The faces of desirable mates and dates contain mixed social status cues

Digitized images of adult faces were manipulated to test the effects of facial status cues on social perceptions and the desire to form relationships. Large, immature-looking eyes and mouths signaled submissiveness, whereas small, mature-looking eyes and mouths signaled dominance. As predicted, dominance cues made faces look less warm and submissiveness cues made faces look less powerful, relative to unchanged faces. Although feature manipulations successfully reduced the warmth and power of faces, they did not amplify them. Moreover, changed faces were judged as having less potential than unchanged faces as dates and mates, even when perceptions of normalcy, masculinity/femininity, and health were controlled. Further analyses suggested that normal faces optimize status cues thereby conveying a charismatic mix of warmth and power.

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