Influence of Perceived Height, Masculinity, and Age on Each Other and on Perceptions of Dominance in Male Faces

Several studies have examined the individual effects of facial cues to height, masculinity, and age on interpersonal interactions and partner preferences. We know much less about the influence of these traits on each other. 

We, therefore, examined how facial cues to height, masculinity, and age influence perceptions of each other and found significant overlap. This suggests that studies investigating the effects of one of these traits in isolation may need to account for the influence of the other two traits. Additionally, there is inconsistent evidence on how each of these three facial traits affects dominance. 

We, therefore, investigated how varying such traits influences perceptions of dominance in male faces. We found that increases in perceived height, masculinity, and age (up to 35 years) all increased facial dominance. 

Our results may reflect perceptual generalizations from sex differences as men are on average taller, more dominant, and age faster than women. Furthermore, we found that the influences of height and age on perceptions of dominance are mediated by masculinity. These results give us a better understanding of the facial characteristics that convey the appearance of dominance, a trait that is linked to a wealth of real-world outcomes.

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By:  Batres C1, Re DE2, Perrett DI3.

• 1School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK jcb23@st-andrews.ac.uk.
• 2Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada.
• 3School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK.

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Intersecting Race and Gender Cues are Associated with Perceptions of Gay Men's Preferred Sexual Roles

Preferences for anal sex roles (top/bottom) are an important aspect of gay male identity, but scholars have only recently begun to explore the factors that covary with these preferences. Here, we argue that the gendered nature of both racial stereotypes (i.e., Black men are masculine, Asian men are feminine) and sexual role stereotypes (i.e., tops are masculine, bottoms are feminine) link the categories Asian/bottom and the categories Black/top. 

We provide empirical evidence for these claims at three levels of analysis: At the cultural level based upon gay men's stereotypic beliefs about others (Study 1), at the interpersonal level based upon gay men's perceptions of others' sexual role preferences (Study 2), and at the intrapersonal level based upon racially diverse men's self-reported sexual roles on a public hookup website (Study 3). 

These studies offer the first systematic evidence of linkages between race categories and sexual roles in gay male communities.

Via: http://goo.gl/OMbsbl  Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/zhztG8

By: Lick DJ1, Johnson KL.

• 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1563, USA, david.lick@ucla.edu.

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