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Consequences Of Beauty: Effects Of Rater Sex And Sexual Orientation On The Visual Exploration And Evaluation Of Attractiveness In Real World Scenes, Aleksandra Mitrovic, Pablo Tinio, Helmut Leder

Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works

One of the key behavioral effects of attractiveness is increased visual attention to attractive people. This effect is often explained in terms of evolutionary adaptations, such as attractiveness being an indicator of good health. Other factors could influence this effect. In the present study, we explored the modulating role of sexual orientation on the effects of attractiveness on exploratory visual behavior. Heterosexual and homosexual men and women viewed natural-looking scenes that depicted either two women or two men who varied systematically in levels of attractiveness (based on a pre¬study). Participants' eye movements and attractiveness ratings toward the faces of the …