Sunday, April 29, 2012

Left side of face more emotional, appealing

A new study says the left side of the human face expresses more emotion that the right side and is therefore more attractive and appealing to others.


James Schirillo and Kelsey Blackburn of Wake Forest University asked 37 male and female students to rate photos of 10 male and 10 female faces.

The photos were presented to participants as originally taken and in mirror image form, so that an original right-cheek image appeared to be a left-cheek image and vice versa.

According to the findings published in the journal Experimental Brain Research, students rated the left sides of faces more “pleasant” than the right sides.

“Our results suggest that posers' left cheeks tend to exhibit a greater intensity of emotion, which observers find more aesthetically pleasing," wrote researchers.

“Our findings provide support for a number of concepts--the notions of lateralized emotion and right hemispheric dominance with the right side of the brain controlling the left side of the face during emotional expression.”

Scientists say their study also suggests people to show more of their left cheek to the camera.

“Practically, people should turn slightly so that they show more of their left, than right, cheek when being photographed," says Schirillo."Others will find these images more appealing than the reverse (more right cheek exposed).”