Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-201). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

Akademisk avhandling - Malmö. / Added title page, with thesis note, inserted.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Evolutionary theory has been proposed to provide an answer to the question of why some faces are perceived to be more attractive than others are. The first part of this thesis provides an introduction to an evolutionary approach to studying attractiveness (Chapter 1) and reviews sexual selection theory (Chapter 2) and how this theory has been applied to help understand human facial attractiveness (Chapter 3). The thesis focuses particularly on symmetry and secondary sexual characteristics in faces, two of the main factors that relate to attractiveness from an evolutionary perspective as they are both proposed to be associated with genetic benefits to the choosing individual. The empirical work in the first part of the thesis is consistent with both masculinity and symmetry in males reflecting adaptive selection for high quality mates. Facial masculinity was found to be associated with personality attributions that appear consistent with masculinity reflecting testosterone level in males. Masculinity was associated with some negative personality attributions and when controlling for such attributions masculinity in male faces was found to be of increased attractiveness (Chapter 4). Facial symmetry was found to be preferred in opposite-sex faces by both males and females when images were presented upright and less so when the images were inverted (Chapter 5). Symmetry was also found to be preferred in familiar faces and both this preference and preferences differing according orientation are consistent with the notion that symmetry preferences are an adaptation to identify high quality mates. The second part of this thesis presents views on the existence of individual differences in attractiveness judgements that are consistent with evolutionary theory. Evidence is reviewed regarding how individual differences in preference could be more adaptive than a single species wide strategy (Chapter 6). Chapters 7 and 8 present studies showing that preferences for sexual dimorphism and symmetry differ between women in ways that may have been adaptive over evolutionary time. Women who are attractive prefer higher levels of masculinity and symmetry than less attractive women (Chapter 7) and women judging for short-term relationships or women who already have current partners prefer more masculinity in male faces than those judging for long-term relationships or women who do not have a partner (Chapter 8). Chapter 9 again shows that individual differences in mate-choice do exist and can be consistent with evolutionary theory showing that individuals choose partners resembling their opposite-sex parent, a phenomenon that may reflect imprinting-like effects in humans. This thesis presents data that is consistent with the notion that sexual dimorphism and symmetry may advertise quality in human faces (Part 1) and data on several potentially adaptive individual differences in human face preferences (Part 2). Individuals can both agree, on average, on what is attractive and unattractive and yet still demonstrate variation in judgements. In this way beauty can be said to be both in the face of the beheld and in the eye of beholder.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Isolated cleft palate is one of the most frequent congenital conditions that affect the oral and facial structures, yet its etiology remains obscure. Previous studies of both cleft palate (CP) and cleft lip and/ or palate [CL(P)] have shown that there may be unusual facial characteristics among the parents of such sporadic cases. Such findings have been used to support the possibility that there are predisposing familial (genetic) factors for both conditions. However, previous studies have generally not controlled for the possibility of genetic heterogeneity or for different contributions from each of the parents. The objective of this study is to examine parents of individuals with CP in order to test the hypothesis that these "non cleft" individuals have abnormal facial structures. Lateral (LA) and Posterior-Anterior (PA) cephalograms were examined from thirty parents of fifteen individuals with sporadic CP. Seventeen LA and twenty-five PA variables were obtained on each subject and converted to standardized "z-scores" through comparison to published age and sex matched reference data. Multivariate cluster analysis was used to define groupings of individuals who shared similar patterns of facial features. Results demonstrate that as a group, relatives of CP individuals show significantly different patterns of facial measurements compared to reference norms. Values significantly larger (p < 0.05) fro1n parental data included: ANS-Me, PNS-ANS, S-N-Pg, Ar-Go-Me, MoL-MoR, NSR-NCR. Values significantly smaller (p < 0.05) from parents included: N-ANS, S-Ba, PNS-ANS/ N-ANS, PNS-ANS/ N-Pg, N-S-Ba, ZyL-ZyR, GoL-GoR, GoNL-GoNR, CRO-CNS, CNS-SD, CNS-Me, ID-Me, MxR-ZyR, Me-GoR. These findings were not entirely consistent with those few previously reported findings. Additional analysis of the present data demonstrated that such inconsistencies may be due in part to the presence of distinct phenotypic sub groupings within the parental sample. Cluster analysis identified two such subgroups. Significant findings (p < 0.05) that were smaller for Cluster 1 relative to Cluster 2 included: N-Me, ANS-Me, S-Go, PNS-ANS, Ar-Go, CNS-SD, MxR-ZyR. Significant variables that were larger for Cluster 1 included: S-N-Pg. In addition, gender was significantly different across clusters with Cluster 1 containing 75 percent female individuals and Cluster 2 containing 67 percent male individuals. These results extend those reported in other studies by demonstrating that unusual facial patterns, when present are not uniformly distributed in parents of sporadic cases of CP. Phenotypic assessment in conjunction with multivariate analysis may help to identify families in which there is a significant heritable component for CP.

Dante Alighieri, as we understand him and read his poetry, is a construct crafted from posthumous portraiture. Dante’s famous profile appears at a pivotal transition point from icon to image, where the aura of the saint is transferred to the poet. In this aesthetic creation of identity, portraits and visual representations of Dante are influenced by, and in turn influence, commentaries, translations, and biographies of the poet. This visual and textual synergy is called textual physiognomy, and it reaches an important juncture point in the 19th century, when Dante Gabriel Rossetti—as both artist, critic, and translator of Dante—creates a new and influential alternative to the traditional Dantean identity. Rossetti challenges the Dante the 19th century had taken for granted as fact: the divine “poet saturnine,” with “hatchet” profile, aquiline nose, austere face, and laurel crown. Through his iconoclastic approach to the Dantean portraiture tradition, Rossetti gives Dante a new life by emphasizing the human Dante, the pre-exile Dante before the Divine Comedy.

Thesis (B.A. (Hons.)), Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, 1971.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-212). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Jan. 9, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Inaug.-diss.--Leipzig. / Lebenslauf.