Research reveals our visual system is a “sensitive lie detector”.
What makes one person appear attractive to another? Recent research from Queen’s University suggests the answer lies not in isolated features but in how well those features fit together as a coherent whole.
Professor Nikolaus Troje (Psychology, Biology, School of Computing) and his colleagues argue that overall consistency between a person’s body shape and their movement patterns is a critical cue for perceived attractiveness. “Most previous work on attractiveness focused on the effect of isolated features,” says Dr. Troje. “Our findings show how important it is that those features are mutually consistent.”
The study used schematic point-light displays to represent walkers: 15 moving dots placed at key joints and limb locations that convey both the person’s movement dynamics and basic body proportions. Point-light displays are a well-established method for isolating motion and form information while removing other visual details such as clothing, face, or texture.
In the experiments, the research team first measured how attractive individual movement styles were, and separately how attractive individual body shapes were, by collecting ratings from a group of observers. They then created hybrid walkers by combining the movement pattern of one individual with the body shape of another, producing stimuli with mixed anthropometry and kinematics.
The central question was straightforward: can the attractiveness of a hybrid walker be predicted simply from the attractiveness of the isolated movement and the isolated body shape used to create it? The answer from the data was no. Hybrid walkers were reliably rated as less attractive than would be expected from an additive prediction based on movement-attractiveness plus shape-attractiveness.
According to Dr. Troje, the effect reflects sensitivity to internal consistency: “Attractiveness depends on whether a person’s movement and their body shape match one another. Our visual system detects even small mismatches and tends to respond negatively to them.” In other words, when motion and form are incongruent, observers perceive the overall signal as less coherent and therefore less attractive.
These findings carry implications for both scientific research and everyday advice about appearance. They call for a re-examination of earlier studies that treated traits independently rather than as part of an integrated pattern. For individuals, the results suggest that strategies aimed at improving attractiveness should consider how different aspects of appearance and behavior work together. “What works for one person may not work for another,” Dr. Troje notes. “When unsure, the simplest guidance is often the best: be yourself.”
Source: Anne Craig – Queen’s University
Image Source: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Abstract: “Internal consistency predicts attractiveness in biological motion walkers” by Malte Klüver, Heiko Hecht, and Nikolaus F. Troje, published in Evolution and Human Behavior. Published online July 11, 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.07.001
Abstract
Internal consistency predicts attractiveness in biological motion walkers
Why do some people appear attractive to us while others do not? Evolutionary psychology proposes that sexual attractiveness evolved to signal reproductive quality. Previous research has identified traits linked to immunocompetence, developmental stability, and fertility. This study tests the complementary hypothesis that attractiveness depends not only on individual traits but also on whether those traits form an internally consistent pattern. Using biological motion, the researchers manipulated internal consistency between anthropometry (body shape) and kinematics (movement). In two experiments they compared original point-light walkers, which preserve the natural consistency between shape and motion, with hybrid walkers that combine shape and motion from different individuals, thereby reducing internal consistency. The results show a significant relationship between internal consistency and perceived sexual attractiveness, suggesting that consistency between body form and movement acts as a cue to health and mate quality.
“Internal consistency predicts attractiveness in biological motion walkers” by Malte Klüver, Heiko Hecht, and Nikolaus F. Troje. Evolution and Human Behavior. Published online July 11, 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.07.001