Effects of the height of the internal features of faces on adults' aesthetic ratings and 5-month-olds' looking times

We examined the influence of the height of the internal features of faces o n adults' ratings of attractiveness and on 5-month-olds' looking times. Sub jects viewed drawings or coloured photographs of faces presented in pairs t hat were identical except that the internal features were at a low height, with a large forehead and small chin; at a high height, with a small forehe ad and large chin; or at a medium height. Adults rated faces with their fea tures at the medium and low heights as more attractive than faces with thei r features at the high height, and, at least for drawings, rated faces with medium features as more attractive than faces with low features. Babies lo oked equally long at faces with their features at various heights except fo r looking slightly longer at faces with high rather than low features. The results suggest that the influence of feature height on reactions to faces is different for adults and 5-month-olds, and hence that it may be shaped b y cultural learning and/or experience with faces sometime after early infan cy.