About this item
Highlights
- In our daily lives, in our memories and fantasies, our mental worlds overflow with faces.
- About the Author: DAVID PERRETT is Professor of Psychology at the University of St Andrews, UK and currently holds a British Academy Wolfson Research Professorship to work on the perception of health in faces.
- 272 Pages
- Psychology, Social Psychology
- Series Name: MacSci
Description
About the Book
"What makes a face attractive? Why are we attracted to certain faces and not others? In this fascinating and exuberant account from the frontiers of science, David Perrett, a winner of the prestigious Golden Brain award and one of the world's foremost experts in face perception, and Louise Barrett, an evolutionary psychologist, tell the amazing story of where the human face came from, and how our perceptions of the face affect the way we judge an individual's personality, health, trustworthiness, and suitability as a friend or lover. Revealing some truly eye-opening new findings that will change the way you see your own face and those of everyone around you, the authors explore provocative questions and sometimes unsettling facts: How much does facial symmetry really matter? Why do masculine-looking babies commonly grow up to behave like "masculine" adults? Why do so many people at age 50 really have the face they deserve? Why doesn't plastic surgery actually erase the years? What are the skin colors that are most attractive? (The answers are not what you might think.) How likely is it that you have friends that you consider ugly? Far from offering a license to be lookist, Barrett and Perrett offer proof that inner beauty is often what really matters in the mating game and in wider life. And studies prove it makes you better looking, too"--Book Synopsis
In our daily lives, in our memories and fantasies, our mental worlds overflow with faces. But what do we really know about this most remarkable feature of the human body? Why do we have faces at all, and brains that are good at reading them? What do our looks say - and not say - about our personalities?
And perhaps the most compelling question of all: Why are we attracted to some faces more than others? In Your Face is an engaging and authoritative tour of the science of facial beauty and face perception. David Perrett, the pre-eminent scholar in the field, reveals and interprets the most remarkable findings and in the process demolishes many popular myths, setting the record straight on what neuroscience and evolutionary psychology are teaching us about beauty. The record is more surprising and often more unsettling than you might think.From the Back Cover
In our daily lives, in our memories and fantasies, our mental worlds overflow with faces. But what do we really know about this most remarkable feature of the human body? Why do we have faces at all, and brains that are good at reading them? What do our looks say - and not say - about our personalities? And perhaps the most compelling question of all: Why are we attracted to some faces more than others? 'In Your Face' is an engaging and authoritative tour of the science of facial beauty and face perception. David Perrett, the pre-eminent scholar in the field, reveals and interprets the most remarkable findings and in the process demolishes many popular myths, setting the record straight on what neuroscience and evolutionary psychology are teaching us about beauty. The record is more surprising and often more unsettling than you might think.Review Quotes
"Let's face it. David Perrett has written a truly compelling book. Chock full of science, but reader-friendly and entertaining. Now I have a new perspective on my own crooked smile and have learned many other fascinating things related to faces. Highly recommended." --Professor Joseph LeDoux, author of The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self.
"An engaging revelation of the biology and psychology behind facial beauty, but be warned: In Your Face may reveal some surprising truths about why we are attracted to others." --Bruce Hood, author of SuperSense and Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol."
About the Author
DAVID PERRETT is Professor of Psychology at the University of St Andrews, UK and currently holds a British Academy Wolfson Research Professorship to work on the perception of health in faces. He received the 'Golden Brain' award for his discoveries about the way the brain processes faces and pioneered the use of computer graphics to study the perception of facial attributes such as beauty, health and personality. He is the editor of Processing the Facial Image and Brain Mechanisms for Perception and Memory: From Neuron to Behaviour.
DAVID PERRETT is Professor of Psychology at the University of St Andrews, UK and currently holds a British Academy Wolfson Research Professorship to work on the perception of health in faces. He received the 'Golden Brain' award for his discoveries about the way the brain processes faces and pioneered the use of computer graphics to study the perception of facial attributes such as beauty, health and personality. He is the editor of Processing the Facial Image and Brain Mechanisms for Perception and Memory: From Neuron to Behaviour.
