BRAIN ASYMMETRY AND FACIAL ATTRACTIVENESS - FACIAL BEAUTY IS NOT SIMPLY IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

We recently reported finding asymmetry in the appearance of beauty on the face [Zaidel et al., Neuropsychologia, Vol. 33, pp. 649-655, 1995] . Here, we investigated whether facial beauty is a stable characterist ic (on the owner's very face) or is in the perceptual space of the obs erver. We call the question 'the owner vs observer hypothesis'. We com pared identity judgements and attractiveness ratings of observers. Sub jects viewed left-left and right-right composites of faces and decided which most resembled the normal face (Experiment 1). Identity judgeme nts (resemblance) are known to be associated with perceptual factors i n the observer. Another group viewed the same normal faces and rated t hem on attractiveness (Experiment 2). In each experiment, there were t wo separate viewing conditions, original and reversed (mirror-image). Lateral reversal did affect the results of Experiment 1 (confirming pr evious findings [Bennett et al., Neuropsychologia, Vol. 25, pp. 681-68 7, 1987; Gilbert and Bakan, Journal of Anatomy; Vol. 183, pp. 593-600, 1993]) but did not affect the results of Experiment 2. The fact that lateral reversal did not affect the results of Experiment 2 suggests t hat facial attractiveness is more dependent on physiognomy (of the own er) and less dependent on an asymmetrical perceptual process (in the o bserver) than is facial identity. The results are discussed in the con text of beauty's biological significance and facial processing in the brain. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.