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This was published in a peer reviewed journal---Human Nature---in 2002.
the abstract is here:
http://www.intercult.su.se/cgi-bin/public?action=search&text=ghirlanda
Chickens prefer beautiful humans
Ghirlanda, Stefano and Jansson, Liselotte and Enquist, Magnus
Human Nature 13, 383-389 (2002)
Abstract: We trained chickens to react to an average human female face but not to an average male face (or vice-versa). In a subsequent test, the animals showed preferences for faces consistent with human sexual preferences (obtained from university students). This suggests that human preferences arise from general properties of nervous systems, rather than from face-specific adaptations. We discuss this result in the light of current debate on the meaning of sexual signals, and suggest further tests of existing hypotheses about the origin of sexual preferences.
Download: PDF (109 KB)
the full text PDF link is
http://www.intercult.su.se/refweb/ghir02/ChickenFace.pdf
It looks to me like legitimate research, and certainly passed peer-review. Here is a homepage for one of the authors, Stefano Ghirlanda:
http://www.intercult.su.se/%7Estefano/
a general source for such things:
http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html
Thanks to ZapperZ for calling attention to the Igs.
They can sometimes seem just as interesting as the Nobs.
the abstract is here:
http://www.intercult.su.se/cgi-bin/public?action=search&text=ghirlanda
Chickens prefer beautiful humans
Ghirlanda, Stefano and Jansson, Liselotte and Enquist, Magnus
Human Nature 13, 383-389 (2002)
Abstract: We trained chickens to react to an average human female face but not to an average male face (or vice-versa). In a subsequent test, the animals showed preferences for faces consistent with human sexual preferences (obtained from university students). This suggests that human preferences arise from general properties of nervous systems, rather than from face-specific adaptations. We discuss this result in the light of current debate on the meaning of sexual signals, and suggest further tests of existing hypotheses about the origin of sexual preferences.
Download: PDF (109 KB)
the full text PDF link is
http://www.intercult.su.se/refweb/ghir02/ChickenFace.pdf
It looks to me like legitimate research, and certainly passed peer-review. Here is a homepage for one of the authors, Stefano Ghirlanda:
http://www.intercult.su.se/%7Estefano/
a general source for such things:
http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html
Thanks to ZapperZ for calling attention to the Igs.
They can sometimes seem just as interesting as the Nobs.
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