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TY - GEN ID - cogprints151 UR - http://cogprints.org/151/ A1 - Chen, Audrey C. A1 - German, Craig A1 - Zaidel, Dahlia W. Y1 - 1997/04// N2 - We recently reported finding asymmetry in the appearance of beauty on the face [39]. Here we investigated whether facial beauty is a stable characteristic (on the owner's very face) or is in the perceptual space of the observer. We call the question 'the owner versus observer hypothesis'. We compared identity judgements and attractiveness ratings of observers. Subjects viewed left-left and right-right composites of faces and decided which most resembled the normal face (Experiment 1). Identity judgements (resemblance) are known to be associated with perceptual factors in the observer. Another group viewed the same normal faces and rated them on attractiveness (Experiment 2). In each experiment there were two separate viewing conditions, original and reversed (mirror-image). Lateral reversal did affect the results of Experiment 1 (confirming previous findings [3,18]) but did not affect the results of Experiment 2. The fact that lateral reversal did not affect the results of Experiment 2 suggests that facial attractiveness is more dependent on physiognomy (of the owner) and less dependent on an asymmetrical perceptual process (in the observer) than is facial identity. The results are discussed in the context of beauty�s biological significance and facial processing in the brain. KW - hemispheric specialization KW - attractiveness KW - attractive KW - beautiful KW - right hemisphere KW - left hemisphere KW - symmetry KW - asymmetry KW - mate selection KW - evolution KW - sexual selection KW - identity KW - face recognition KW - sociobiology KW - brain KW - cortex KW - cerebrum KW - cerebral hemispheres KW - human KW - women KW - men. TI - Brain asymmetry and facial attractiveness: Facial beauty is not simply in the eye of the beholder. SP - 471 AV - public EP - 476 ER -