Measuring facial proportions on individual faces belonging to 52 families, we have found significant correlations between the young men and their partner's father (but not his mother), especially on facial proportions belonging to the central area of face.

Women also showed resemblance to their partner's mother (but not to her father) in the facial characteristics of their lower face.

Our results support the sexual imprinting hypothesis which states that children shape a mental template of their opposite-sex parents and search for a partner who resembles that perceptual schema.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences