Introduction to Cognitive Psychology - Department of Psychological ...

Prof. Greg Francis 1/2/13Facial beautyFacial beautyAverage faces are almost always beautifulAverage faces are almost always beautifulPurdue UniversityPurdue UniversityFacial beautyFacial beautyAverage faces are almost always beautifulAverage faces are almost always beautifulhttp://www.faceresearch.org/demos/averagePurdue UniversityPurdue UniversityFacial beautyAveraging is not the only thing that mattersThe average of attractive faces is more attractive than the average of unattractivefacesMore sophisticated averaging (morphing) to avoid blurringAverage of fourfaces rated as veryattractive"Average of four facesrated as veryunattractive"CosmeticsWhy do people (especially women) wear cosmetics? Averageness: smooths the face, which is a characteristic of average faces Symmetry: blemishes on one side are hidden from other Youth: coloring and blush Femininity: female attractiveness is related to femininity, which is related to some simplevariables (Russell, 2009)These two faces are identical except that the facial skin on the left isdarker than for the face on the right (eyes and mouth are identical)Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityPSY 200: Intro. to Cognitive Psychology 2