Symmetry and perceived facial attractiveness

A monozygotic co-twin comparison

Bibliographic Data

ID6204507
AuthorsLinda Mealey (College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, corresponding author), Ruth Bridgstock (0000-0003-0072-2815), G C Townsend, Gc Townsend
Year1999
Volume76
Issue1
Pages151-158
Publication date1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037//0022-3514.76.1.151
OpenAlexW1978317011
LanguageEN
Citations received68
References cited8

Symmetry is a major correlate of physical attractiveness across species, including humans. Investigating the nature of this relationship has been difficult, however, for several reasons, including the facts that variance in symmetry is attributable to more than one source and is often correlated with other variables related to attractiveness. This study assessed the role of facial symmetry in relation to perceptions of facial attractiveness. Some of the natural covariates of symmetry were controlled for by comparing the symmetry and attractiveness differentials between monozygotic co-twins, who are genetically, but not developmentally, identical. The more symmetric twin of a pair was consistently rated as more attractive, and the magnitude of the difference between twins in perceived attractiveness was directly related to the magnitude of the difference in symmetry

Attraction · Attractiveness · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Facial symmetry · Geometry · Interpersonal attraction · Linguistics · Monozygotic twin · Perception · Physical attractiveness · Psychoanalysis · Social perception · Symmetry (geometry · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Genetics · Mathematics · Morphological variations and asymmetry · Psychology · Social Psychology

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