Chapter 1. Prototype Recognition

1.1 Introduction

Cognitive Tool Kit
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Prototype Recognition

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a common phrase; however, it does not capture how physical and perceived beauty interact to influence our judgments of attractiveness. This experiment is a replication of a study done to determine the role of average or prototypical facial appearance in our perception of beauty.

1.2 Experiment Setup

1.3 Instructions

Instructions

You will need to press the space bar to start the experiment. A series of faces will be presented in the middle of the screen, one at a time. Your task is to rate each of the faces for attractiveness on a scale from 1 to 5.

Keyboard Responses

Key What Response Means
1 Very unattractive
2 Unattractive
3 Neither unattractive nor attractive
4 Attractive
5 Very attractive

1.4 Experiment

Begin Experiment

1.5 Results

Results

1.6 Debriefing

Debriefing

What makes a beautiful face is a question that has been difficult for the scientific community to answer. The results of this study and the original Langlois and Roggman (1990) study demonstrate a linear trend that indicates the more average the face, the higher its attractiveness rating. Averaging features smoothes out irregularities, leading to greater symmetry and consistency. From an evolutionary perspective, these features (symmetry and consistency) convey health to a potential mate. From this perspective, health is equated with attractiveness.

An alternative interpretation of these data is that the prototype face is not more attractive but is instead preferred because it is more familiar. Composite features sum across the wide range of natural variability to create one face that captures aspects from each of the images contributing to the composite. We know from the memory literature that things that are familiar are generally remembered better and preferred more strongly than things that are novel. It is possible that this interpretation also fits with attractiveness ratings for faces.

References:

Langlois, J. H. and Roggman, L. A. (1990) Attractive faces are only average. Psychological Science, 1(2), 115-121.

Langlois, J. H., Roggman, L. A., Casey, R. J., Ritter, J. M., Rieser-Deaner, L. A., & Jenkins, V. Y. (1987). Infant preferences for attractive faces: rudiments of a stereotype? Developmental Psychology, 23, 363-369.

Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. London: John Murray.

1.7 Quiz

Quiz

Question 1.1

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1
Correct.
Incorrect.
Langlois and Roggman (1990) demonstrated that averageness and attractiveness are directly related, and faces made from averaging a large number of faces are rated higher in attractiveness than those made from a smaller number of faces.

Question 1.2

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2
Correct.
Incorrect.
The experimenters varied the number of faces used in the composites, and compared the attractiveness ratings of composite faces that were made from 8, 16, or 32 individual faces.

Question 1.3

CUvz6zWOqwNP6GEZJc9m2YQycDp6BUA+SUGX9G1lkfzRlMW0DBC3A1oSZrBo3vOv3iDn/C8tTB4CqTLqL9tQW//pbsgP2AwtiW6BvxV5qqCqzbf5Z5fMZ8YWhjvu6aOZ6UwWIhY1vMleJUar7aAbD7trFdq6X6PW7mHDqH6Gfq4LHf3a
1
Correct.
Incorrect.
Attractiveness rating for the composite face made from differing numbers of individual faces was the dependent variable in this experiment.

Question 1.4

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
1
Correct.
Incorrect.
Facial attractiveness is closely aligned with the evolutionary fitness of the traits, and that means that being average is beneficial as far as natural selection is concerned. Therefore, all of the answers are correct.