Affiliation:
1. Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Abstract
It has long been hypothesized that attractiveness provides a cue to a target's health and immunocompetence. However, much of the research testing this hypothesis has relied on a small number of indirect proxies of immune function, and the results of this research have been mixed. Here, we build on this past research, examining the relationship between target attractiveness and (i) self-reported health, (ii)
in vivo
measures of inflammation and white blood cell count/composition, and (iii)
in vitro
tests of targets' immune function, including (c
1
) leucocyte proliferation in response to immunological stimulants, (c
2
) phagocytosis of
Escherichia coli
bioparticles, (c
3
) NK cell-mediated lysis of target tumour cells, and (c
4
)
Staphylococcus aureus
growth in isolated plasma. Results revealed multiple, sometimes sex-differentiated, relationships between targets' immune function and others’ perceptions of their attractiveness. Together, this work suggests complex, often sex-differentiated relationships between immune function, health, and attractiveness.
Funder
National Science Foundation
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Environmental Science,General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine
Cited by
9 articles.
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