This was also my takeway. The indirection of focusing on more attractive faces seems to purely exist to be able to say that attractiveness response was measure

This was also my takeway. The indirection of focusing on more attractive faces seems to purely exist to be able to say that attractiveness response was measured by brains can rather than statements from the subject, which it was not. Actually measuring attractiveness by way of neural response would be quite interesting, as it præcludes an ability to lie. There is some discussion about how much people find attractive what they say they find attractive, and whether or not they are lying and instead are saying what they are expected to find attractive to appear more socially gracious; — such research would be able to compare the difference between what a man says, and what he thinks, which never fails to produce interesting contrasts.