Asymmetric Effect of Expression Intensity on Evaluations of Facial Attractiveness

Abstract

Many studies have shown that facial expression influences evaluations of attractiveness, but the effect of expression intensity remains unclear. In the present study, participants rated the expression intensity and attractiveness of faces with happy, neutral, or sad expressions. Sad faces, as anticipated, were judged as less attractive than neutral and happy faces. Among happy expressions, faces with more intense expressions were considered more attractive; for sad expressions, there was no significant relationship between rating and intensity. Multiple regression analyses further demonstrated that the attractiveness of a face with a sad expression could be predicted only by its baseline attractiveness (i.e., ratings of neutral expressions). We conclude that the intensity of positive and negative expressions asymmetrically influences evaluations of the attractiveness of a face. We discuss the results in terms of emotional contagion or sympathy.