Longitudinal stability of facial attractiveness

Abstract

Profile facial photographs of 12 white males and 12 white females, each at six different ages, were rated on scales of perceived attractiveness, intelligence, and sociability. Each of the six age-level sets of photographs was rated by a different group of 18 male and 18 female white college students. Multivariate analysis of variance and correlational analyses showed a moderate degree of longitudinal stability of perceived facial attractiveness for the faces of most people in the stimulus sample. Some people, however, showed a progressive decline in perceived attractiveness. Additional analyses compared statistical properties of the three social judgments and tested for effects of sex of rater and stimulus person. © 1989, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.