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- Do masculine men smell better? An association between skin color masculinity and female preferences for body odorPublication . Carrito, Mariana L.; Santos, Isabel M.; Alho, Laura; Ferreira, Jacqueline; Soares, Sandra C.; Bem-Haja, Pedro; Silva, Carlos Fernandes; Perrett, DavidA recent study claimed face skin color as a sexually dimorphic variable that influences attractiveness preferences in mate choice. Thereby, skin color may assume the role of a mate quality signal influencing attractiveness preferences. As body odor is linked to attractiveness, this study aimed to explore whether the odors of men with more masculine facial skin color would be evaluated more positively than odors from less masculine men. Female raters were presented with body odors of 18 men and were asked to rate them in various characteristics. Multilevel modeling revealed that the odors of the donors with more masculine color were rated not only as more attractive, more pleasant, and sexier, but also healthier. This indicates that odor associated with men with more masculine skin color is attractive, just as other sexually dimorphic traits. Furthermore, we found a negative relation between skin color masculinity and perceived odor maleness. Regarding this last finding, a new discussion is introduced with respect to the influence of cognitive stereotypes in odor judgments. Altogether, the study supports the possibility that chemosensory signals may be communicating signs of mate quality associated with masculinity.
- The feasibility of an augment reality system to study the psychophysiological correlates of fear-related responsesPublication . Brás, Susana; Soares, Sandra C.; Cruz, Telmo; Magalhães, Tiago; Marques, Bernardo; Dantas, Cláudia; Fernandes Crespo, Nuno; Fernandes, José MariaPrevious studies have successfully used augmented reality (AR) as an aid to exposure-based treatments for anxiety disorders. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of these studies have measured the physiological correlates of the fear response, relying solely on self-reports and behavioral avoidance tests.
- The scent of the other women: Body odor-induced behavioral and physiological effects on face categorizationPublication . Mutic, Smiljana; Freiherr, Jessica; Cavazzana, Annachiara; Rocha, Marta; Soares, Sandra C.; Parma, ValentinaIn body odor research, the interaction of female donors and receivers is scarcely investigated. With the aim to investigate effects of female body odor in a competitive context, we tested 51 women divided into two groups (i.e., a competitive and a non-competitive group, based on verbal instructions). Between groups, we explored whether female body odor exposure (vs. masker odor) modulates emotion categorization (via RT variance and distribution) and physiological reactions (via instantaneous heart rate) in a task with dynamic male and female faces as either angry or happy. Women in the competitive group reported to feel more competitive and performed more accurately. They gathered more emotional information to categorize dynamic faces and when additionally exposed to female body odor, they showed a resistance to cardiac deceleration. Lapses of attention (via RT distribution) occurred irrespective of body odor exposure. Our results support the idea that female body odors, presented in a competitive context, contrast cardiac deceleration and, by tendency, modulate emotion categorization. Data are discussed in the context of chemosignaling and social interactions among women.
- Ecological context modulates the visual detection advantage for snakesPublication . Biondi, Luiz; Gomes, Nuno; Maior, Rafael S.; Silva, Fábio; Silva, Samuel; Soares, SandraResearch indicates that the human visual system is highly efficient at detecting snakes, yet less is known about how ecological visual contexts modulate this advantage. We conducted two experiments with university students (N = 58 each) to test whether background complexity influences snake-detection efficiency using a dual-task paradigm. In Experiment 1, stimuli were presented on a uniform grey background. Here, snakes were detected and visually fixated significantly faster than non-snake control animals, consistent with previous findings. Crucially, this advantage was not influenced by participants’ self-reported fear of snakes or anxiety levels. In Experiment 2, the same stimuli were embedded in a complex leaf-litter background. Under these conditions, non-snake stimuli were detected earlier than snakes, and overall accuracy declined. This indicates that the snake detection advantage is sensitive to changes in perceptual and contextual conditions, which may attenuate or reverse the pattern observed under simplified settings. Subjective fear scores again showed no moderating effect. Overall, these findings are consistent with an evolved sensitivity to snake-related visual features, but show that this advantage is context-dependent and can be attenuated or even reversed under ecologically complex visual conditions, independently of selfreported fear. They underscore the necessity of incorporating ecological variables into threat-detection research.
- From fascination to fear and disgust: Cross-cultural assessment of emotional and aesthetic responses to snake imageryPublication . Biondi, Luiz; Silva, Fábio; Gomes, Nuno; Maior, Rafael S.; Silva, Samuel; Soares, Sandra C.; Gomes, Nuno; Soares, SandraThe primate visual system is thought to have evolved under selective pressures favouring rapid detection of snakes, ancestral predators that shaped perceptual and attentional mechanisms. Yet, the transition from visual detection to subjective fear remains poorly understood and may depend on specific morphological cues. Here, we examined how snake morphology modulates human emotional and aesthetic responses across ecological and cultural contexts. A total of 377 participants from Portugal (low snake biodiversity) and Brazil (high snake biodiversity) rated images of 92 snake species on fear, disgust, beauty, valence, arousal and perceived size. Cluster analyses revealed three consistent emotional profiles across populations: a High-Fear cluster (mainly viperids, boids and mimics with threatening traits), a High-Valence cluster (mostly harmless colubrids and dipsadids), and a smaller High-Disgust cluster (fossorial or limbless reptiles). Cluster membership was unaffected by country, indicating cross-cultural consistency in emotional evaluations of snake morphology. Species in the High-Fear cluster exhibited higher edge density. By contrast, greater exposure to snakes, particularly in natural environments, was associated with lower Snake Fear Questionnaire scores. These results support the view that humans rely on evolutionarily conserved morphological heuristics (e.g. triangular heads, keeled scales and disruptive patterns) to assess potential threats, while individual predispositions and experience modulate response intensity.