Judged Attractiveness in Recognition Memory of Women's Faces

A series of 35 3 1/2- × 2 1/2-in., full-face photographs of female undergraduates were used as stimuli. Each subject rated the randomly presented photographs into high, medium, and low attractiveness and 2 hr. later subjects recognized photographs they judged most and least attractive significantly better than the more “neutral” faces when all were mixed with 10 previously unused control stimuli. Arousal and “distinctive cues” were discussed as possible explanations for the improved memory associated with attractive and unattractive faces.