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SEX DIFFERENCES IN SMILING AND OTHER PHOTOGRAPHED TRAITS: A THEORETICAL ASSESSMENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2010

LEE ELLIS  and
SHYAMAL DAS
LEE ELLIS
Affiliation:
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
SHYAMAL DAS
Affiliation:
Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA
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Summary

Many studies have shown that females smile more than males do in social situations. The present study extends this research by examining a large sample of high school yearbook photographs. In addition to assessing the degree of smiling, ratings were obtained of the following traits for each photograph: hair length, hair colour, masculine–feminine appearance and physical attractiveness. Results reconfirmed earlier research showing that females smile more than males do while they are being photographed. Other findings were that smiling was positively correlated with hair length, femininity and physical attractiveness for females but not for males. When a multivariate analysis was performed, none of these traits predicted smiling in males, and only femininity was significant in predicting smiling in females. Although social learning theories of smiling can account for some of these findings, a recently proposed neurohormonal theory seems to best explain why femininity is related to smiling in females but not in males.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , May 2011 , pp. 345 - 351
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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