Thomas R. Alley

Averaged Faces Are Attractive, but Very Attractive Faces Are Not Average

In a recent article, Langlois and Roggman (1990) argue that “attractive faces are only average” and support this theory with composite faces produced by digitized image processing. While we agree with their premise that average(d) faces should be seen as attractive, we believe there are good reasons to expect very attractive faces to be atypical in some ways. Their paper provides evidence that averaged faces are relatively attractive, but other evidence convinces us that facial attractiveness is not simply a function of the prototypicality of faces. Furthermore, the use of composite faces to study the attractiveness of averaged faces produces results that are difficult to interpret. In this commentary, we argue that existing theory and data provide good evidence that atypical characteristics can enhance facial attractiveness. We discuss some of the (1) theoretical reasons why the most average facial appearance will not be ideally attractive; (2) data that indicate that the most average facial appearance is not the most attractive; and (3) limitations and weaknesses of the method used by Langlois and Roggman.

The Influence of Physical State and Color on Perceived Sweetness

Smell, texture, temperature, and other variables can influence the evaluation of foods and beverages. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of physical state and color on perceived sweetness. Fifty junior high school students were given 10 samples of an aqueous sucrose solution in liquid and solid (gelatin) form in random order and were asked to rate their sweetness on a 10-point scale. For each state (liquid and solid), there were 4 colors (red, blue, yellow, and green) plus a colorless control. It was hypothesized that the liquid samples would be perceived as sweeter than the solid samples. The mean rating of the 5 liquid samples (7.61) was more that twice as high as the mean rating of the 5 solid samples (3.11). To determine whether this main effect for physical state held for each color, the mean difference in perceived sweetness between the liquid and solid samples by color was computed. A series of t tests revealed that the mean differences were significant at the .001 level in the expected direction for each color and the colorless control. There was no significant effect of color. These results strongly support the hypothesis that liquid samples are perceived as sweeter than solid samples.

Organism-environment mutuality epistemics, and the concept of an ecological niche

The concept of an ecological niche (econiche) has been used in a variety of ways, some of which are incompatible with a relational or functional interpretation of the term. This essay seeks to standardize usage by limiting the concept to functional relations between organisms and their surroundings, and to revise the concept to include epistemic relations. For most organisms, epistemics are a vital aspect of their functional relationships to their surroundings and, hence, a major determinant of their econiche. Rejecting the traditional dualism of organism and environment, an econiche is defined as the reciprocal (dual) of a functionally specified class of organisms (FSTU). From this perspective, an econiche necessarily implies a certain type of organism, and a class of functionally similar organisms implies a special econiche.The econiche concept is also discussed in relation to other ecological terms that reflect the distributional patterns of organisms, such as “habitat’, and the concept of an “empty niche” is criticized.

Do Men Have Stronger Preferences for Hot, Unusual, and Unfamiliar Foods?

The present study investigated potential sex differences in preferences for spicy, hot or unusual foods and in food aversions or neophobia. This study also reexamined the issue of a gender difference in preference for sweet foods. Questionnaires concerning past and current food use and preferences as well as food and condiment use in one actual meal were completed by 148 people between 17 and 32 years of age. Their responses clearly support the prediction that men tend to have a stronger preference than women for spicy, hot foods. The results also support the prediction that men are more likely than women to seek unusual and new foods. Both sexes showed the same degree of preference for condiment use.

Mating strategy, disgust, and food neophobia

Food neophobia and disgust are commonly thought to be linked, but this hypothesis is typically implicitly assumed rather than directly tested. Evidence for the connection has been based on conceptually and empirically unsound measures of disgust, unpublished research, and indirect findings. This study (N = 283) provides the first direct evidence of a relationship between trait-level food neophobia and trait-level pathogen disgust. Unexpectedly, we also found that food neophobia varies as a function of sexual disgust and is linked to mating strategy. Using an evolutionary framework, we propose a novel hypothesis that may account for these previously undiscovered findings: the food neophilia as mating display hypothesis. Our discussion centers on future research directions for discriminatively testing this novel hypothesis.

Motion sickness history, food neophobia, and sensation seeking.

Motion sickness is believed to be caused by conflicting sensory signals, a situation that mimics the effects of ingesting certain toxins. Thus, one might suspect that individuals who have experienced a relatively high frequency of motion sickness may be particularly vigilant about avoiding anything that produces nausea, including potentially nauseating toxins. Consequently, they may be more resistant to trying new foods, i.e., be more food neophobic, since unfamiliar foods can have unexpected adverse effects due to toxins or allergens. Likewise, many highly stimulating experiences can trigger motion sickness, so individuals who are more susceptible may be more prone to avoid such experiences, i.e., be less sensation seeking. Finally, it was expected that food neophobia would be more frequent in individuals low on sensation seeking tendencies. Self-reported motion sickness history in 308 adults (M=18.8 yr.; SD=1.6) was correlated with scores on the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking and the Food Neophobia Scale. As predicted, greater history of motion sickness was associated with lower Sensation Seeking scores. Food Neophobia was not correlated with motion sickness history but, as expected, was negatively correlated (r = –.42) with scores on Sensation Seeking. Further research is recommended that measures actual sensitivity to motion sickness.

Is facial skin tone sufficient to produce a cross-racial identification effect?

Research clearly supports the existence of an other-race effect for human faces whereby own-race faces are more accurately perceived and recognized. Why this occurs remains unclear. A computerized program (Mac-a-Mug Pro™) for face composition was used to create pairs of target and distractor faces that differed only in skin tone. The six target faces were rated on honesty and aggressiveness by 72 university students, with just one ‘Black’ and one ‘White’ face viewed by each student. One week later, they attempted to identify these faces in four lineups: two with target-present and two with target-absent. The order of presentation of targets, lineups, and faces within lineups was varied. Own-race identification was slightly better than cross-racial identification. There was no significant difference in the confidence of responses to own-versus other-race faces. These results indicate that neither morphological variation nor differential confidence is necessary for a cross-racial identification effect.

Visual Detection of Body Weight Change in Young Women

To assess whether small changes in body weight can be visually detected, college students (58 women and 42 men) were asked to select the less heavy person shown in two photographs for each of 33 young women. All of these women had been photographed twice in a standardized pose and attire, separated by an 8-wk. interval during which most of them lost weight. These pairs were presented in varying orders to control for the order and side of presentation. One photograph was reliably selected as the lighter person for 64% of the pairs, but the picture selected was in fact lighter only 57% of the time. The accuracy of selecting the lighter photograph was not correlated with the percent weight change for the person shown in the pairs of photographs. The results suggest that small changes in womens weight may not have a significant perceptual effect, particularly for male perceivers.

Food Neophobia and Sensation Seeking

Humans consume an omnivorous diet with seemingly limitless food options. In our evolutionary past, it was advantageous to be cautious when selecting what to eat as many unfamiliar items could be harmful. As such, a fear of unfamiliar foods, or food neophobia, was protective. However, in modern cultures where most food items are relatively safe, food neophobia may be less adaptive, yet it still has a substantial and often negative impact on the dietary intake of both children and adults. For example, individuals with higher levels of food neophobia consume less varied diets and consume a lesser amount/selection of vegetables, fruits, and meats. Research reveals sizable and, to some extent, predictable individual differences in food neophobia. This chapter presents a review of food neophobia as it influences food choice, preferences, and diet. In addition, several factors that have an effect on food neophobia – including age, genetics, sex, and sensation seeking – are examined. The influence of diet on food neophobia is also examined. Food neophobia, a reluctance to eat unfamiliar foods, is a common trait that has been widely studied in birds and mammals. Humans are among the many species that display food neophobia, and despite the relative safety and availability of most food items in modern society, uncertainty about unfamiliar foods continues to have an important impact on dietary intake. Research on humans has revealed sizable and, to some extent, predictable individual differences in the prevalence and severity of food neophobia. One particularly notable predictor is the personality trait of sensation seeking (SS), simply defined as a person’s willingness to take risks in order seek out novel or intense stimuli. This chapter presents a review of food neophobia as it influences food choice and diet, and examines the role of sensation seeking as well as several other factors that have an effect on food neophobia, such as age and sex.

PSYCHOLOGICAL GENDER, HAND PREFERENCES, AND SEX DIFFERENCES IN BOOK-CARRYING STYLES

Individuals with stronger sex-role identities may be expected to show greater conformity to sex-typed behaviors. Proceeding from this assumption, the sex-role status and sex of students using different styles of carrying books were compared. This study also examined whether over-all hand preference or age were related to carrying styles or sex-role status. Subjects completed a questionnaire comprised of the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire of Spence and Helmreich, a 6-item scale of hand preference and a self-rating of sex-role identity. Afterwards, each subjects carrying style was covertly observed and recorded. Most subjects carried their materials in a sex-typical way or in book bags (for which no sex-typed carrying styles were discovered). As in previous studies, men in this study scored higher than women on masculinity and androgyny and lower on femininity. Hand preference was not related to sex-role status. Carrying style was not significantly correlated with any of the predictor variables for men, perhaps because almost no variance in carrying style was observed among them. Women who used masculine carrying styles tended to be older, have greater instrumentality, and a more masculine identity.