Resemblance to self increases the appeal of child faces to both men and women

Debruine, L.M. (2004) Resemblance to self increases the appeal of child faces to both men and women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25(3), pp. 142-154. (doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.03.003)

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Abstract

Platek et al. (2002, 2003) reported that facial resemblance between self and a child increases professed willingness to invest in that child, and does so much more for men than for women. Because facial resemblance is a possible cue of kinship and men, unlike women, can be mistaken about parenthood, Platek et al. predicted and interpreted this sex difference as an adaptation whereby men allocate parental investment in proportion to cues of the likelihood of paternity. Extending their approach using a more realistic technique for manipulating facial resemblance and eliminating some of the confounds in their methodology, facial resemblance was found to increase attractiveness judgments and hypothetical investment decisions, although the published sex difference was not found. This could not be explained by differences in resemblance between the participants and the morphed images because a separate group of observers could match the original adult images to the new morphs as accurately as to morphs made using Platek et al.'s method. In addition, composite scores indicating positive regard toward an image were correlated with resemblance as judged by these independent observers.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:DeBruine, Professor Lisa
Authors: Debruine, L.M.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
Journal Name:Evolution and Human Behavior
ISSN:1090-5138

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