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Abstract
ObjectiveTests of theories of mate choice often rely on data gathered in White, industrialised samples and this is especially the case for studies of facial attraction. Our understanding of preferences for sexual dimorphism is currently in flux and a number of hypotheses require testing in more diverse participant samples. The current study uses opportunistically gathered facial dimorphism preference data from 271 participants in rural Nicaragua, and 40 from the national capital Managua. We assess pre-registered hypotheses drawn from sexual selection theory, and from more recent approaches which consider the impacts of economic development and cultural ‘modernisation’ on mate preferences.MethodsParticipants verbally reported demographic data, and indicated preferences for five male and five female pairs of faces manipulated to differ in sexually dimorphic facial structure based on a sample of Salvadoran individuals.ResultsWhile urban participants showed a preference for more feminine female faces, this preference was not evident in the rural participants. Neither urban nor rural participants showed any directional preference for masculinised/feminised male faces. Furthermore, there was no support for any other pre-registered hypothesis.ConclusionsOur results are consistent with previous studies showing no interest in facial dimorphism in less globally-acculturated, or market integrated, populations. Together, this suggests that while facial dimorphism may be subject to systematically varying preferences amongst some low-fertility, industrialised populations, it is not a feature which is likely to have been important in ancestral populations. We call for further work attempting to replicate well known mate choice phenomena in more diverse samples.
Highlights
Facial masculinity and femininity preferences have been a prominent focus of research in interpersonal attraction and sexual selection since the late 1990s (e.g., Perrett et al, 1998; Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999)
This literature was sparked by the hypothesis that since humans display mutual mate choice, we should see preferences for secondary sexual characteristics in potential mates which mirror those in non-human species
We show facial masculinity preferences in our own study and other samples from Latin America using similar methods, in Table 2 and Fig. 2 below
Summary
Facial masculinity and femininity preferences have been a prominent focus of research in interpersonal attraction and sexual selection since the late 1990s (e.g., Perrett et al, 1998; Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999). This literature was sparked by the hypothesis that since humans display mutual mate choice, we should see preferences for secondary sexual characteristics in potential mates which mirror those in non-human species. Much of the literature suggested there was systematic variation between- and within-women in terms of the degree of masculinity they preferred in male faces. These studies showed a tendency for women to prefer masculine features to a greater degree when they were in a relationship (Penton-Voak et al, 1999), when they were sociosexually unrestricted (Waynforth et al, 2005), when they were explicitly selecting a short term partner (Little et al, 2002), and when they were most likely to become pregnant (Penton-Voak et al, 1999)
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