Racial characteristics and female facial attractiveness perception among united states university students

Abstract

Research in the area of facial attractiveness has examined the role of race in the perception of beauty, revealing that regardless of our own skin color, we tend to prefer light skin to dark skin in most matters of choice. Subsequently, the current research, utilizing morphed faces combined in varying degrees Black, White, and Asian facial characteristics, was expected to corroborate with past research by showing that participants found the pure White face the most attractive and the pure Black face the least attractive. Instead, participants found least attractive the pure Asian face. The results are discussed in terms of prior research with a focus on the concept of familiarity. Also discussed are possible limitations and opportunities for future research to further examine and clarify the difference between the present data and the existing literature. © 2008 Springer-Verlag New York.