Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 28, Issue 2 , Pages 96-105 , March 2007

Do women's preferences for symmetry change across the menstrual cycle?

Received 23 March 2006 ,Accepted 1 August 2006.

References 

  1. Andersson MB. Sexual selection. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1994;
  2. Boas F. Primitive art. New York: Dover Publications; 1955;
  3. Bornstein M, Ferdinasen K, Gross C. Perception of symmetry in infancy. Developmental Psychology. 1981;17:82–86
  4. Buss DM. Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1989;12:1–49
  5. Cárdenas RA, Harris LJ. Symmetrical decorations enhance the attractiveness of faces and abstract designs. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2006;27(1):1–18
  6. Cashdan E. Women's mating strategies. Evolutionary Anthropology. 1996;5:134–143
  7. Colombo B, Masarotto G. Daily fecundability: First results from a new data base. Demographic Research. 2000;3(5):
  8. Dabbs JM, Mallinger A. High testosterone levels predict low voice pitch among men. Personality and Individual Differences. 1999;27:801–804
  9. Darwin C. The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. 2nd ed.. London: John Murray; 1882;
  10. Dunson DB, Baird DD, Wilcox AJ, Weinberg CR. Day-specific probabilities of clinical pregnancy based on two studies with imperfect measures of ovulation. Human Reproduction. 1999;14:1835–1839
  11. Enquist M, Arak A. Symmetry, beauty, and evolution. Nature. 1994;372:169–172
  12. Enquist M, Johnstone R. Generalization and the evolution of symmetry preferences. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences. 1997;264:1345–1348
  13. Evans C, Wenderoth P, Cheng K. Detection of bilateral symmetry in complex biological images. Perception. 2000;29:31–42
  14. In:  Farkas LG editors. Anthropometry of the head and face. 2nd ed.. New York: Raven Press; 1994;
  15. Feinberg DR, Jones BC, Law Smith MJ, Moore FR, DeBruine LM, Cornwell RE, et al. Menstrual cycle, trait estrogen level, and masculinity preferences in the human voice. Hormones and Behavior. 2006;49:215–222
  16. Fink B, Penton-Voak I. Evolutionary psychology of facial attractiveness. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2002;11:154–158
  17. Frost P. Preference for darker faces in photographs at different phases of the menstrual cycle: Preliminary assessment of evidence for a hormonal relationship. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1994;79:507–514
  18. Gangestad SW, Thornhill R. Menstrual cycle variation in women's preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. 1998;265:727–733
  19. Gangestad SW, Thornhill R. Fluctuating asymmetry, developmental instability, and fitness: Toward model-based interpretation. In:  Polak M editors. Developmental instability: Causes and consequences. New York: Oxford University Press; 2003;p. 62–80
  20. Gangestad SW, Thornhill R, Garver-Apgar CE. Adaptations to ovulation. In:  Buss D editors. Handbook of evolutionary psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2005;p. 344–371
  21. Grammer K, Fink B, Juette A, Ronzal G, Thornhill R. Female faces and bodies: n-dimensional feature space and attractiveness. In:  Rhodes G,  Zebrowitz L editor. Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives. Advances in visual cognition. vol. 1:Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing; 2002;p. 91–125
  22. Grammer K, Thornhill R. Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: The role of symmetry and averageness. Journal of Comparative Psychology. 1994;108(3):233–242
  23. Gusinde M. Los indios de Tierra del Fuego: Los Selk'nam. Buenos Aires: Centro Argentino de Etnología Americana; 1982;
  24. Jansson L, Forknam B, Enquist M. Experimental evidence of receiver bias for symmetry. Animal Behaviour. 2002;63:617–621
  25. Johnston VS, Hagel R, Franklin M, Fink B, Grammer K. Male facial attractiveness: Evidence for hormone-mediated adaptive design. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2001;22:251–267
  26. Johnstone R. Female preference for symmetrical males as a by-product of selection for mate recognition. Nature. 1994;372:172–175
  27. Jones BC, Little AC, Boothroyd LG, DeBruine LM, Feinberg DR, Law Smith MJ, et al. Commitment to relationships and preferences for femininity and apparent health in faces are strongest on days of the menstrual cycle when progesterone level is high. Hormones and Behavior. 2005;48:283–290
  28. Koehler N, Rhodes G, Simmons LW. Are human female preferences for symmetrical male faces enhanced when conception is likely?. Animal Behaviour. 2002;64:233–238
  29. Koehler, N., Rhodes, G., Simmons, L. W., & Zebrowitz, L. A. (in press). Do cyclic changes in women's face preferences target cues to long-term health? Social Cognition.
  30. Little AC, Penton-Voak IS, Burt DM, Perrett DI. Evolution and individual differences in the perception of attractiveness: How cyclic hormonal changes and self-perceived attractiveness influence female preferences for male faces. In:  Rhodes G,  Zebrowitz L editor. Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives. Advances in visual cognition. vol. 1:Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing; 2002;p. 59–90
  31. Martinez AM, Benavente R. The AR face database. CVC technical report 24. Barcelona, Spain: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 1998;
  32. Miller GF, Todd PM. Mate choice turns cognitive. Trends in Cognitive Science. 1998;2:190–198
  33. Møller AP, Thornhill R. Bilateral symmetry and sexual selection: A meta-analysis. American Naturalist. 1998;151:174–192
  34. Penton-Voak IS, Perrett DI, Castles DL, Kobayashi T, Burt DM, Murray LK, et al. Female preference for male faces changes cyclically. Nature. 1999;399:741–742
  35. Perrett DI, Burt DM, Penton-Voak I, Lee K, Rowland D, Edwards R. Symmetry and human facial attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior. 1999;20:295–307
  36. Pillsworth EG, Haselton MG. Male sexual attractiveness predicts differential ovulatory shifts in female extra-pair attraction and male mate retention. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2006;27:247–258
  37. Puts DA. Mating context and menstrual phase affect women's preferences for male voice pitch. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2005;26:388–397
  38. Rentschler I, Jüttner M, Unzicker A, Landis T. Innate and learned components of human visual preference. Current Biology. 1999;9:665–671
  39. Rhodes G. The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty. Annual Review of Psychology. 2006;57:199–226
  40. Rhodes G, Proffitt F, Grady J, Sumich A. Facial symmetry and the perception of beauty. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. 1998;5:659–669
  41. Rhodes G, Yoshikawa S, Clark A, Lee K, McKay R, Akamatsu S. Attractiveness of facial averageness and symmetry in non-western cultures: In search of biologically based standards of beauty. Perception. 2001;30:611–625
  42. In:  Rhodes G,  Zebrowitz L editor. Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives. Advances in visual cognition. vol. 1:Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing; 2002;
  43. Rikowski A, Grammer K. Human body odour, symmetry and facial attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences. 1999;266:869–874
  44. Roseff SJ, Bangah ML, Kettel LM, Vale W, Rivier J, Burger HG, et al. Dynamic changes in circulating inhibin levels during the luteal–follicular transition of the human menstrual cycle. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1989;69:1033–1039
  45. Ryan MJ. Sexual selection, receiver biases, and the evolution of sex differences. Science. 1998;281:1999–2003
  46. Simmons LW, Rhodes G, Peters M, Koehler N. Are human preferences for facial symmetry focused on signals of developmental instability?. Behavioral Ecology. 2004;15:864–871
  47. Symons D. The evolution of human sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press; 1979;
  48. Thornhill R, Gangestad SW. Facial attractiveness. Trends in Cognitive Science. 1999;3:452–460
  49. Tinbergen N. The study of instinct. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 1951;
  50. Trivers RL. Parental investment and sexual selection. In:  Campbell B editors. Sexual selection and the Descent of man 1871–1971. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company; 1972;p. 136–179
  51. In:  Tyler CW editors. Human symmetry perception and its computational analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2002;
  52. Van Valen L. A study of fluctuating asymmetry. Evolution. 1962;16:125–142
  53. Wagemans J. Parallel visual processing in symmetry perception: Normality and pathology. Documenta Ophthalmologica. 1999;95:359–370
  54. Washburn D, Humphrey D. Symmetries in the mind: Production, perception, and preference for seven one-dimensional patterns. Visual Arts Research. 2001;70:57–68
  55. Wilcox AJ, Dunson D, Baird DD. The timing of the “fertile window” in the menstrual cycle: Day specific estimates from a prospective study. British Medical Journal. 2000;321:1259–1262
  56. Zakharov VM. Fluctuating asymmetry as an index of developmental homeostasis. Genetica (Pol.). 1981;13:241–256

PII: S1090-5138(06)00068-7

doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.08.003

Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 28, Issue 2 , Pages 96-105 , March 2007

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution