Darwin's sexual selection hypothesis revisited: Musicality increases sexual attraction in both sexes.

ABSTRACT: A number of theories about the origins of musicality have incorporated biological and social perspectives. Darwin argued that musicality evolved by sexual selection, functioning as a courtship display in reproductive partner choice. Darwin did not regard musicality as a sexually dimorphic trait, paralleling evidence that both sexes produce and enjoy music. A novel research strand examines the effect of musicality on sexual attraction by acknowledging the importance of facial attractiveness. We previously demonstrated that music varying in emotional content increases the perceived attractiveness and dating desirability of opposite-sex faces only in females, compared to a silent control condition. Here, we built upon this approach by presenting the person depicted (target) as the performer o

SUBMITTER: Marin MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9453251 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature