Five questionnaire studies asked women to rate the attractiveness of outline drawings of male figures that varied in somatotype, body proportions, symmetry, and in distribution of trunk hair. In Study 1, back-posed figures of mesomorphic (muscular) somatotypes were rated as most attractive, followed by average, ectomorphic (slim), and endomorphic (heavily built) figures by both British and Sri Lankan women. In Study 2, computer morphing of somatotypes to produce an intergraded series resulted in a graded response in terms of perceived attractiveness which mirrored the findings of Study 1. In Study 3, back-posed figures were manipulated in order to change waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) and waist-to-shoulder ratios (WSR). A WHR of 0.8-0.9 and a WSR of 0.6 were rated as most attractive and these effects were more pronounced when modeling mesomorphic figures. In Study 4, symmetric figures of a mesomorphic somatotype were rated as less attractive than a normal (asymmetric) version of the same man. Study 5 showed that presence of trunk hair had a marked, positive effect upon women's ratings of attractiveness for both mesomorphic and endomorphic male figures. Women also judged figures with trunk hair as being older and they consistently rated endomorphic figures as being older than mesomorphs. These results are consistent with effects of sexual selection upon visual signals that advertise health, physical prowess, age, and underlying endocrine condition in the human male.
Of the 19 Canadian Aboriginal grade 3 and 4 children taken through the Coolabah Dynamic Assessment (test-intervention-retest) process in this pilot study, eight made pronounced gains from pre-test to posttest. Among this group of "invisible underachievers," three showed exceptional potential by achieving post-test raw scores that suggest high academic potential. In the context of this study, the term "invisible underachiever" refers to individuals who underperform both in the classroom and on commonly used evidence of potential for higher achievement. Profiles of these three youngsters illustrate the value of dynamic assessment in identifying talent in underachieving students, including those from disadvantaged and minority group backgrounds.
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