This study investigates the relationship between interocular distance relative to overall facial width (width ratio) and perceived subjective beauty in male faces. Building on the methodology of Pallett et al. (2010), who found that average proportions in female faces were rated as most attractive, the current study aimed to test this hypothesis in male faces. Faces from the Chicago Face Database (Ma et al., 2015) were morphed into average faces within three groups (with low, medium, and high width ratios), each composed of 96 or 97 individual images. These three average faces were then systematically manipulated in their width ratios across three levels in both directions, respectively, resulting in a total of 21 comparable faces. The use of multiple base faces served as a control for potential artifacts of image processing. Consequently, comparisons were restricted to within-group pairs to avoid confounding by co-varying facial features (e.g., skin tone), which precluded direct cross-condition comparisons but ensured internal validity. In a two-alternative forced-choice task, participants selected the more beautiful face from each pair. The data were analyzed using a Bayesian model which enables inference of the width ratio perceived as most beautiful. Results support the hypothesis that averageness in facial proportions correlates with higher perceived attractiveness. The study highlights the importance of controlling for image manipulation, including attempts at methodological implementation, and of considering ethnicity as a potential moderating variable. These findings offer a data-driven foundation for understanding facial aesthetics and cognitive processes of human perception, with applications in advertising, artificial face generation, and plastic surgery.
The predominance of subjective preferences is generally taken for granted when it comes to the perception of beauty. The extent to which this is truly the case, or whether beauty can also be assessed objectively, is a question that humanity has been pondering for centuries (Singer and Papadopoulos, 2024;Dietrich and Knieper, 2022;Vashi, 2015;Edler, 2001). The golden ratio, which dates back to antiquity and was widely applied by Renaissance artists such as da Vinci and Dürer (Edler, 2001), represents one such attempt to identify a universal pattern in natural structures that may evoke a sense of beauty and that has since been repeatedly reproduced in art and architecture (Singer and Papadopoulos, 2024;Harrar et al., 2018). It arises when the ratio of a total length to its longer segment is the same as the ratio of the longer segment to the shorter one, yielding a value of approximately ϕ = 1+ √ 5 2 ≈ 1.618. Golden ratios have not only been observed in nature and reproduced in objects (buildings, paintings, symbols, etc.), but have historically represented the ideal human body proportions (Breiner, 2019) and have been applied to facial proportions as well (Ricketts, 1982).
Today, however, the assumption that the golden ratio forms the basis of perceived beauty is considered outdated (e.g., Naini, 2024). Contemporary research on the predictability of facial beauty at the population level has identified additional influencing factors, including symmetry, sexually dimorphic facial features, averageness, and similarity to one’s own face (Langlois and Roggman, 1990;Little et al., 2011;Vashi, 2015;Sarwer et al., 2003;Borelli and Berneburg, 2010). As with other topics in psychological perception, beauty has become a cross-disciplinary field of study, investigated on behavioral, cognitive, and neurobiological levels (e.g., Skov and Nadal, 2021;Raggio and Adamson, 2022;Dietrich and Knieper, 2022;Yang et al., 2022).
Beyond biological and cognitive frameworks, beauty should also be understood as a social concept that is shaped by cultural norms, historical context, and media influences (Adams, 1977;Raggio and Adamson, 2022). Crosscultural studies demonstrate significant variation in beauty ideals, challenging the notion of universal standards (e.g., Zhang et al., 2019;Sorokowski et al., 2013). Furthermore, perceived attractiveness functions as a form of social capital, influencing a wide range of interpersonal judgments and outcomes, including perceived trustworthiness, competence evaluations, and hiring decisions (Jackson et al., 1995;O’Connor and Gladstone, 2018;Zebrowitz and Montepare, 2008;Frevert and Walker, 2014;Hosoda et al., 2003;Mobius and Rosenblat, 2006). This phenomenon can be explained by the halo effect, whereby positive aesthetic impressions generalize to other attributed traits (Thorndike, 1920;Dion et al., 1972;Langlois et al., 2000). Consequently, judgments of beauty are not made in a vacuum but are embedded in, and reinforced by, societal structures and learned preferences (Adams, 1977;Eagly et al., 1991).
To investigate a potential universal component within this socially complex landscape, this study focuses on one of the most replicable effects in facial attractiveness research: the preference for average faces (Dimitrov and Kroumpouzos, 2023;Rhodes et al., 1999). This preference allows for the operationalization of beauty through measurable geometric properties, such as facial width or height ratios. Preferences for average faces can be explained by two different theoretical approaches. According to the evolutionary biological perspective, individuals with average faces are perceived as healthier and more developmentally stable (e.g., Pallett et al., 2010;Rhodes, 2006). Because attractiveness is thought to serve a reproductive function, faces associated with these qualities are preferred over those that deviate from the average. At the same time, evolutionarily influenced social preferences that are shaped by individual experiences and learned expectations, introduce variability in facial preferences (Little et al., 2011).
According to the cognitive theory, individuals form an internal prototypical face, representing the average of all the faces they have encountered. Newly perceived faces are compared to this prototype, and those that resemble it are preferred because they require less cognitive effort to process, making their internal representation more efficient in terms of mental energy expenditure (Langlois and Roggman, 1990;Pallett et al., 2010). This cognitive preference can be explained by perceptual fluency, that is, the ease of processing prototypical stimuli, which in turn elicits a positive response (Alter and Oppenheimer, 2009;Langlois and Roggman, 1990;Arkes, 1991). The inherent familiarity of average faces further enhances the overall processing fluency, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that solidifies the preference for facial averageness (Juravle and Spence, 2024;Little et a
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