Visual Perception of British Women's Skin Color Distribution in Two Nonindustrialized Societies, the Maasai and the Tsimane'

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Bernhard Fink - , Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition (Author)
  • Marina Butovskaya - , Russian State University for the Humanities (Author)
  • Piotr Sorokowski - , University of Wrocław (Author)
  • Agnieszka Sorokowska - , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Wrocław (Author)
  • Paul J Matts - , Procter & Gamble United Kingdom (Author)

Abstract

In women with lightly pigmented skin in particular, facial skin color homogeneity decreases with age, primarily due to chronic exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), leading to a decrease in perceived health and attractiveness. Perception of female skin may be influenced by continuous exposure to, and thus familiarity with, age-related changes in visible skin condition in a given society. Men and women of two traditional societies, the Maasai (Tanzania) and the Tsimane' (Bolivia), unfamiliar with lighter colored skin, judged images of British women's facial skin for age, health, and attractiveness. In both samples, images with homogeneous skin color (from the cheeks of younger women) were judged to be younger and healthier and received a stronger preference than corresponding images with heterogeneous skin color (from older women). We suggest that (i) human sensitivity for quality-related information from facial skin color distribution is universal and independent of any known age-dependent variation in skin in a given population and (ii) skin discoloration is universally associated with less positive judgment.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1474704917718957
JournalEvolutionary Psychology
Volume15
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC10367460
Scopus 85028538336

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Beauty, Bolivia, Face, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Skin Pigmentation, Tanzania, Visual Perception, White People, Women, Young Adult