Running head: FACIAL SYMMETRY

The Effects of Facial Symmetry on Personal Preference

Deandra Flynn

Brittany Busco

Nichols College
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The effects of facial symmetry on personal preference

People judge each other during first impressions. We can normally judge whether we find

someone attractive or not based on our perception what we deem to be good facial symmetry. We

examine their features like their lips, eyes, nose, and teeth. If we like what we see, we work our

way down the person’s body, seeing if our initial opinion matches our final opinion when

viewing the rest of the person. Whether you want to admit to this, everyone does this. In this

experiment, we will be looking at facial symmetry and how it relates to personal preference

towards the same and opposite sex.

Same sex versus opposite sex

In many cases, we see that there is a high level of interest when it comes to viewing the

opposite sex, whether it is seeing someone in a grocery store or going to a bar to meet someone

new. This is something that has been pre-determined for the sake of evolution. Not only do

people pay more attention to the opposite sex, they are actually found to be more willing to help

someone of the opposite sex. “Individual differences in everyday helping situations;

attractiveness, cost and gender”, a study conducted to examine the effects of attractiveness and

cost on helping behavior by gender. (Goncalves, G., Gomes, A., Ferrao, M.C., Parreira, T., Viera

dos Santos, J., Giger, J., & Martins, A.T. 2015) In this study, it was found that men reported a

greater likelihood of helping over women.

Facial Symmetry and Attractiveness

Another study researched whether people would engage in more trusting behaviors

towards individuals whom they perceived as having an attractive face. (Zhao, N., Zhou, M., Shi,
FACIAL SYMMETRY

Y., & Zhang, J. 2015) This study found that participants were more likely to engage in

trustworthy behaviors with a partner that was seen as more attractive.

Present Study

Research supports that people are more likely to respond positively to the opposite sex

than the same sex. In this study, we are going to focus on whether someone pays more attention

to facial symmetry when looking at the opposite sex in comparison to the same sex. We believe

that the participants who are viewing the photos of the opposite sex will be more likely to put the

photos given to them in the correct piles, focused on facial symmetry, than participants that are

looking at the same sex.

Method

Participants

The participants in this study of convenience included 60 college students, 30 female and

30 male, from Nichols College. Nichols College is a private undergraduate school well-known

for business. The campus is relatively small with a population total of around 1,200. They ranged

from 18 to 22, with a mean range of (SD-). The participants are European American (60.1%),

African American (20.9%), Latino/a (10.5%) and Asian (8.5%). The participants received credit

towards a class assignment for participating in this experiment.

Materials

This experiment included a demographic questionnaire, thirty photos per gender (male

and female), and Facial Symmetry iPhone application

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Demographics: The demographic questionnaire asked the participants their sex, age,

academic standing, relationship status, and ethnicity/race. (See appendix A)

Facial Symmetry: To measure the participants’ general feeling towards facial symmetry,

thirty photos of either males or females were shown based on sex information provided by the

participant. The photos shown were not known by the participants and altered to be seen as more

or less symmetrical base on photographs from past Nichols yearbooks.

Design

A 2x2 independent groups factorial NOVA was run comparing gender and evaluation of facial

symmetry. The independent variables were sex (male or female). There will be 15 people in each

group. The dependent variable was how many pictures the subject correctly put into the piles

when evaluating facial symmetry (0-15).

Procedure

Participants were obtained from Nichols College general psychology class. After

participants read and signed an informed consent form (Appendix B), they filled out a

demographic questionnaire (Appendix A). After the demographic questionnaire, the researcher

asked participants to evaluate thirty photos of the same sex and separate them into three piles; the

first rated as least attractive, the second rated as medium, and the third rated as highly attractive.

The pictures are based off of past Nichols College students, specifically from the 1980s. There

are four groups participating in this experiment. Group 1 consists of 15 males evaluating other

males. Group 2 consists of 15 males evaluating females. Group 3 is comprised of 15 females

evaluating females. Group 4 involves 15 females evaluating males. Once finished, the researcher

explained the purpose of this experiment and debriefed them. The researchers explained the
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hypothesis to the participants about how they were seeing if there was a connection between

facial symmetry and personal preference.

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References

Gillen, M. M., & Bernstein, M. J., (2015). Does tanness mean goodness? Perceptions of tan skin in hiring

decisions. North American Journal of Psychology, 17(1), 1-11.

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A403448491/PPPC?

u=mlin_c_nichols&sid=PPPC&xid=4a8491d6.

Goncalves, G., Gomes, A., Ferrao, M.C., Parreira, T., Viera dos Santos, J., Giger, J., & Martins, A.T., (2015).

Once Upon a Face: the Effect of Eye Size, Observer and Stimulus on Impression Formation. Curr

Psychol, 34, 112–120. DOI 10.1007/s12144-014-9244-3.

Harrison, L.A., & Secara, A. M., (2010). College students’ attitude toward the sexualization of professional

women athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 33(4), 403-427.

Smith, M., Fidazzo, A., Rivardo, M., & LaBuda, J., (2015). Individual differences in everyday helping

situations: attractiveness, cost, and gender. North American Journal of Psychology, 17(3), 596-

603.

Thompson, A. E., & O’Sullivan, L. F., (2013). The relationship between men’s facial masculinity and

women’s judgement of value as a potential romantic partner. Canadian Journal of Human

Sexuality, 22(1), 5-12.

Zhao, N., Zhou, M., Shi, Y., & Zhang, J., (2015). Face Attractiveness in Building Trust: Evidence from

Measurement of Implicit and Explicit Responses. Social Behavior and Personality, 43(5),855-866.

http://dx.doi.org/10.224/sbp.2015.43.5.855
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Participant Informed Consent Form

FACIAL SYMMETRY Consent Form

You are being asked to take part in a research study of how college students perceive attractiveness with
facial symmetry. We are asking you to take part because you are enrolled in Research Methods in
Psychology Seminar. Please read this form carefully and ask any questions you may have before agreeing
to take part in the study.

What the study is about: The purpose of this study is to learn if there is a correlation between facial
symmetry and levels of attractiveness.

What we will ask you to do: If you agree to be in this study, we will conduct an experiment with you. The
experiment will include rating the levels of attractiveness of people base on your own preference. You
will have one minute to examine ten pictures of people and as much time as needed to rate how
attractive you believe each person is on a three rate scale. For this scale people can rate pictures by least
attractive, medium attractiveness, and highly attractive. The experiment will take about 20 minutes to
complete.

Risks and benefits:

I do not anticipate any risks to you participating in this study other than those encountered in day-to-day
life.

There are no benefits to you. The world is a very open place with a diverse number of people and we
hope to learn more about how much facial symmetry plays a role in determining attractiveness.

Compensation: You may earn extra credit if you are taking a class that offers credit for research studies.
The class instructor will assign credit according to class policy.

Your answers will be confidential. The records of this study will be kept private. In any sort of report we
make public we will not include any information that will make it possible to identify you. Research
records will be kept in a locked file; only the researchers will have access to the records.

Taking part is voluntary. The researchers conducting this study are Deandra Flynn and Brittany Busco.
Please ask any questions you have now. If you have any questions later, you may contact Deandra Flynn
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at deandra.flynn@nichols.edu. You can reach Brittany Busco at Brittany.busco@nichols.edu. If you have

any questions or concerns regarding your rights as a subject in this study, you may contact the
Institutional Review Board (IRB) at their website at http://www.irb.cornell.edu.

Statement of Consent: I have read the above information, and have reviewed answers to any questions I
asked. I consent to take part in the study.

Your Signature ___________________________________ Date ____________________

Your Name (printed) ________________________________________________________

Signature of person obtaining consent ___________________________ Date __________________

*NOTE: This consent form will be kept by the researcher for at least three years beyond the end of the
study.