The Cutest Little Baby Face: A Hormonal Link to Sensitivity to Cuteness in Infant Faces

We used computer image manipulation to develop a test of perception of subtle gradations in cuteness between infant faces. We found that young women (19-26 years old) were more sensitive to differences in infant cuteness than were men (19-26 and 53-60 years old). Women aged 45 to 51 years performed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological science 2009-02, Vol.20 (2), p.149-154
Main Authors: Sprengelmeyer, R., Perrett, D. I., Fagan, E. C., Cornwell, R. E., Lobmaier, J. S., Sprengelmeyer, A., Aasheim, H. B. M., Black, I. M., Cameron, L. M., Crow, S., Milne, N., Rhodes, E. C., Young, A. W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age differences
Average age
Babies
Beauty
Behavioural psychology
Birth control
Children
Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal
Discrimination
Estrogens
Face
Female
Fertility
Gender differences
Hormone levels
Hormones
Humans
Infancy
Infant
Infants
Landmarks
Manipulation
Men
Menopause
Middle Aged
Motherhood
Oral contraceptives
Perceptions
Personal appearance
Postmenopausal women
Postmenopause
Premenopausal women
Premenopause
Progesterone - administration & dosage
Progestogen
Research Reports
Sexual reproduction
Surveys and Questionnaires
Women
Young Adult
Young women
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Summary:We used computer image manipulation to develop a test of perception of subtle gradations in cuteness between infant faces. We found that young women (19-26 years old) were more sensitive to differences in infant cuteness than were men (19-26 and 53-60 years old). Women aged 45 to 51 years performed at the level of the young women, whereas cuteness sensitivity in women aged 53 to 60 years was not different from that of men (19-26 and 53-60 years old). Because average age at menopause is 51 years in Britain, these findings suggest the possible involvement of reproductive hormones in cuteness sensitivity. Therefore, we compared cuteness discrimination in pre- and postmenopausal women matched for age and in women taking and not taking oral contraceptives (progestogen and estrogen). Premenopausal women and young women taking oral contraceptives (which raise hormone levels artificially) were more sensitive to variations of cuteness than their respective comparison groups. We suggest that cuteness sensitivity is modulated by female reproductive hormones.
ISSN:0956-7976
1467-9280
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02272.x