Does facial attractiveness really signal immunocompetence?

Jones, Benedict C.; Holzleitner, Iris J.; Shiramizu, Victor

Abstract

The dominant theory of facial attractiveness judgments is that they evolved to identify healthy individuals with strong immune systems. Here, we summarize results of recent tests of this hypothesis, concluding that it has little compelling empirical support. We then propose an alternative perspective that emphasizes the effects of lifestyle health.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 3, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Oct 5, 2021
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Dec 11, 2021
• Journal: Trends in Cognitive Sciences
• Print ISSN: 1364-6613
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-307X
• Publisher: Cell Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1018-1020
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.09.003
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8025107
• Related Public URLs: https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/does-facial-attractiveness-really-signal-immunocompetence
• Additional Information: Uploaded to University of Strathclyde Repository https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/does-facial-attractiveness-really-signal-immunocompetence