Is medial canthal tilt a powerful cue for facial attractiveness?

Authors

Mounir Bashour, University of Toronto
Craig Geist, The George Washington University

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2007

Journal

Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Volume

23

Issue

1

DOI

10.1097/IOP.0b013e31802dd7dc

Abstract

PURPOSE: To identify medial canthal tilt as an important cue used by judges in evaluating human female facial attractiveness. METHODS: An experimental study was conducted with the use of SuperLab Pro, and judges had to make a forced choice between unmodified faces and faces that had their medial canthal tilt accentuated through the use of Adobe Photoshop CS. RESULTS: Female faces with accentuated medial canthal tilt were preferred 93% of the time over unmodified faces (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Medial canthal tilt appears to be a powerful cue used in judging human female facial attractiveness. Its power may be due to its relation to the neotenic and sexually dimorphic cue of palpebral fissure inclination. ©2007The American Society of Opthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Inc.

APA Citation

Bashour, M., & Geist, C. (2007). Is medial canthal tilt a powerful cue for facial attractiveness?. Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 23 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/IOP.0b013e31802dd7dc