Differential effects of resource scarcity and pathogen prevalence on heterosexual women's facial masculinity preferences.

ABSTRACT: The present research focused on how environmental harshness may affect heterosexual women's preferences of potential male mates' facial characteristics, namely masculinity-femininity. The evidence on this issue is mixed and mostly from Western samples. We aimed to provide causal evidence using a sample of Turkish women and Turkish male faces. A video-based manipulation was developed to heighten environmental harshness perceptions. In the main experiment, participants were primed with resource scarcity, pathogen prevalence or neither (control). They then saw masculinised vs. feminised versions of the same faces and indicated the face that they would prefer for a long-term relationship and separately rated the faces on various dimensions. In general, masculinised faces were perceived as slig

SUBMITTER: Saribay SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10427302 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature