Correlates of Physical Beauty in Men and Women

Horvath, T.

doi:10.2224/sbp.1979.7.2.145

Cited by 75 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…This measure of bodily attractiveness was calculated by dividing waist circumference by chest circumference. Several studies suggest that measures of torso "v-shapedness," in particular lower waist-to-chest ratio, are excellent predictors of male bodily attractiveness (Coy, Green, & Price, 2014;Fan, Dai, Liu, & Wu, 2005;Horvath, 1979;Maisey, Vale, Cornelissen, & Tovée, 1999;Price, Pound, Dunn, Hopkins, & Kang, 2013;Swami & Tovée, 2005;Swami et al, 2007).…”

Section: Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is sociopolitical egalitarianism related to bodily and facial formidability in men?

Price

Sheehy‐Skeffington

Sidnaius

et al. 2017

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Social bargaining models predict that men should calibrate their egalitarian attitudes to their formidability and/or attractiveness. A simple social bargaining model predicts a direct negative association between formidability/attractiveness and egalitarianism, whereas a more complex model predicts an association moderated by wealth. Our study tested both models with 171 men, using two sociopolitical egalitarianism measures: social dominance orientation and support for redistribution. Predictors included bodily formidability and attractiveness and four facial measures (attractiveness, dominance, masculinity, and width-to-height ratio). We also controlled for time spent lifting weights, and experimentally manipulated self-perceived formidability in an attempt to influence egalitarianism. Both the simple and complex social bargaining models received partial support: sociopolitical egalitarianism was negatively related to bodily formidability, but unrelated to other measures of bodily/facial formidability/attractiveness; and a formidability-wealth interaction did predict variance in support for redistribution, but the nature of this interaction differed somewhat from that reported in previous research. Results of the experimental manipulation suggested that egalitarianism is unaffected by self-perceived formidability in the immediate short-term. In sum, results provided some support for both the simple and complex social bargaining models, but suggested that further research is needed to explain why male formidability/attractiveness and egalitarianism are so often negatively related.

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Section: Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is sociopolitical egalitarianism related to bodily and facial formidability in men?

Price

Sheehy‐Skeffington

Sidnaius

et al. 2017

Evolution and Human Behavior

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“…Some concern may be raised regarding the ecological validity of our avatars, as they were computer-generated 3D images and not photographs of men. We used these stimuli to remove features irrelevant to and possibly distracting regarding our hypotheses (e.g., ethnicity, faces), and we believe that these avatars are at least as realistic as stimuli used in WAIST-TO-CHEST RATIO 19 much past work (e.g., Dixson et al, 2007;Horvath, 1979). Nevertheless, we invite researchers to test the above model using photographs or other stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The avatars were created by fitting the scan data to a reference mesh to replicate the body surface in true fashion ( [TC]², 2010). Thus, the avatars are a highly accurate representation of the scanned men and are at least as realistic as stimuli used in previous research (e.g., Dixson, Dixson, Li, & Anderson, 2007;Horvath, 1979). The avatars were presented as front-facing images, still images, centered along both horizontal and vertical axes (Figure 2 contains sample avatars).…”

Section: Body Scan Selection and Avatar Creationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that men with more V-shaped upper bodies are perceived as more attractive (Braun & Bryan, 2006;Brown et al, 2008;Horvath, 1979;Maisey, Vale, Cornelissen & Tovée, 1999;Price, Pound, Dunn, Hopkins, & Kang, 2013;Swami & Tovée, 2005;Swami et al, 2007). In many of these studies, V-shapedness is measured in terms of waist-chest ratio (WCR), with lower WCR being more attractive.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Why is low waist-to-chest ratio attractive in males? The mediating roles of perceived dominance, fitness, and protection ability

2014

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Past research suggests that a lower waist-to-chest ratio (WCR) in men (i.e., narrower waist and broader chest) is viewed as attractive by women. However, little work has directly examined why low WCRs are preferred. The current work merged insights from theory and past research to develop a model examining perceived dominance, fitness, and protection ability as mediators of to WCR-attractiveness relationship. These mediators and their link to both short-term (sexual) and long-term (relational) attractiveness were simultaneously tested by having 151 women rate one of 15 avatars, created from 3D body scans. Men with lower WCR were perceived as more physically dominant, physically fit, and better able to protect loved ones; these characteristics differentially mediated the effect of WCR on short-term, long-term, and general attractiveness ratings. Greater understanding of the judgments women form regarding WCR may yield insights into motivations by men to manipulate their body image.

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“…Muscularity is a trait that has received much empirical attention due to its association with naturally occurring testosterone levels (for a review, see Bhasin 2003). The highest attractiveness ratings are typically given to men with moderate muscularity (Frederick and Haselton 2007), operationalized as a WHR of 0.90 (Dixson et al 2003;Singh 1995), a waist-to-chest ratio (WCR) of 0.70 (Maisey et al 1999;Swami and Tovée 2005b), a waist-to-shoulder ratio (WSR) of 0.60 (e.g., Dixson et al 2003), and a shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR) of approximately 1.40 (Dijkstra and Buunk 2001;Horvath 1979). This degree of muscularity has been argued to signal fighting ability (Sell et al 2009) and, in the case of upper body strength, the ability to provide resources (Apicella 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

“Drawing” Conclusions About Perceptions of Ideal Male and Female Body Shapes

Cloud

Perilloux²

2015

Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Preferences for bodily traits (e.g., waist-to-hip ratio; WHR) have been widely documented through the use of stimulus sets (e.g., line drawings, photographs). The purpose of the present study was to explore preferences for bodily traits using a method that does not constrain the range of possible values for each trait. Participants drew a figure depicting the most attractive member of the opposite sex they could imagine and a figure depicting a member of their own sex that they believed members of the opposite sex would find maximally attractive. Participants drew some traits similarly to values identified in previous research (e.g., WHR); however, other traits (e.g., leg-to-body ratio) were drawn differently from values documented through the use of stimulus sets. Additional analyses showed that men were fairly accurate in predicting what women prefer in a man's bodily traits, but women underestimated the ideal WHR and overestimated the ideal bust-to-waist ratio considered by men to be maximally attractive. In contrast to our predictions, participants' morphological trait preferences were independent of their sociosexual orientations. While the unconstrained drawing task produced slightly different results than those obtained through the use of stimulus sets for some traits, its sensitivity to a larger range of potential values renders it a powerful method of exploring morphological trait preferences.

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Correlates of Physical Beauty in Men and Women

Cited by 75 publications

References 6 publications

Is sociopolitical egalitarianism related to bodily and facial formidability in men?

Is sociopolitical egalitarianism related to bodily and facial formidability in men?

Why is low waist-to-chest ratio attractive in males? The mediating roles of perceived dominance, fitness, and protection ability

“Drawing” Conclusions About Perceptions of Ideal Male and Female Body Shapes

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