title: Gender differences in memory processing of female facial attractiveness: evidence from event-related potentials.
abstract: High rates of agreement in the judgment of facial attractiveness suggest universal principles of beauty. This study investigated gender differences in recognition memory processing of female facial attractiveness. Thirty-four Chinese heterosexual participants (17 females, 17 males) aged 18-24 years (mean age 21.63 ± 1.51 years) participated in the experiment which used event-related potentials (ERPs) based on a study-test paradigm. The behavioral data results showed that both men and women had significantly higher accuracy rates for attractive faces than for unattractive faces, but men reacted faster to unattractive faces. Gender differences on ERPs showed that attractive faces elicited larger early components such as P1, N170, and P2 in men than in women. The results indicated that the effects of recognition bias during memory processing modulated by female facial attractiveness are greater for men than women. Behavioral and ERP evidences indicate that men and women differ in their attentional adhesion to attractive female faces; different mating-related motives may guide the selective processing of attractive men and women. These findings establish a contribution of gender differences on female facial attractiveness during memory processing from an evolutionary perspective.
authors.affiliation: a Academy of Educational Science , Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , China.|b School of Educational Science , Mianyang Normal University , Mianyang , China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: b School of Educational Science , Mianyang Normal University , Mianyang , China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: a Academy of Educational Science , Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , China.
authors.forename: Peiqiong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a Academy of Educational Science , Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , China.
authors.forename: Minxiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: a Academy of Educational Science , Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001504:Beauty; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ERP; evolution; facial attractiveness; gender differences; n170