Facial Cues to Physical Strength in Tuvans

65

Abstract

This experimental study presents a comprehensive analysis of men’s and women’s facial traits signaling physical strength. The study was conducted among the Tuvans, in the populations from the southern and south-western regions of the Tuva republic. At the first stage of the study, we have identified the male and female facial traits which are objectively related to physical strength. According to the results of geometric and morphometric analysis, facial shape was associated with physical strength in both men (p <0.00) and women (p <0.00). Moreover, the facial areas associated with physical strength have a similar shape in men and women. In order to assess the ability of the Tuvans to recognize physical strength via facial images, we created portraits of men and women morphed according to the physical strength criterion and presented them for evaluation. The evaluators were Mangun-Taiga Tuvans of both sexes. The results showed that raters of the same origin, Mongun-Taiga Tuvans of both sexes, regardless of age, accurately recognize physical strength through men’s, but not women’s, portraits. The results obtained are discussed from the perspective of evolutionary theory.

General Information

Keywords: physical strength, geometric morphometry, facial shape, Tuvans

Journal rubric: Face Science

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/exppsy.2022150307

Funding. The study was carried out in accordance with the research plan of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (AAM, VVR, MLB). Data collection for this study was carried out with the support of the grant of the Russian Academy of Sciences No. 21-18- 00597 (AAD).

Received: 18.08.2022

Accepted:

For citation: Mezentseva A.A., Rostovtseva V.V., Demidov A.A., Butovskaya M.L. Facial Cues to Physical Strength in Tuvans. Eksperimental'naâ psihologiâ = Experimental Psychology (Russia), 2022. Vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 88–99. DOI: 10.17759/exppsy.2022150307. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Alekseeva T.I. Antropologicheskie osobennosti sovremennyh tuvincev. Kefalometriya i kefaloskopiya [Anthropological features of modern Tuvans. Cephalometry and cephaloscopy] // Antropo-ecologicheskie issledovaniya v Tuve [Anthropo-ecological research in Tuva]. Moskva: Nauka, 1984. P. 75—114. (In Russ.).
  2. Butovskaya M.L., Mezentseva A.A. Obobshchyonnye portery muzhchin masaev: vneshnyaya privlekatel’nost’ i fizicheskaya sila po ocenkam ekspertov iz toj zhe populyacii [Generalized porters of Masai men: attractiveness and physical strength according to experts from the same population] // Lico cheloveka: poznaniy, obsheniye, deiyatelnost [Human face: cognition, communication, activity] / Otv. red. K.I. Ananieva, V.A. Barabanshikov, A.A. Demidov. Moskva: Kogito-Centr, 2019. P. 495—505. (In Russ.).
  3. Baken E.K., Collyer M.L., Kaliontzopoulou A., Adams D.C. geomorph v4. 0 and gmShiny: Enhanced analytics and a new graphical interface for a comprehensive morphometric experience // Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 2021. Vol. 12. № 12. P. 2355—2363.
  4. Archer J., Thanzami V. The relation between physical aggression, size and strength, among a sample of young Indian men // Personality and Individual Differences. 2007. Vol. 43. № 3. P. 627—633. DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2007.01.005
  5. Bhasin S., Woodhouse L., Storer T.W. Hormones and Sport-Proof of the effect of testosterone on skeletal muscle // Journal of endocrinology. 2001. Vol. 170. № 1. P. 27—38.
  6. Butovskaya M.L., Windhager S., Karelin D., Mezentseva A., Schaefer K., Fink B. Associations of physical strength with facial shape in an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania // PLoS One. 2018. Vol. 13. № 5. P. e0197738. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0197738
  7. Butovskaya M.L., Mezentseva A.A., Mabulla A., Shackelford T.K., Schaefer K., Fink B., Windhager S. Facial cues to physical strength increase attractiveness but decrease aggressiveness assessments in male Maasai of Northern Tanzania // Evolution and Human Behavior. 2022. Vol. 43. № 2. P. 115—121. DOI:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.11.006
  8. Claude J. Morphometrics with R. New-York, Springer: 2008.
  9. Farkas L.G., Munro J.R. Anthropometry of the head and face in medicine. New York: Raven Press, 1981. 440 p.
  10. Farkas L.G., Katic M.J., Forrest C.R. International anthropometric study of facial morphology in various ethnic groups/races // Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. 2005. Vol. 16. № 4. P. 615—646.
  11. Fink B., Grammer K., Mitteroecker P., Gunz P., Schaefer K., Bookstein F. L., Manning J. T. Second to fourth digit ratio and face shape // Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2005. Vol. 272. № 1576. P. 1995—2001.
  12. Fink B., Neave N., Seydel H. Male facial appearance signals physical strength to women // American Journal of Human Biology. 2007. Vol. 19. № 1. P. 82—87.
  13. Isen J., McGue M., Iacono W. Genetic influences on the development of grip strength in adolescence. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 2014; 154(2):189±200. PMID: 24936605
  14. Koo T.K., Li M.Y. A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research // Journal of chiropractic medicine. 2016. Vol. 15. P. 155—163. DOI:10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012
  15. Mitteroecker P., Schaefer K. Thirty years of geometric morphometrics: Achievements, challenges, and the ongoing quest for biological meaningfulness // American Journal of Biological Anthropology. 2022. Vol. 178. P. 181—210. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.24531
  16. Rohlf F.J. The tps series of software // Hystrix. 2015. Vol. 26. № 1. P. 1—4. DOI:10.4404/hystrix-26.1-11264
  17. Sell A., Cosmides L., Tooby J., Sznycer D., Von Rueden C., Gurven M. Human adaptations for the visual assessment of strength and fighting ability from the body and face // Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2009. № 1656. P. 575—584. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2008.1177
  18. Whitehouse A.J., Gilani S.Z., Shafait F., Mian A., Tan D.W., Maybery M.T., ... EastwoodP. Prenatal testosterone exposure is related to sexually dimorphic facial morphology in adulthood // Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2015. Vol. 282. № 1816. P. 20151351.
  19. Windhager S., Schaefer K., Fink B. Geometric morphometrics of male facial shape in relation to physical strength and perceived attractiveness, dominance, and masculinity // American Journal of Human Biology. 2011. Vol. 23. № 6. P. 805—814. DOI:10.1002/ajhb.21219

Information About the Authors

Anna A. Mezentseva, Junior Researcher at the Center for Cross-Cultural Psychology and Human Ethology Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6149-8971, e-mail: khatsenkova@yandex.ru

Viktoria V. Rostovtseva, PhD in Biology, senior researcher at the Center for Cross-Cultural Psychology and Human Ethology, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1846-9865, e-mail: victoria.v.rostovtseva@gmail.com

Alexander A. Demidov, PhD in Psychology, Associate Professor, Department of General Psychology, Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Experimental Psychology, MSUPE, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6660-5761, e-mail: demidov@inpsycho.ru

Marina L. Butovskaya, Doctor of History, Professor, Head of the Sector of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Human Ethology, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEA RAS), Leading Researcher Training and Research Center of Social Anthropology, Russian State Humanitarian University (RGGU UNCSA), Professor of the Department of Ethnology, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5528-0519, e-mail: marina.butovskaya@gmail.com

Metrics

Views

Total: 413
Previous month: 21
Current month: 32

Downloads

Total: 65
Previous month: 6
Current month: 2