Male dance moves that catch a woman's eye

Neave, Nick, McCarty, Kristofor, Freynik, Jeanette, Caplan, Nick, Honekopp, Johannes and Fink, Bernhard (2011) Male dance moves that catch a woman's eye. Biology Letters, 7 (2). pp. 221-224. ISSN 1744-9561

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

Male movements serve as courtship signals in many animal species, and may honestly reflect the genotypic and/or phenotypic quality of the individual. Attractive human dance moves, particularly those of males, have been reported to show associations with measures of physical strength, prenatal androgenization and symmetry. Here we use advanced three-dimensional motion-capture technology to identify possible biomechanical differences between women's perceptions of 'good' and 'bad' male dancers. Nineteen males were recorded using the 'Vicon' motion-capture system while dancing to a basic rhythm; controlled stimuli in the form of avatars were then created in the form of 15 s video clips, and rated by 39 females for dance quality. Initial analyses showed that 11 movement variables were significantly positively correlated with perceived dance quality. Linear regression subsequently revealed that three movement measures were key predictors of dance quality; these were variability and amplitude of movements of the neck and trunk, and speed of movements of the right knee. In summary, we have identified specific movements within men's dance that influence women's perceptions of dancing ability. We suggest that such movements may form honest signals of male quality in terms of health, vigour or strength, though this remains to be confirmed.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	movement, courtship signal, dance quality, motion-capture
Subjects:	C800 Psychology W500 Dance
Department:	Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Psychology
Depositing User:	Ellen Cole
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2011 15:28
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 16:29
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4110

Downloads