Objective The objective of this study was to address the putative ancestral social signaling value of male facial hair, in concert with variable cultural meaning. The ability to grow facial hair might have served as an honest ancestral signal of male age, social dominance, strength and health. Male facial hair may also have had signaling value for attractiveness, though these might be less strong than effects tied to male-male competition. Male facial hair can also be modified, giving rise to cultural variation in its potential signaling function. Methods We surveyed N = 252 US men and women and N = 280 Indian men and women, ages 18–25, about sociodemographics and attitudes toward male facial hair. Participants rated a randomized series of nine images of a composite male model with facial hair with respect to: preferred style, estimated age, attractive to potential partners, assertive, physically strong, friendly, and healthy. Types of facial hair were group into three categories: clean shaven , partial (e.g., Van Dyke, soul patch, stubble) and beard . Results Supporting hypothesized differences, results show that more male facial hair was positively associated with age estimates and negatively with friendliness, and positively related to assertiveness and physical strength. Supporting hypotheses, women preferred less facial hair and rated less facial hair as more attractive. Some sample differences arose, such as Indian participants perceiving greater age range estimates than US respondents. Conclusion These data indicate patterned variation in evaluations of male facial hair that can be situated within an evolutionary and culturally evolved signaling framework.

中文翻译：

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性选择，信号传导和面部毛发：美国和印度可变男性面部毛发的等级

目的这项研究的目的是结合不同的文化含义，探讨男性面部毛发的祖先社会信号传递价值。能够生长胡子的能力可能已成为男性年龄，社会主导地位，力量和健康的诚实祖传信号。男性面部毛发也可能具有吸引力的信号价值，尽管这些强度可能不及与男性-男性竞争相关的影响强。男性面部毛发也可以进行修饰，从而在其潜在的信号传导功能中引起文化差异。方法我们调查了18至25岁的N = 252名美国男性和女性和N = 280名印度男性和女性，研究了社会人口统计学和对男性面部毛发的态度。参与者根据以下方面对随机组合的9张带有面部毛发的男性模型的图像进行了评分：对潜在的合作伙伴有吸引力，自信，身体强健，友好和健康。面部毛发的类型分为三类：干净的剃毛，部分剃毛（例如Van Dyke，灵魂斑块，发茬）和胡须。结果支持假设的差异，结果表明，更多的男性面部毛发与年龄估计值呈正相关，与友善度呈负相关，而与自信和体力呈正相关。支持该假设的女性偏爱较少的面部毛发，而较少面部的毛发则更具吸引力。出现了一些样本差异，例如印度参与者比美国受访者对年龄范围的估计更大。结论这些数据表明男性面部毛发评估中的模式变异可以位于进化和文化发展的信号传导框架内。