The baby is shown a series of photographs of faces that have been rated for attractiveness by a panel of college students. Then it s on to the next slide. After more than a decade of studies like these, Judith Langlois, professor of psychology at the University of Texas in Austin, is convinced that this baby, like others she has tested, will spend more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones. At six months old, we already have a preference for a beautiful face. That, brothers and sisters, is a profound predisposition.
Scientists explain it as all related to the search for a mate.
Women deemed beautiful are more likely to be fertile and capable of bearing healthy children, they tell us. Men deemed handsome are more likely to be able to provide for and protect their families. But it does not take an overabundance of moral judgment to realize that even if that is the basis for this concern, then it has far exceeded any sort of healthy limit. When mothers, I am sure unconsciously, show more attention to beautiful babies than to plain ones, then surely we can all tell that something is badly amiss. And when babies at six months old already like to look at some people s faces more than others, then we are dealing with a fixation that runs deep within us.