Editorial: Perceptions of People: Cues to Underlying Physiology and Psychology

Our perceptual sensitivity to cues of socially and sexually relevant physiological and psychological traits in others is remarkable. For such sensitivity to evolve, the directly perceptible qualities of others (which include intrinsic physical traits, such as height, weight, body odor, facial morphology,and body shape; as well as behaviorally modified appearance cues, such as those produced by clothing and makeup; and vocal parameters) must afford at least somewhat accurate judgements of others‘ health, fertility, formidability, personality, or other fitness-relevant capacities. The current issue examines whether a variety of perceptible qualities present potentially valid cues of underlying physiology and psychology, and/or the extent to which such cues support adaptive judgements of others.