In the face of dominance: Self-perceived and other-perceived dominance are positively associated with facial-width-to-height ratio in men

•In three studies we examined the relationship between fWHR and dominance.•In study 1 other-perceived dominance was positively correlated with fWHR in men.•In studies 2–3 self-perceived dominance was positively correlated with fWHR in men.•There was no sexual dimorphism in fWHR in all three studies.•fWHR may be a reliable cue to dominance in male but not female faces.

In recent research, facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) has garnered considerable attention because it has been linked with different behavioural characteristics (e.g., achievement drive, deception, aggression). Here we examined whether other-perceptions and self-perceptions of dominance are related to fWHR. In study 1, we found that other-perceived dominance was positively associated with fWHR, but only in men. In studies 2 and 3, using two different self-perceived dominance scales, and two different samples of participants, we found that fWHR was positively related to self-perceived dominance, again only in men. There was no relationship between fWHR and self-perceived prestige scores. Consistent with previous work, we also found that there was no sexual dimorphism in fWHR across all three studies. Together these results suggest that fWHR may be a reliable cue to dominant social behaviour in men.