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Example stimuli. Stimuli were pairs of identical faces with light vs dark eyes. Top: blue-dark brown pair. Bottom: brown-green pair. The face depicted here has been created digitally and is used for illustration purposes only; the study presented photographs of real people. Image copyright by Paola Bressan.
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In several species, mate choice is influenced by parental features through sexual imprinting, but in humans evidence is scarce and open to alternative explanations. We examined whether daughters' preference for mates with light vs dark eyes is affected by the eye colour of parents. In an online study, over one thousand women rated the attractivenes...
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... and procedure. We selected and digitally modified 10 colour photographs of attractive men's faces-Caucasian models or actors little known in Italy. The photos were imported into PortraitPro, a professional software for portrait retouching. We created four versions of each face by changing the eye colour into natural shades of blue, green, mid brown, and dark brown-while retaining the textural properties of the iris and the original highlights and shadows. Each set of four images was combined into two pairs ( Fig. 1): blue-dark brown (side by side, with blue on the left) and brown-green (side by side, with green on the right). Thus, for each face we had one light-dark combination (blue-dark brown) of higher contrast and one (brown-green) of lower ...
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... These traits do show imprinting effects (Štěrbová et al., 2018;Valentova et al., 2017), but non-dimorphic traits have also shown imprinting-like effects. For instance, the majority of human research discussed thus far has used measures of facial similarity as a test of imprinting, but many other traits have also been studied in humans, such as ethnicity (Heffernan, 2015;Jedlicka, 1980), hair color and style (Little et al., 2003), and eye color (Bressan & Damian, 2018;Little et al., 2003;Wilson & Barrett, 1987). ...
... Researchers have identified imprinting effects for a variety of polymorphic characteristics including ethnicity (Heffernan, 2015), eye color (Bressan & Damian, 2018;Little et al., 2003), hair color (Little et al., 2003), and hair length (Aronsson, 2011). Participants provided information on these traits for themselves, their parents/guardians, and their ideal partner. ...
This paper investigates the role that parental imprinting plays in human mate choice. Sexual imprinting is a process of early childhood learning in which characteristics present in (usually) genetically related individuals are stored in memory for future use in mate selection. Previous research has shown that sex differences exist in imprinting processes, most notably in that children seem most likely to imprint on their other-sex parent. This difference in imprinting for men and women was investigated to determine whether it is a result of sex or sexual orientation, and whether non-heterosexuals would instead imprint on their same-sex parent. Imprinting effects were assessed for a total of 458 participants on a number of characteristics by recruiting a primarily (79.1%) non-heterosexual sample through web-based and snowball sampling methods. Positive imprinting effects were found for the characteristics of eye color, hair color, hair length, race/ethnicity, and smoking, as well as some evidence for a negative imprinting effects in the novel characteristic of shoulder-to-hip ratio. Analysis of the differences in imprinting between sexual orientations showed that imprinting is generally more likely to occur for parents that are the same sex as participants’ ideal partner(s). The findings of the present study suggest that sexual imprinting is sensitive to sexual orientation and that gender differences found in prior research may be due to this effect rather than of the subjects themselves.
... It lies directly in front of the coloured part of the iris and pupil, and it allows light to enter the eyes. Viewed from the front of the eyes, the cornea appears slightly wider than it is tall [25][26][27][28] [29][30]. Moreover, the eyes are blue or may be brown; the eye colour is evidently determined by genetic traits handed down to children from parents. ...
The formation of human eyes is basically a result of genetic mutation process. The colour of eyes is determined by variation of genes which are associated with eye colour to produce transport or storage of a pigment is called melanin. In this research this aspect is confirm with the theory of Jordan algebra which has invented from an associative algebra which is relative to the arrangement, this scheme is called special Jordan algebras. To verifying the eyes colour mutation an appropriate number of datasets are collected from survey and observation, similar result found from the collected datasets which show that, the human eyes colour which is an outcome of genetic mutation of eye genes which appeared in first generation is mostly skip in second generation cycle and same process is repeat in generation to generations. The climate of Pakistan is usually varying in region to region because of temperature its dry and warm near the coastline and low-lying region and gradually cooler in the northern highland’s areas. Mostly in coldest area of Pakistan the colour of eyes are lighter but in some warm areas the lighter eyes colour in eyes colour in eyes causes different types of eyes disease. Lighter eye colour is more sensitive to light because of less amount of melanin. Melanin protects eyes from sun light due to lesser amount of melanin there is chances of macular degeneration (an eye disease that can blur your central vision). The darker coloured eyes practice less visual discomfort in sun light, mean it help in protection from ultraviolet (UV) rays. Lighter coloured of eyes increased the risk of cancer because of less amount of melanin which cannot/less protect eyes from sun light which is very harmful and increase the chance of cancer. Colour vision deficiency, sometime called colour blindness is usually a genetic (hereditary) condition transfer into next generation. Colour blindness is a cause of less melanin ration, the prediction of repetition of eye colour of next generation can be helpful to stop the problem of colour blindness.
... As indicated above, the eye color of an individual's partner is a regular target of study within the context of partner choice. Eye color is relatively easy to measure, salient in interactions, stable across time, and unaffected by variables such as age, health, socioeconomic status, adiposity, stress, or diet, all of which can be apparent in most other physical characters (Bressan & Damian, 2018). Eye color is particularly relevant to relationships, because of the evidence that the diversity of eye color found in European populations has arisen under strong selection pressure (Duffy, 2015), and possibly under sexual selection (Frost, 2006(Frost, , 2014Jablonski & Chaplin, 2017). ...
... On the one hand, celebrities are typically considered very desirable partners, with access to many dating pools, and so they are people who might be freer to realize their physical preferences than other groups. Indeed, a recent 45-country study of over 14,000 participants found that people of higher mate value are better able to realize their preferences in a partner (Conroy-Beam et al., 2019), while another large sample found that, while men and women preferred partners with the eye color of their other-sex parent, only attractive women converted their preferences into actual relationship choices (Bressan, 2020;Bressan & Damian, 2018). On the other hand, celebrity dating may also be hampered by particular constraints, such as media scrutiny, lack of privacy, and the pressures of being a "brand." ...
Studies have indicated that people are attracted to partners who resemble themselves or their parents, in terms of physical traits including eye color. We might anticipate this inclination to be relatively stable, giving rise to a sequential selection of similar partners who then represent an individual’s “type”. We tested this idea by examining whether people’s sequential partners resembled each other at the level of eye color. We gathered details of the eye colors of the partners of participants (N = 579) across their adult romantic history (N = 3250 relationships), in three samples, comprising two samples which made use of self-reports from predominantly UK-based participants, and one which made use of publicly available information about celebrity relationship histories. Recorded partner eye colors comprised black (N = 39 partners), dark brown (N = 884), light brown (N = 393), hazel (N = 224), blue (N = 936), blue green (N = 245), grey (N = 34), and green (N = 229). We calculated the proportion of identical eye colors within each participant’s relationship history, and compared that to 100,000 random permutations of our dataset, using t-tests to investigate if the eye color of partners across an individual’s relationship history was biased relative to chance (i.e., if there was greater consistency, represented by higher calculated proportions of identical eye colors, in the original dataset than in the permutations). To account for possible eye color reporting errors and ethnic group matching, we ran the analyses restricted to White participants and to high-confidence eye color data; we then ran the analyses again in relation to the complete dataset. We found some limited evidence for some consistency of eye color across people’s relationship histories in some of the samples only when using the complete dataset. We discuss the issues of small effect sizes, partner-report bias, and ethnic group matching in investigating partner consistency across time.
... Overall, light eyes looked more attractive than dark ones (they were chosen 66% and 58% of the time by light-and dark-eyed men respectively; both p's < 0.0001, one-sample t). This core preference for light eyes has also been found in women (Bressan & Damian, 2018) and will not be discussed here. Indeed, the point is not that only light-eyed men should prefer light-eyed women, but that light-eyed men should prefer light-eyed women more than dark-eyed men do. ...
... Note importantly that, via its impact on the fitness of children, paternal investment has an impact on the fitness of mothers as well. Thus, the paternal-uncertainty hypothesis by no means predicts that women should be neutral with respect to eye-color preference (indeed, they are not: Bressan & Damian, 2018), or that the preference should be the same for light-and dark-eyed women (indeed, it is not: Bressan & Damian, 2018). Yet because they demand a larger conceptual framework, predictions concerning women will be examined in a comprehensive theoretical article and are not discussed here. ...
... Note importantly that, via its impact on the fitness of children, paternal investment has an impact on the fitness of mothers as well. Thus, the paternal-uncertainty hypothesis by no means predicts that women should be neutral with respect to eye-color preference (indeed, they are not: Bressan & Damian, 2018), or that the preference should be the same for light-and dark-eyed women (indeed, it is not: Bressan & Damian, 2018). Yet because they demand a larger conceptual framework, predictions concerning women will be examined in a comprehensive theoretical article and are not discussed here. ...
Men with light eyes lack the dominant gene allele that codes for dark-brown eyes. Pairing with a woman who lacks the same allele must increase paternity confidence in these men, because any children with dark eyes would be extremely unlikely to have been fathered by them. This notion implies that men with light (blue or green) eyes should (1) prefer light-eyed women, especially in a long-term context, and (2) feel more threatened by light-eyed than by dark-eyed rivals. Yet because choosiness is costly and paternity concerns are entirely driven by the prospect of paternal investment, any such inclinations would be adaptive only in men who expect to invest in their children. Here I test these ideas using the data of over 1000 men who rated the facial attractiveness of potential partners, and the threat of potential rivals, whose eye color had been manipulated. Light-eyed men liked light-eyed women better (particularly as long-term companions), and feared light-eyed rivals more, than did dark-eyed men. An exploratory analysis showed that these large, robust effects disappeared in men who had felt rejected by their fathers while growing up—suggesting that such men are not expecting to invest in their own children either.
... In Studies 2 and 3, 10 photos were presented in pairs, each featuring the same person only differing in eye color; participants rated the attractiveness of each member of the pair after indicating which of the two they preferred. A portion of the data of Studies 2 and 3, not discussed in this paper, has been published (respectively, Bressan & Damian, 2018;Bressan, 2020;see Bressan & Damian, 2018 for the method used in both studies). ...
Here I report that, when partnered people judge the facial attractiveness of potential mates for a short-and a long-term relationship, the order in which the two conditions are presented biases responses in a systematic manner. Women and men display symmetrical biases. Women find men less attractive as new long-term partners if they have first imagined them as one-night stands. Men find women less attractive as one-night stands if they have first imagined them as new long-term partners. On a total sample of over 3000 individuals from different studies, I show that both biases are robust and replicable in partnered people and neither is found in singles. Alas, so far no study has statistically controlled the effect of the order in which participants consider the two types of relationships. Whatever their interpretation, these biases are capable of producing spurious or inconsistent associations and mislead us when we compare studies that on the surface appear similar—most notably, direct and conceptual replications.
... Photographs were digitally modified in PortraitPro, creating four versions of each face which differed only in eye colour. As in 39 , these were always shown in pairs ( Fig. 1): blue/dark brown (with blue on the left) and brown/ green (with green on the right). Each face was presented in the blue/dark brown combination to half of the participants and in the brown/green combination to the other half; everybody saw 5 blue/dark brown and 5 brown/ green pairs. ...
... Replacing maternal with paternal eye colour showed that the light eyes of fathers played no significant role in affecting men's preferences-either on their own or in any interactions, all Fs < 1. These results mirror those found in women: light-eyed male faces looked more attractive to women whose father had light eyes, in both a short-and a long-term context 39 . This symmetry between the sexes also turned up in two separate multiple regressions on men and women's overall preference for light eyes-with own, maternal, and paternal eye colour (light, dark) as independent variables. ...
... www.nature.com/scientificreports/ In women, the impact of paternal light eyes depended on how much daughters had felt rejected by their father during childhood, with no significant effect found in participants in the highest tertile of paternal rejection 39 . Here the very same analysis was run on men; this was identical to the repeated-measures ANOVA described above except that it was carried out only on the men in the bottom and top tertiles of maternal rejection, so as to include an additional between-subjects factor of maternal rejection (low, high). ...
Early exposure to parental features shapes later sexual preferences in fish, birds, and mammals. Here I report that human males’ preferences for a conspicuous trait, colourful eyes, are affected by the eye colour of mothers. Female faces with light (blue or green) eyes were liked better by men whose mother had light eyes; the effect broke down in those who had felt rejected by her as children. These results, garnered on over one thousand men, complete those of a symmetrical study on one thousand women, painting a fuller picture of human sexual imprinting. Both men and women appear to have imprinted on their opposite-sex parents unless these were perceived as cold and unjustly punitive. Birds require strong attachment to sexually imprint—a constraint in place to reduce the perils of acquiring the wrong sort of information. Parents who form no bond with their offspring may fail to be recognised as appropriate parental imprinting objects. Consistent with human females being, as in most of the animal kingdom, the choosier sex, imprinted preferences were displayed by both sexes but translated into real-life partner choices solely in women—attractive women. Apparently, not all of us can afford to follow our own inclinations.
... Although strongly debated, there are elements of our sense of facial beauty that seems to be based on biological grounds (e.g., as a cue to mate value; [1][2][3]) or as universal learning experiences which may therefore be expressed cross-culturally as 'standards' of beauty [4][5][6][7]. However, contextual differences in judgements of attractiveness have been documented (e.g., [8][9][10]) and judgements of beauty can clearly differ at the individual level [11] also in part on the basis of learning of parental or self's facial characteristics [12][13][14][15][16]. Thus, any single observer's sense of beauty may be best thought as the result of a delicate balance between preferences acquired during the history of the species as well as the history of a specific individual [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. ...
... Although strongly debated, there are elements of our sense of facial beauty that seems to be based on biological grounds (e.g., as a cue to mate value; [1][2][3]) or as universal learning experiences which may therefore be expressed cross-culturally as 'standards' of beauty [4][5][6][7]. However, contextual differences in judgements of attractiveness have been documented (e.g., [8][9][10]) and judgements of beauty can clearly differ at the individual level [11] also in part on the basis of learning of parental or self's facial characteristics [12][13][14][15][16]. Thus, any single observer's sense of beauty may be best thought as the result of a delicate balance between preferences acquired during the history of the species as well as the history of a specific individual [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 ...
Images of European female and male faces were digitally processed to generate spatial frequency (SF) filtered images containing only a narrow band of visual information within the Fourier spectrum. The original unfiltered images and four SF filtered images (low, medium-low, medium-high and high) were then paired in trials that kept constant SF band and face gender and participants made a forced-choice decision about the more attractive among the two faces. In this way, we aimed at identifying those specific SF bands where forced-choice preferences corresponded best to forced-choice judgements made when viewing the natural, broadband, facial images. We found that aesthetic preferences dissociated across SFs and face gender, but similarly for participants from Asia (Japan) and Europe (Norway). Specifically, preferences when viewing SF filtered images were best related to the preference with the broadband face images when viewing the highest filtering band for the female faces (about 48–77 cycles per face). In contrast, for the male faces, the medium-low SF band (about 11–19 cpf) related best to choices made with the natural facial images. Eye tracking provided converging evidence for the above, gender-related, SF dissociations. We suggest greater aesthetic relevance of the mobile and communicative parts for the female face and, conversely, of the rigid, structural, parts for the male face for facial aesthetics.
... In comparison with studies on human hair color [65][66][67][68][69][70], relatively little attention has been paid to eye color's role in sexual selection. Along with hair color, eye color is a reliable predictor in assortative mating: with respect to these traits individuals prefer partners who resemble their opposite-sex parents [71][72][73]. Bovet et al. [59] found preferences for self-resembling mates in eye and hair color. In a Norwegian study, Laeng, Mathisen, and Johnsen [74] presented results which support the paternity assurance hypothesis [75]. ...
Research on the perception of faces typically assumes that there are some universal values of attractiveness which are shared across individuals and cultures. The perception of attractiveness may, however, vary across cultures due to local differences in both facial morphology and standards of beauty. To examine cross-cultural consensus in the ratings of attractiveness, we presented a set of 120 non-manipulated photographs of Czech faces to ten samples of raters from both European (Czech Republic, Estonia, Sweden, Romania, Turkey, Portugal) and non-European countries (Brazil, India, Cameroon, Namibia). We examined the relative contribution of three facial markers (sexual shape dimorphism, averageness, fluctuating asymmetry) to the perception of attractiveness as well as the possible influence of eye color, which is a locally specific trait. In general, we found that both male and female faces which were closer to the average and more feminine in shape were regarded as more attractive, while fluctuating asymmetry had no effect. Despite a high cross-cultural consensus on attractiveness standards, significant differences in the perception of attractiveness seem to be related to the level of socio-economic development (as measured by the Human Development Index, HDI). Attractiveness ratings by raters from low-HDI countries (India, Cameroon, Namibia) converged less with ratings from Czech Republic than ratings from high-HDI countries (European countries and Brazil). With respect to eye color, some local patterns emerged which we discuss as a consequence of negative frequency-dependent selection.
Theories of mate selection debate about whether people tend to choose partners based on similarities to their parents. The present study aimed to address whether a similarity in how people perceive their parents and their partners is associated with the relationship between parental attachment and relationship satisfaction by adopting a template-matching framework. Participants were urban, emerging adults in India (n = 263, 137 male and 126 female) who were measured for how they perceive the traits of a parental figure, traits of a partner, attachment to the parent, and relationship satisfaction with the partner. Data analysis was conducted using correlations, linear regressions, and moderation analyses. Findings show that perceived neuroticism of parents was associated with perceived neuroticism of the partner. Additionally, perceptions of neuroticism of parents predicted neuroticism in partners. Perceived agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience moderated the relationship between parental attachment and relationship satisfaction. A gender difference with a small effect size in perceptions of similarity was observed for openness to experience and agreeableness. Finally, perceived agreeableness also moderated the relationship between parental attachment and relationship satisfaction for men and women separately. However, for men, perceived neuroticism also significantly moderated this relationship. The findings imply that, to an extent, the more emerging adults perceive similarities of certain traits in their parents and partners, the higher likelihood that their attachment to their parent predicts relationship satisfaction with their partner. Limitations and future directions have been discussed.
In recent years there have been many modalities to change and enhance the color of the eye. Many studies have been reported on anthropological and evolutionary significance of the eye color. There is a significant market in cosmetic industry for eye color change as exist with skin whitening, Hair color products and nail polishes. At present, the eye color change options have become available by introduction of colored contact lenses, laser intervention and surgical implants, also other small molecules and topical applications are in the process of investigation by research and commercial institutions. Here, each option has been discussed and their benefits and disadvantages were reviewed. The benefits and side effects as are summarized in relevant tables.
