The New Science of Human Attraction

 By Justine van der Leun 

Does being healthy make you prettier? Are mean people physically ugly? Are sweethearts worse at reading faces than cynics? Is it just a coincidence that your husband looks a whole lot like your dad?
Dr. David Perrett, professor of psychology at The University of St. Andrews in Scotland, studies the mysterious, complex human face at his unique Perception Lab, and he's compiled his fascinating findings into a new book, "In Your Face: the New Science of Human Attraction." Here he discusses his discoveries with AOL Health.

AOL Health: Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? In other words, are our ideas of attractiveness based on our life experiences?

Dr. David Perrett: Femininity in female faces and symmetry are admired the world over. But otherwise, differences in opinions of attractiveness are profound and derive from multiple sources. There's a learning effect from the family. Within days and months of birth, infants learn about the sex, race and age of who is looking after them most. This affects preferences in infancy and probably throughout life. A girl who gets on well with her father will end up marrying a guy who looks to some extent like him. Likewise, heterosexual males tend to choose a partner like their mothers. Also, we copy admiration. Exposure given to celebrities these days persuades others to share the same tastes.

AOL Health: Does your face create your personality or vice versa?

DP: A bit of both. When people look at faces of baby boys or girls, if the individual looks more masculine, adults tend to ascribe independence and think the baby doesn't need as much care. If it looks more feminine, they give it more cuddles. I'm thinking that the face reinforces the personality, because if you're treated as independent, you may require a greater independence. Just like if you grow up bigger than your peers, they will treat you with deference, or if you put on a fancy dress, people react to you differently.

AOL Health: So your health is reflected in your face, and this influences others' perception of your attractiveness?

DP: A large number of the population are overweight, but even within the normal weight, there is change in health in those people who are not overweight but on the high end of normal. They are more likely to have high blood pressure and minor diseases like colds and flus. These are physical manifestations of health.

There is also a variety of facial color cues. For example, fresh blood reflects a good heart and strong lungs, so if you go pale, then you're likely to be sick. But even a subtle change in the color -- whether it's slightly bluish or a normal lighter red -- can signify the difference between having a good cardiovascular system or a poor one.

AOL Health: How does your diet affect your face?

DP: Plants have pigments that go into our skin, so the more fruits and vegetables we eat, the better our skin looks. Those same pigments help us deal with the stresses of everyday life and disease. The color of the skin is a good indicator of health. The structure of someone's face can tell us a lot about one's prognosis.

AOL Health: Can we really make our faces look better by eating lots of carrots and smiling, as your book suggests?

DP: Exercise changes the blood circulation and will help to stabilize our weight, and fruits and vegetables are good for our health. People can also alter their own attractiveness by how they react to others. We're all a little narcissistic, and if we interact with someone and that person keeps ignoring us, he won't seem so attractive. We'll work hard to expose ourselves to a pretty face -– but we're rewarded more if that pretty face is smiling and the person is attentive and reactive.

AOL Health: In your everyday life, can you switch off studying faces?

DP: To some extent, academics study the things they're not good at. I'm fairly useless in recognizing individuals, so it's especially interesting for me to explore the topic.

AOL Health: Is that because you're too nice? Your book notes that the sweeter the person, the more inept he is at reading faces.

DP: That was an emerging finding -- that our ability to judge personality depends on how warm or Machiavellian we are. People were asked to score themselves on a scale of warmhearted to calculating. Those on the colder end have better personality-reading skills.

AOL Health: Why?

DP: There are a couple possibilities. The majority of people have a warmhearted attitude, and they will overlook the mistakes of others because that's how the world can go round. Otherwise, society would be totally dysfunctional. Another possibility is that the more calculating people have experienced a tough early life, and they had to become more aware and cannier or they'd get ripped off. These are speculations, and they would be interesting to research more.-- www.aolhealth.com