Beauty is in the belief of the beholder: cognitive influences on the neural response to facial attractiveness

Judgments of facial attractiveness are central to decision-making in various domains, but little is known about the extent to which they are malleable. In this study, we used EEG/ERP methods to examine two novel influences on neural and subjective responses to facial attractiveness: an observer'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial cognitive and affective neuroscience Vol. 11; no. 12; pp. 1999 - 2008
Main Authors Thiruchselvam, Ravi, Harper, Jessica, Homer, Abigail L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Oxford University Press 01.12.2016
Subjects
Adolescent
Beauty
Brain - physiology
Cognition - physiology
Decision Making - physiology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials - physiology
Face
Female
Humans
Judgment - physiology
Male
Original
Self Report
Young Adult
EEG/ERP
early posterior negativity
mere exposure effect
late positive potential
facial attractiveness
reappraisal
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Summary:Judgments of facial attractiveness are central to decision-making in various domains, but little is known about the extent to which they are malleable. In this study, we used EEG/ERP methods to examine two novel influences on neural and subjective responses to facial attractiveness: an observer's expectation and repetition. In each trial of our task, participants viewed either an ordinary or attractive face. To alter expectations, the faces were preceded by a peer-rating that ostensibly reflected the overall attractiveness value assigned to that face by other individuals. To examine the impact of repetition, trials were presented twice throughout the experimental session. Results showed that participants' expectations about a person's attractiveness level powerfully altered both the neural response (i.e. the late positive potential; LPP) and self-reported attractiveness ratings. Intriguingly, repetition enhanced both the LPP and self-reported attractiveness as well. Exploratory analyses further suggested that both observer expectation and repetition modulated early neural responses (i.e. the early posterior negativity; EPN) elicited by facial attractiveness. Collectively, these results highlight novel influences on a core social judgment that underlies individuals' affective lives.
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ISSN:1749-5016
1749-5024
DOI:10.1093/scan/nsw115