Researchers pinpoint the role of biologyBy Kate Smith
The offstage and onstage antics of Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse might create endless fodder for the gossip columns, but it is unlikely the public would choose them as mates, according to new research.
Poorly or sickly looking faces are the least attractive to males and females, psychologists at Aberdeen University have found, as signs of ill health such as sunken eyes and pale and blemished skin are considered a turn off.
Women are more likely to go for healthy specimens when looking for a partner, in particular those with more feminine or soft faces such as former tennis star Tim Henman, while men prefer healthy women with symmetrical faces, such as Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.
Using the latest advances in computer-generated imaging software, the university's Facelab is investigating the brain mechanisms that underpin judgements on attractiveness between the sexes.
"Women in particular show an aversion to sickliness and poor pallor," said researcher Dr Ben Jones. "During pregnancy, the immune system is depressed and females offset this by having a stronger preference for faces that look like their own, especially more feminine male faces.
"When stating a preference for female faces, we found men are more sensitive to cues of women's health and fertility, and choose on the basis of feminine characteristics. They are aware of hormonal profiles that have the highest oestrogen levels."
Also, attractiveness may come down to biology rather than sexual chemistry, according to the research.
It showed the contraceptive pill affects women's perception of men. They tend to go off men with antisocial or unhealthy looks and prefer men with feminine "pro-social looks" when on the pill, whereas the likes of more masculine men like Brad Pitt or Russell Crowe, with "anti-social behavioural trends", are perceived as more attractive when progesterone levels are low.
"Women's aversions to cues of illness are substantially stronger when their progesterone levels are raised," said Jones. "In this phase, women also show stronger preferences for individuals with faces that are similar to their own," said Jones.
"Since raised progesterone is a characteristic of pregnancy, these effects may help protect both mums to be and unborn babies from illness, and increase the amount of care and support available from members of the extended family."
How men perceive beauty is much more straightforward. Men also rarely find sick or poorly looking women attractive.
Jones and his team found they could manipulate levels of the male hormone testosterone in men and women. A simple competitive toss of a coin was enough to raise a man's testosterone levels, while pictures of sexy men increased the same chemical in women.
"It is possible to manipulate the sex drive in very simple ways," said Jones. "It is already established that sexual motivation is worked out in the same areas of the brain as food reward and financial reward."
There is also a trade off for women where attractiveness is concerned. Masculine men can look healthy and pose potential for fathering strong and healthy children, but they can also appear antisocial, dishonest, uncaring and dominant - so they might not stay around to raise the children.
Meanwhile, more feminine-looking men can appear caring, sharing and interested in children as well as honest and committed to a long-term relationship.
"How women resolve or weigh up this trade off is affected by the menstrual cycle," Jones said. "In the second half of the cycle, the body is preparing for pregnancy and this triggers a preference for the caring, sharing, more feminine face in a man.
"However, at ovulation there is an increased aversion to male faces that resemble your own, especially when judged for sexual attractiveness. The woman becomes more attracted to the masculine guys. The reason for this is they prefer healthier men because this will result in healthier, strong-bodied kids with symmetrical faces.
"Women also judge other women's beauty differently at different points of the menstrual cycle and research is pointing to a level of sexual competitiveness among women," said Jones. This may show that in reality, the Sex And The City females would have probably competed over mates.
As for Doherty and Winehouse, not even a friendly smile and eye contact could improve their chances while they remain wedded to the druggy-chic look.
"The extent to which we find viewing attractive individuals rewarding is profoundly affected by the extent to which these people appear to be attracted to the viewer," said Jones. "For example, eye contact or smiling increases how rewarding we find looking at attractive people, but decreases how rewarding we find looking at unattractive people.
"These effects show attraction is far more complex than simple responses to physical beauty and that it is influenced by whether the viewed individual appears to engage with the viewer."
