| | Category | BE | L05 | Preference of Facial Symmetry |
| | Abstract | The purpose of this experiment was to discover if a perfectly |
| | symmetrical face is the element that makes a person attractive, as well as |
| | to supply a statistical understanding of psychological behavior within a |
| | diverse population, consisting of gender, ethnicity and age. The objective |
| | of this experiment was to have at least 100 people anonymously fill out |
| | forms stating whether they found a symmetrical face more attractive than |
| | an asymmetrical face. In order to conduct this experiment, six sets of |
| | photos were created. Each set contained three facial pictures of the |
| | same person, in which 2 of the pictures were perfectly symmetrical and |
| | the third being asymmetrical. To generate a symmetrical image, the |
| | photograph was first bisected in half. Then a mirror image was made to |
| | both the right and left half of the face. When the mirror images were |
| | matched up to its original half, this resulted in two perfectly symmetrical |
| | faces, as well as the original face (which was asymmetrical). The |
| | collection data consisted of 112 people selecting one image per set which |
| | they found the most attractive. The completed form, including the six |
| | images they found the most attractive, consisted of the individual’s age, |
| | ethnic origin, and sex. The overall analysis of the data resulted in an |
| | approximate 2 to 1 preference to an asymmetrical face verses both |
| | symmetrical faces. Even among the categories, such as gender, age, and |
| | ethnicity, an asymmetrical face was mainly the preferred version. This |
| | analysis of the experiment disproves that a perfectly symmetrical face is |
| | the main aspect that makes someone attractive. |
| | Bibliography | Kamrani, Kambis. (May 7, 2008). The Sexiness of Facial Symmetry Across |
| | Cultures and Species. Message posted to |
| | http://anthropology.net/2008/05/07/the-sexiness-across- cultures-and- |
| | species/ |