., Lee, A. J., Hahn, A. C., Kandrik, M., Bovet, J., Renoult, J. P., …Jones, B. C. (2019). Comparing theory-driven and data-driven attractiveness models using images of real women's faces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45(12), 1589-1595. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000685

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 21, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 28, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
• Print ISSN: 0096-1523
• Electronic ISSN: 1939-1277
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1589-1595
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000685
• Keywords: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Behavioral Neuroscience
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7309594
• Additional Information: Preprint at https://psyarxiv.com/vhc5k/; data and code available at https://osf.io/jurcq/