Facial resemblance in couples

Abstract

There is a widespread Chinese term "Fu Qi Xiang" used to describe the facial resemblance phenomenon of couples. Investigating facial resemblance in couples as a form of assortative mating is important because appearance affects the outcome of a wide variety of social situations and plays a key role in mate choice (e.g. Buss, 1989; Sigall & Ostrove, 1975). Evidence for "Fu Qi Xiang" is mixed and it is not clear whether "Fu Qi Xiang" is purely contributed by a resemblance of physical features of the partners‟ faces or it is contributed by people matching some specific perceptual qualities of the face including perceived age, attractiveness, and perceived personality trait. This study therefore aims to examine whether "Fu Qi Xiang" is valid among couples and to identify potential contributors to "Fu Qi Xiang". Facial photographs of 60 married couples and 60 randomly paired couples as control were rated by 51 judges on facial similarity, attractiveness, perceived age, and perceived personality traits. Results showed that married couples‟ similarity ratings were significantly higher than that of the control group, proving "Fu Qi Xiang" a valid concept. Matching of perceived agreeableness in spouses was supported by two findings: perceived agreeableness was significantly correlated between spouse; and the spousal differences in agreeableness was significantly smaller than that of the control group, suggesting that the spousal similarity in agreeableness is not an outcome of random pair formation. Facial similarity ratings of couples was found to be contributed partially by perceived age but not attractiveness nor any of the personality traits. It is therefore concluded that "Fu Qi Xiang" is not purely contributed by a resemblance of physical facial features. It could be a result of people‟s matching of perceived age of the faces.