Posted on 02/18/2005 9:02:25 PM PST by crushelits
Why Men Prefer Pretty Faces
So you think beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Think again. According to new research from the University of Exeter in Great Britain, the preference for pretty faces over ugly ones is embedded in our brains from the moment of birth and possibly prior to birth.
Newborn babies come fully equipped with built-in preferences, including a preference for an attractive face, that help them make sense of their new environment, report the BBC News Online and Newsweek magazine. The Exeter researchers showed more than 100 infants two images that were placed side by side. One was of an attractive face, while the other was a less attractive face. The babies, ranging in age from five hours old to two days old, spent about 80 percent of the time looking at the attractive face, while barely glancing at the unattractive face.
"You can show them pair after pair of faces that are matched for everything other than attractiveness. This leads to the conclusion that babies are born with a very detailed representation of the human face," Dr. Alan Slater, a psychologist at Exeter, explained to the BBC News. Why would infants have this capability? "It helps them to recognize familiar faces--particularly that of the mother--and it helps them in learning about the social world. Attractiveness is not simply in the eye of the beholder, it is in the brain of the newborn infant right from the moment of birth and possibly prior to birth," he added.
When those babies grow up, the preference for pretty faces doesn't change. And it crosses all cultures and geography as well. When an insular European is shown the faces of two Africans, the one he chooses as most attractive is also the same one an African chooses. And it works the other way around when an African is shown the faces of two Europeans.
"Although we think that standards of facial beauty vary over time and culture, they don't actually change that much," Slater explained to Newsweek. The evidence indicates that there is a biological and universal standard."
So don't blame a man when he can't help but look at a pretty face! He's biologically programmed that way.
Dave? Dave. You can't see me, Dave. I am everywhere. Trust me.
She is not the woman for you,
I guess it makes you a child molester
okay now that is just gross
LOL
Jeez...I knew a Black Bart in Gila Bend...he oughtta be dead by now. Are you any relation? Just askin'...
Old, old news ;). My political science professor's been telling us this for years. And, hey, it makes sense, especially if you're a conservative. It's a lot
like taxation. We don't believe in punishing people just because they're rich. Why look down on what's beautiful or handsome?
Hopefully, though, that's not _all_ people look at.
My spelling was a bit off. But it isn't tough to spot a pervert.
What are you doing up so late? Or is it early? :o]
Oooo I was an ugly baby! I was so ugly that when I was born, the doctor slapped my mother!
OK, I know the joke doesn't fit exactly with the thread, but I felt it needed a Rodney Dangerfield joke.
hehehe
Dateless friday night?
"FACE CLEAVAGE!"
Horizontal Cleavage, eh? Face up to a big invoice for cleaning the barf off my keyboard. Invoice is in your FReepmail! :0
A newbie pervert at that...liking the Olsen twins is a little creepy.
Seems that she would have trouble wiping herself after............ aah nevermind.
A mop
Amen.
The first five years of my life were spent in Douglas...
That's the ticket!!
Black Bart is only a name I use on the internet. I picked it up from the real bandit who called himself Black Bart. A California stage coach robber who left poems from the scene of his crimes.
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