Abstract
This study examines three human facial variables to assess facial attractiveness: symmetry, sex-typicality, and distinctiveness. The goal is to understand whether perceived facial attractiveness might explain human mate choice. The authors use Bayesian multilevel regression analyses and 72 standardized frontal facial landmarks to explore the structural aspects of opposite-sex facial attractiveness preferences for both females and males. They used a sample of 1,550 faces from 10 countries. The results show that 1) distinctiveness is negatively correlated with attractiveness, 2) symmetry does not have a significant association with attractiveness, and 3) sex-typicality is positively correlated with female facial attractiveness but not the other way around. The authors also used a model with body height and BMI, but only some cases had enough information. Although with limitations, their results show that a lower BMI is associated with higher perceived female attractiveness. There is no significant association between BMI and perceived male attractiveness.