Abstract
Although some researchers have suggested that the interaction between cortisol and testosterone predicts ratings of men’s facial attractiveness, evidence for this pattern of results is equivocal. Consequently, the current study tested for a correlation between men’s facial attractiveness and the interaction between their cortisol and testosterone levels. We also tested for corresponding relationships between the interaction between cortisol and testosterone and ratings of men’s facial health and dominance (perceived traits that are correlated with facial attractiveness in men). We found no evidence that ratings of either facial attractiveness or health were correlated with the interaction between cortisol and testosterone. Some analyses suggested that the interaction between cortisol and testosterone levels may predict ratings of men’s facial dominance, however, with testosterone being more closely related to facial dominance ratings among men with higher cortisol. Our results suggest that the relationship between men’s facial attractiveness and the interaction between cortisol and testosterone is not robust.
Highlights
Male secondary sexual characteristics are dependent on testosterone levels in multiple species (Andersson 1994)
The analyses of health and dominance ratings revealed no significant effects of testosterone, cortisol, or their interaction
There was no significant effect of testosterone (F = 1.63, df = 1, 43, standardized beta = −0.191, p = .208, adjusted R2 = .014, 95% CI: –0.11, 0.49) or cortisol (F = 0.21, df = 1, 43, standardized beta = −0.07, p = .645, adjusted R2 = − .018, 95% CI: –0.24, 0.38), but their interaction was significant (F = 4.80, df = 1, 43, standardized beta =0.25, p = .034, adjusted R2 = .08, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.48)
Summary
Male secondary sexual characteristics are dependent on testosterone levels in multiple species (Andersson 1994). Since it has been suggested that only males in good physical condition will be able to maintain healthy development in the face of this testosterone-linked immunosuppression (Folstad and Karter 1992) men with high testosterone levels may appear to be attractive, healthy, and dominant (Penton-Voak and Chen 2004; Roney et al 2006). Research investigating possible links between testosterone and perceptions of men’s facial appearance reported that the faces of men with higher basal testosterone levels were perceived to be more masculine (Penton-Voak and Chen 2004; Roney et al 2006) and more attractive as short-term partners (Roney et al 2006). Studies investigating possible relationships between aspects of facial morphology, such as facial width-to height ratio, and men’s testosterone levels have observed little evidence for correlations between men’s facial appearance and testosterone levels (e.g., Whitehouse et al 2015; for a metaanalytic review see Bird et al 2016)
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