What makes a face look more aggressive?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-05-04 09:01

Australia; NSW

The shape of your face could affect how aggressive you look, according to international researchers. The team measured the width-to-height ratio of over 17,000 passport images and asked people to rate how aggressive they looked. Faces that appeared more square were perceived to be more aggressive than those that were more oval-shaped, especially in young men.

News release

From: The Royal Society

Tracking Sexual Dimorphism of Facial Width-to-Height Ratio Across the Lifespan: Implications for Perceived Aggressiveness
Royal Society Open Science

We measured the facial-width-to-height ratio (FWHR) of 17,607 passport images of male and female faces across the lifespan. We found larger FWHR in males only in young adulthood, aligning with the stage most commonly associated with mate selection and intrasexual competition. However, the direction of dimorphism was reversed after 48, with females recording larger FWHRs than males. We then examined how natural variation in FWHR affected perceived aggressiveness. The relationship between FWHR and perceived aggressiveness was strongest for males at 27-33 and females at 34-61, with raters most sensitive to differences in FWHR for young adult male faces.

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Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of New South Wales

Funder: This project was supported by Australian Research Council Linkage Project (grant no. LP160101523) and Future Fellowship (grant no. FT200100353) grants to D.W.

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