Abstract
Condition dependent mate choice in females, whereby condition or attractiveness influences preferences for markers of male quality, is seen both in non-humans and humans. There are several possible explanations for such effects. For example, in previous studies of fish it has been postulated that females in poor condition have energetic constraints limiting their choosiness. In this article, preferences for healthy facial appearance were measured in women and related to measures of condition. Questions were associated with two factors: a factor reflecting general health and condition (related to self-ratings of attractiveness, health, and physical fitness) and a factor reflecting experience of and current state of infection (colds per year and current cold). General health and condition were positively related to preferences for healthy appearance in male faces, in line with previously seen condition dependent preferences. However, the measure of current and previous infection was also positively related to preferences for healthy appearance in male faces. While these two findings appear to conflict, in fact, they may reflect different mechanisms at work. Previous explanations, such as competitiveness for mates and/or energetic constraints may explain general condition dependent preferences. In terms of avoiding contagion, however, those most at risk may benefit most from increased attraction to healthy partners: “infection dependent” mate preferences. In this way, general condition may be positively related to preferences for male quality but infection or experience of infection, while associated with a lowering of condition, may also be positively associated with preferences for male quality.
Highlights
One potential source of individual differences in mate preferences and mate choice is the quality, or attractiveness, of the phenotype that an individual finds themselves inhabiting
Quality has been found to influence the expression of physical traits linked to sexual selection (Blumstein, 1998; Hedrick, 2005; Schneider, Fletcher, Shaw, & Renfree, 2010) and so we might expect quality to impact on mate preference
One possible genetic explanation for condition dependent mate choice is that, for example, those who are the daughters of males who lack good-gene markers do not inherit a preference for such markers because the genes linked to condition, genes that develop the markers in males and genes that determine the preference in females, are closely linked on the genome
Summary
Original images were 50 Caucasian young adult male and 50 Caucasian young adult female photographs taken under standard lighting conditions and with a neutral expression These images were rated for “How healthy does this person appear?” on a 1 to 7 scale (1 = low, 7 = high) by 10 raters (8 women, 2 men (Mage = 24.3, SD = 6.0). Images were presented in a random order and there was no time limit for the rating From these scores, an average health rating was computed for each face. The faces used in the preference tests were 10 transformed pairs (5 male and 5 female) of composite images (made from combining two images) with one of the pair being made more healthy in appearance and the other less healthy (see Figure 1 for example images). Are you at present suffering from a cold? (options were: yes and no) 21 participants reported having a cold at time of testing
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