Browsing by Author "Pokorny, Simon"

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Citation - WoS: 1
Citation - Scopus: 1
Facial Basis of Stereotypes: Judgements of Warmth and Competence Based on Cross-Group Typicality/Distinctiveness of Faces
(Wiley, 2024) Saribay, S. Adil; Pokorny, Simon; Turecek, Petr; Kleisner, Karel
Human migration is an increasingly common phenomenon and migrants are at risk of disadvantageous treatment. We reasoned that migrants may receive differential treatment by locals based on the closeness of their facial features to the host average. Residents of T & uuml;rkiye, the country with the largest number of refugees currently, served as participants. Because many of these refugees are of Arabic origin, we created target facial stimuli varying along the axis connecting Turkish and Arabic morphological prototypes (excluding skin colour) computed using geometric morphometrics and available databases. Participants made judgements of two universal dimensions of social perception-warmth and competence-on these faces. We predicted that participants judging faces manipulated towards the Turkish average would provide higher warmth and competence ratings compared to judging the same faces manipulated towards the Arabic average. Bayesian statistical tools were employed to estimate parameter values in multilevel models with intercorrelated varying effects. The findings did not support the prediction and revealed raters (as well as target faces) to be an important source of variation in social judgements. In the absence of simple cues (e.g. skin colour, group labels), the effect of facial morphology on social judgements may be much more complex than previously assumed.
Light Is Not Always Right: Peri-Iridial Lightness Reduces Attractiveness via Perceived Sex-Typicality Across Human Populations
(Springer, 2026) Fiala, Vojtech; Perea-Garcia, Juan Olvido; Turecek, Petr; Wacewicz, Slawomir; Leongomez, Juan David; Pokorny, Simon; Kleisner, Karel
Evolutionary psychology views the human eye as special. In particular, it claims that the light peri-iridial tissues surrounding a relatively darker iris form a combination that sets us apart from other primates. From this perspective, much less attention has been paid to how eye colouration varies between humans, although evidence indicates that variations in peri-iridial and iridial colouration influence both perceived facial attractiveness and sex-typicality. To determine what aspects of eye colouration influence the perception of faces, we have measured the colour of peri-iridial eye tissues ('the white of the eye') and the iris in nine samples from seven distant cultures (N = 1033) across three continents. The faces were rated on facial attractiveness and sex-typicality by raters from the corresponding populations. Accounting for the effects of skin lightness, age, and facial shape, we ran a Bayesian multilevel model to estimate global and sample-specific effects of colouration of the iris and peri-iridial tissues on perceived sex-typicality and facial attractiveness. This exploratory, cross-sectional study revealed an overall preference for slightly darker peri-iridial tissues in women, whereby this association was mediated by perceived sex-typicality. Our findings challenge the notion that the light-eyed phenotype is universally preferred by human raters. Instead, they suggest a preference for a moderate phenotype, perhaps because very light peri-iridial tissues are typical of faces which are generally perceived as less feminine. Women with bluer irises were generally perceived as more attractive but findings related to other colour channels and iris features were inconsistent and varied across samples.Significance statementThe morphological variation of human eyes is an understudied phenomenon. While attention has been paid to the alleged uniqueness of human eyes (compared to other primates), little is known about how variations in eye colouration influence human perception of faces. Our study included over 1000 individuals from seven culturally distinct regions, mapped human eye variation, and tested how eye colouration influences perceived attractiveness and sex-typicality. In humans, variation in eye colouration is relatively large and differs across populations. Our findings suggest that it affects the perception of faces. Paradoxically, darker peri-iridial regions (scleras) slightly enhance the perception of femininity and female attractiveness, which challenges the idea that lighter eyes are universally preferred. Moreover, blue/light irises were in some contexts linked to a higher attractiveness. These results further refine our understanding of the role of eye colouration in perceived attractiveness.