Beards are sexier when they're uncommon, study showsEvolutionary forces may affect trendiness of beards, study suggestsAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Posted: Apr 16, 2014 12:46 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 16, 2014 6:08 PM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/beards-are-sexier-when-they-re-uncommon-study-shows-1.2612259Beards are considered more attractive when they are rare, but as they become more common they will be considered less attractive, new research suggests.
The findings suggest evolutionary forces could be playing a role in the rise and fall of beards and other facial hair patterns on men, according to the study published today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
"In a world full of bearded men, beards are less sexy than they are in a world full of clean-shaven men," says evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks of the University of New South Wales.
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The paper:
Negative frequency-dependent preferences and variation in male facial hairZinnia J. Janif, Robert C. Brooks, Barnaby J. Dixson
Published 16 April 2014.
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0958AbstractNegative frequency-dependent sexual selection maintains striking polymorphisms in secondary sexual traits in several animal species. Here, we test whether frequency of beardedness modulates perceived attractiveness of men's facial hair, a secondary sexual trait subject to considerable cultural variation. We first showed participants a suite of faces, within which we manipulated the frequency of beard thicknesses and then measured preferences for four standard levels of beardedness. Women and men judged heavy stubble and full beards more attractive when presented in treatments where beards were rare than when they were common, with intermediate preferences when intermediate frequencies of beardedness were presented. Likewise, clean-shaven faces were least attractive when clean-shaven faces were most common and more attractive when rare. This pattern in preferences is consistent with negative frequency-dependent selection.
