Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36692028›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council2023

Perception of strength, attractiveness and aggressiveness of Maasai male faces calibrated to handgrip strength: Evidence from a European sample.

Sonja Windhager, Theresa Ottendorfer, Audax Mabulla, Marina Butovskaya, Bernhard Fink, Katrin Schaefer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Physical Strength Is Not Associated With Facial Sexual Dimorphism and Asymmetry in Either Czechs or Cameroonians.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Sonja WindhagerDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-1809-8678
Theresa OttendorferDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Audax MabullaDepartment of Archaeology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Marina ButovskayaInstitute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.ORCID 0000-0002-5528-0519
Bernhard FinkDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-2739-5236
Katrin SchaeferDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-0173-3092

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesPrevious research showed that male and female members of the Maasai from Northern Tanzania judge images of facial morphs calibrated to greater handgrip strength (HGS) higher on strength and attractiveness, but lower on aggressiveness than those calibrated to lower HGS. The accurate assessment of male physical strength from facial information may be adaptive as suggested by the evidence on health and fitness-related benefits linked to high muscular strength.

methodsThis study extends previous work by obtaining European female (n = 220) and male (n = 51) assessments of HGS-calibrated Maasai male faces. Participants rated five facial morphs for strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness on computer screens.

resultsPerceived physical strength increased with morphs calibrated to higher HGS. The lowest and highest HGS morphs were judged lower in attractiveness than the others, and rated aggressiveness decreased in morphs calibrated to higher HGS.

conclusionsGiven the high similarity between the current study findings and those previously reported from intra-population assessments of Maasai faces calibrated to HGS, we suggest that strength and aggressiveness perceptions of facial features associated with male physical strength may be universal. Attractiveness assessments of strength-related information in the faces of (very) strong men were less consistent across populations, possibly attributable to cultural and ecological contexts.

Indexed as

BeautyHand StrengthExerciseFemaleHumansMalePerceptionTanzania

Identifiers

PMID36692028
PMCPMC10909419

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.