We examined the neural correlates of facial attractiveness by presenting pictures of male or female faces (neutral expression) with low/intermediate/high attractiveness to 48 male or female participants while recording their electroencephalogram (EEG). Subjective attractiveness ratings were used to determine the 10% highest, 10% middlemost, and 10% lowest rated faces for each individual participant to allow for high contrast comparisons. These were then split into preferred and dispreferred gender categories. ERP components P1, N1, P2, N2, early posterior negativity (EPN), P300 and late positive potential (LPP) (up until 3000 ms post-stimulus), and the face specific N170 were analysed. A salience effect (attractive/unattractive > intermediate) in an early LPP interval (450–850 ms) and a long-lasting valence related effect (attractive > unattractive) in a late LPP interval (1000–3000 ms) were elicited by the preferred gender faces but not by the dispreferred gender faces. Multi-variate pattern analysis (MVPA)-classifications on whole-brain single-trial EEG patterns further confirmed these salience and valence effects. It is concluded that, facial attractiveness elicits neural responses that are indicative of valenced experiences, but only if these faces are considered relevant. These experiences take time to develop and last well beyond the interval that is commonly explored.
MULTIFILE
Understanding the complex and dynamic nature of experiences requires the use of proper measurement tools. As interest grows in the objective measurement of experiences within tourism and hospitality, there is an urgent need to consolidate and synthesize these studies. Thus, this study investigated prevalent objective measurement techniques via a systematic review. We analyzed physiological measures such as electroencephalography (EEG), heart rate variability (HRV), skin conductance (SC), and facial electromyography (fEMG) along with behavioral measures, including eye tracking and location tracking. This review identified 100 empirical studies that employed objective measurement to examine tourism and hospitality experiences over the last decade, highlighting trends, research contexts and designs, and the synergies between different methods. Our discussion on methodological issues and best practices will help researchers and practitioners identify the best tools to capture people’s experiences and promote more standardized practices and comparable findings on studying experiences in tourism and hospitality settings.
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