Lateral feature displacement and perceived facial attractiveness

Pairs of vertically adjacent facial features were laterally displaced in th e same or opposite direction. Undergraduates rated the resulting images on attractiveness. Displacements were first made on normal faces. Symmetric fa ces were not rated more attractive than normal controls. Faces with two alt ernating adjacent pairs were rated lower than faces with one or no alternat ing pairs. In Exp. 2, the same displacements were made from symmetrical fac es to control for distance. Symmetric faces again were not rated higher tha n normal ones, and both conditions were considered more attractive than fac es with any type of displacement. This latter result: suggests a greater se nsitivity to feature displacement when performed from symmetry.