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Frontal, lateral facial attractiveness strongly associated
Specific facial landmarks may impact discordance between frontal and lateral facial attractiveness, according to recent findings.
The current study included an analysis of paired frontal and lateral facial synthetic images of 240 white women. The age range of participants was 18 to 25 years, and their images underwent evaluation by a 600-member online focus group between Sept. 30, 2004 and Sept. 29, 2008. Evaluators were asked to rate the attractiveness of the women on a Likert scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most attractive.
Results indicated an attractiveness score ranging from 3.4 to 9.5 for frontal images and 3.3 to 9.4 for lateral images. The mean score for frontal attractiveness was 6.9 (SD = 1.4), while the score for lateral attractiveness was 6.4 (SD = 1.3).
Linear regression analysis results showed a coefficient of determination of r2 = 0.749 for frontal and lateral attractiveness scores.
The findings also identified eight outlier pairs, described as those found outside of the 95% individual prediction interval, according to the researchers. To determine discordance, evaluators were asked to determine features that were found in the frontal or lateral images but absent in the other. The evaluators found no clinically applicable association between the frontal and lateral images in this outlier group, according to the results. They did suggest, however, that certain facial features contributed to this outlier status for frontal or lateral attractiveness. These included thin upper lip, convex nose, and blunt cervicomental angle.
“This study identified a strong linear association between frontal and lateral facial attractiveness,” the researchers concluded. “Furthermore, specific facial landmarks responsible for the discordance between frontal and lateral facial attractiveness scores were suggested.” – by Rob Volansky
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.