Cues of abundance enhance preference for facial femininity

Abstract Sexually dimorphic facial features in humans have been proposed to signal genetic quality, but they may also entail trade-offs related to long-term investment. As a result, preferences for these traits may vary across environmental conditions. A recent study found that cues of environmental abundance increased women’s preferences for facial masculinity in male faces. The present study tests whether a similar manipulation will increase men’s preferences for facial femininity in female faces. Male participants were primed with videos depicting resource-scarce or resource-rich environments and completed a fast preference task before and after exposure to the priming videos. We observed greater preference for facial femininity in female faces following exposure to abundant environmental cues compared to harsh environmental cues. These results suggest that human facial preferences are context-dependent and can shift in response to even transient and short-term signs of environmental richness or poverty across both sexes.