Science Snippet

Numerous studies have shown that the shape of a person’s face helps determine whether he or she is considered attractive. This and other physical attributes are said to signal a good prospect for a mate. Fifteen studies show that mothers tend to treat an attractive child more favorably than an unattractive child. Some weird outcomes have come from studies testing this notion. For example, one researcher spent 10 years following how mothers treated children when shopping for groceries. Only one percent of the children deemed unattractive by independent judges were well secured in their cart, while 13 percent of the most attractive children were tightly secured.

Many separate studies conclude that attractive children are better adjusted and more social than children less attractive. Another study showed that attractive women had up to 16 percent more offspring than their “less-favored” sisters. Make of this what you will, but surely there is more to beauty than the shape of a face. But it is in the eye (and brain) of the beholder. (The Economist, Nov. 16, 2013; Elia, I.E., Quartely Review of Biology, Sept. 2013)