In four experiments, participants were presented with schematic
faces. In Experiment 1, eye gap and nose width were manipulated
in separate blocks and the effects of shifting the range of values
was assessed for descriptive and evaluative judgments. Descriptive
ratings showed contrast effects in accordance with Parducci's
(1995) range-frequency theory. Evaluative ratings showed reversals
of preference ordering that were explained by a model in which
the ideal point shifts toward the mean of the contextual distribution.
In Experiments 2 and 3, effects of context on preference were
demonstrated in a trinary choice task in which faces varied only
in eye gap. In Experiment 4, eye gap and nose width were manipulated
together and the locations of ideals were systematically shifted
within the two dimensional attribute space. The results of the
four experiments demonstrated the pervasive effects of context
on the construction of ideals determining preference in both judgment
and choice.