Average Faces

Instructions:

1. Go to http://www.faceresearch.org/demos/average
2. Start by taking a look through all of the faces shown (scroll down for faces of men)
3. You will be rating faces as “very unattractive” or “very attractive”, so think for a moment about what facial features you consider attractive.
4. Round 1: Select (by clicking on a face to highlight it) 5 female faces you consider very unattractive. Once you have done this, click the “view average”
   button. A composite of all of the faces you selected will appear. How would rate the attractiveness of this composite?
5. Round 2: Click the “reset” button. Next select 5 male faces you consider very unattractive and create a composite. How would rate the attractiveness of
   this composite?
6. Round 3: Click the “reset” button. Next choose the female face (of your own race) you consider the least attractive and a male face (of your own race) you
   consider the least attractive. How would you rate the attractiveness of the composite?
7. Round 4: Click the “reset” button. Next choose 5 unattractive male faces of your own race and 5 attractive female faces from a race other than your own.
   How would you rate the attractiveness of the composite?
8. Round 5: Click the “reset” button. Next choose 5 attractive male faces of your own race and 5 unattractive female faces from a race other than your own.
   How would you rate the attractiveness of the composite?
9. Round 6: Click the “reset” button. Next choose 6 unattractive male faces (2 “White,” 2 “Black,” 2 “Asian”) and 6 unattractive female faces (2 “White,” 2
   “Black,” 2 “Asian”). How would you rate the attractiveness of the composite?
   Questions to answer:
10. Overall, how would you rate the attractiveness of the composites you created – compared to the original faces you used to create the composites?
11. What are your thoughts about why most people tend to view “average” faces as more attractive than “non-average” faces? Discuss such explanations as
    the mere exposure effect, the role of similarity in attractiveness, etc.
12. From an evolutionary viewpoint, why might people find “average” faces more attractive? Discuss issues such as reproductive health, “good genes,” the role
    of facial symmetry in the perception of beauty, etc.
13. According to the “averageness hypothesis,” averageness is the most important determinant of facial attractiveness. One explanation for this claim is that
    our visual system can more easily process faces that closely resemble our mental representation (or prototype) of a face. Overall, what do you think about
    this claim? How might this claim explain the general phenomenon that humans tend to view people of their same race as being more attractive than people
    of other races?