RESUMO
Prior studies have reported that women outperform men in nonverbal communication, including the recognition of emotions through static facial expressions. In this experimental study, we investigated sex differences in the estimation of states of happiness, anger, fear, and disgust through static photographs using a two-culture approach. This study was conducted among the Tuvans and Mongolian people from Southern Siberia. The respondents were presented with a set of photographs of men and women of European and Tuvan origin and were asked to interpret each of them. They were asked: "What does the person in the photo feel?" We found that the Tuvans easily identified happiness and anger; however, the level of accuracy of fear and disgust recognition was low. No sex differences in the recognition of happiness, disgust, and fear were observed. However, anger recognition was significantly moderated by the perceiver's sex and the origin of the model. Compared to Tuvan men, Tuvan women were significantly less accurate in identifying anger in male Tuvans. Furthermore, the age effect was found in recognition of fear: older Tuvans were more accurate while recognizing the fearful faces of Tuvan, but not the European models.
RESUMO
The present work represents a pilot study in the area of olfactory communication in humans. On the basis of experiments, it is demonstrated that women are able to detect, by means of smell, a number of morphological and psychological characteristics of men. The samples of sweat from 29 young men were collected, as well as anthropometry measurements (interpupillary distance, height and width of the lower jaw, and so forth) and behavioral characteristics (personality questionnaire NEO, risk-taking questionnaire, Sandra Bem masculinity and femininity indices, a self-rating on aggression Buss-Perry questionnaire). Data on hormonal status of all males were collected (testosterone and cortisol). It is demonstrated that women are able to detect both morphological (masculinity, physical health) and psychological characteristics (aggression, risk taking, neuroticism, extraversion, cooperation, etc.). The smell of men rating high on cortisol is estimated as the least attractive. On the contrary, the sweat of men with combination of high level of testosterone and low level of cortisol is considered the most attractive. Females rating of male's smell differed depending on a phase of a monthly cycle. The data obtained are discussed in the light of evolutionary basis of permanent partner choice.
