Facial sexual dimorphism, that is masculine or feminine features, shapes attractiveness judgments differently for people with higher autistic traits, according to a study published in Evolutionary Psychological Science.
Faces are central to human interaction, carrying cues about identity, emotion, and social intent. Research shows that sexual dimorphism, features that differ between men and women, affects how attractive a face is judged. Feminine traits in women’s faces and masculine traits in men’s faces are often preferred by neurotypical observers, partly because such traits can signal health and reproductive fitness.
Little is known about whether people with higher levels of autistic traits perceive these facial cues in the same way. Farid Pazhoohi and colleagues set out to address this research gap.
Earlier work has shown that individuals with autism or high autistic traits may differ in how they look at and evaluate faces. For example, they often spend less time looking at the eyes, or they may show less consistency in attractiveness ratings. But no study had directly tested whether the preference for masculine or feminine features extends to those higher in autistic traits. This study explored whether such individuals show different gaze behaviors or preferences when asked to judge facial attractiveness.
The researchers conducted two complementary studies at the University of British Columbia. In Study 1 a total of 61 undergraduate participants were recruited, but the final sample after exclusions included 45 heterosexual students (39 women, 6 men). Participants completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient-10 (AQ-10), a brief screening tool, which allowed researchers to group them into high autistic trait scorers and low scorers.
They were then shown 40 pairs of faces (20 male, 20 female) that had been digitally altered to appear more masculine or feminine. Each pair was displayed for five seconds while an eye-tracker recorded where participants looked; they were asked to choose which face was more attractive.
In Study 2, the team recruited a larger and more diverse sample of 222 students, of whom 214 heterosexual participants remained after exclusions (156 women, 66 men). Again, participants completed the AQ-10, with 75 identified as high scorers and 139 as low scorers. This time, the procedure was conducted online and participants had unlimited time to choose between masculinized and feminized faces. The same set of stimuli was used, but without eye-tracking, in order to test whether more time would reveal different patterns in facial preferences.
Study 1 found that participants with higher autistic traits spent less time fixating on the eyes compared to those lower in traits, consistent with past findings. However, both groups still looked at the eyes more than the mouth when making attractiveness judgments, and there was no difference between groups in whether they preferred masculinized or feminized faces. This suggests that under time-limited conditions, autistic traits influenced gaze behavior but not reported attractiveness preferences.
In contrast, Study 2 revealed that autistic traits were associated with differences in preference. Across the larger sample, participants generally preferred masculine traits more in male faces than in female faces.
Importantly, when autistic traits were treated as a continuous measure, higher AQ-10 scores predicted stronger preferences for masculinity in both male and female faces. When comparing high- and low-trait groups, the same pattern emerged, though group differences only approached significance. These findings indicate that with unlimited time to decide, higher autistic traits may be linked to a preference for masculinity in faces.
The authors note that their samples excluded non-heterosexual participants, even though autistic individuals are more likely to identify as non-heterosexual. This limitation means the findings may not generalize to the broader population.
The research, “Facial Sexual Dimorphism and Attractiveness Perception in High Autistic Trait Individuals”, was authored by Farid Pazhoohi, Leilani Forby, and Alan Kingstone.
