“You have such a pretty face” might just be the most commonbackhanded complimentwomen receive.
But what evenisa pretty face?
Yes, facial attractiveness is, apparently, quantifiable.
And, contrary to what you might be thinking, It’s not all abouthaving high cheekbonesor pearly whites.
Without further ado, here are the most attractive facial traits a person can possess ahem, scientifically speaking.
Do I know you from somewhere?," it is actually possible that youdolook familiar.
And, truth be told, that might be why the person is hitting on you.
An article for theAssociation for Psychological Sciencerevealed that “familiar faces are easy to process and categorize.”
Using pictures of national celebrities, Halberstadt digitally blended them together with faces of the same gender and nationality.
“Additional studieshave also confirmed what Halberstadt found to be true: an average face is an attractive face.
And familial?
And whose faces do you know better than your own family’s?
Yes, this is where it gets a little weird, folks.
Jaime and Cersei Lannisterapparently got this memo.
However, it’s important to note that this is on a subconscious,subliminallevel.
The participants were very muchnotattracted to their family members' faces once they became aware of their genetic connection.
“Forget expression it’s the structure of the face itself that conveys these signals,” she explained.
“We get our first impressions from the face and it sticks.
“A 2009 studyfurtherconfirmedthat “baby-faced individuals evoke feelings of warmth, trust and cooperation.”
Basically, it’s babyface for the win.
“You have two dots and a curved line that immediately everyone processes as a smile.
It’s sparse, it’s plain.
It’s familiar, and it’s easy to understand.”
First impressions, he surmised, are thus very important.
So, if it has nothing to do with health, why do we dig symmetrical faces?
Another theory, the “perceptual bias,” suggests that symmetrical faces are easier to process.
Yes, symmetrical faces are simple and easy on our brains.
However, researchers have called this theory into question.
According toa 2003 study, “symmetry is preferred even in familiar faces.”
If it was all about ease of processing, this likely wouldn’t be the case.
The science isn’t crystal clear on why humans like symmetry, but researchers do agree that symmetryisattractive.
It’s also possible to prefer an asymmetrical face over one that is perfectly proportionate.
The expert pointed to Meryl Streep’s slight asymmetries to explain this theory.
Her features also make her more distinct, more recallable.
Additionally, our brains go about this work starting from the left and ending at the right.
This means people don’t always spot asymmetries.
Cue eye roll.Researchers have also foundthat adiposity also influences the perception of attractiveness go figure.
The Johnny Depp effect
From a biological standpoint, male and female faces differ slightly.
Though, why this is the case is not fully known.
Ambiguous faces aren’t just a preference in the West.
Healthy-looking skin
Scientists have performedcountlessstudies using blended images.
Still,one studydid take on the challenge.
The reason for this may be rooted in health, the study’s co-author Ian Penton-Voak explained toNational Geographic.
Yellowish hues can indicate healthy eating habits whereas a more reddish color can indicate fitness.
Scars
Facial scars assohot right now.
It might just be, Burriss speculated, that women find facial scarring attractive because it historically signifies bravery.
Researchers can only speculate.
It may surprise you that clean-shaven faces came in last place across the board.
This isn’t what researchers thought would happen.
Whatever the reason, many find agedness including aged faces attractive.
