Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: a cross-cultural study

Two purported cues to perceived female physical attractiveness are body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). This study examined the relative contribution of both cues in several culturally socio-economically distinct populations. Six hundred and eighty-two participants from Britain and Malaysia were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. The results showed that BMI is the primary determinant of female physical attractiveness, whereas WHR failed to emerge as a significant predictor. The results also showed that there were significant differences in preferences for physical attractiveness along a gradient of socio-economic development, with urban participants preferring images of women with significantly lower BMIs than their rural counterparts. The findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychological explanations of mate selection, and sociocultural theory, which emphasises the learning of preferences for body sizes in social and cultural contexts.     

Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Japan: a cross‐cultural study

Two purported cues to female physical attractiveness are body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR). This study examined the relative contribution of both cues in two culturally distinct populations. Eighty‐two male participants from Britain and Japan were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. Results showed that BMI is the primary determinant of female physical attractiveness, whereas WHR failed to emerge as a significant predictor. Results also showed that there were significant differences in preferences for physical attractiveness, with Japanese participants preferring images of women with significantly lower BMIs than Britons. Finally, results showed that the Japanese are more reliant on body shape than Britons when judging physical attractiveness. The findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychological explanations of mate selection, and sociocultural theories which emphasise the learning of preferences in social and cultural contexts. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study

Three purported cues to perceived male physical attractiveness are the waist-to-chest ratio (WCR), body mass index (BMI) and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). This study examined the relative contribution of each cue in several socio-economically distinct populations. Ninety-five female participants from Britain and Malaysia were asked to rate a set of images of real men with known WCR, BMI and WHR. The results showed clear differences along a gradient of socio-economic development. In urban settings, WCR was the primary component of attractiveness ratings, with BMI playing a smaller role and WHR not reaching significance. In the rural setting, BMI was the primary predictor of attractiveness, with WCR playing a more minor role and WHR not reaching significance. In general, urban participants were more reliant on body shape and chose a relatively slim figure with an ‘inverted triangle’ shape; rural participants were more reliant on body weight and chose a heavier figure with a less triangular shape. These findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychological explanations of mate selection and sociological theories that emphasise the effect of resource scarcity on preferences for body shapes and sizes.     

A Critical Test of the Waist-to-Hip Ratio Hypothesis of Women's Physical Attractiveness in Britain and Greece

Body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have been reported to be the major cues to women's bodily attractiveness. The relative importance of each of these cues was examined cross-culturally in two distinct countries, Greece and Britain. Fifty Britons, 25 British-Greeks, and 25 participants in Greece were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. The results showed that, regardless of the cultural setting, BMI is the primary determinant of women's physical attractiveness, whereas WHR emerged as a significant predictor for the Greek groups but not the British group. This finding is discussed in terms of the different gender roles occupied by Britons and Greeks. The discussion critically evaluates evolutionary psychological and sociocultural explanations of preferences for body weight.     

Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Greece: a cross-cultural study

The waist-to-chest ratio (WCR), body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are the major cues to women's ratings of men's bodily attractiveness (J. T. Fan, W. Dai, F. Liu, & J. Wu, 2005; D. M. Maisey, E. L. E. Vale, P. L. Cornelissen, & M. J. Tovée, 1999; V. Swami & M. J. Tovée, 2005b). The authors examined the relative importance of each of these cues cross-culturally in Greece and Britain. Participants were 36 British and 40 Greek women who rated a set of images of real men with known WCR, BMI, and WHR. The results showed that, regardless of the cultural setting, WCR was the primary determinant of men's physical attractiveness to women, with BMI playing a minor role. However, there were also cross-cultural differences: The Greek women showed a stronger preference for a lower WCR and smaller overall body weight than did the British women. The authors considered possible explanations of these findings.     

Something in the way she moves: biological motion,body shape,and attractiveness in women

Most previous research into the attractiveness of women’s bodies has relied on static stimuli such as line-drawings or photographs, particularly focusing on the role of body-mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). However, real attractiveness judgments are invariably made on moving bodies, and movement may contain important information about attractiveness. We measured the importance of movement in attractiveness judgments by using motion-capture to isolate dynamic cues from 37 female walkers, and compare ratings of 75 participants made on these, static photographs, and the original videos. Multiple regression analysis revealed that both dynamic and static cues were important in the attractiveness of women’s bodies. Furthermore, BMI and WHR predicted attractiveness, but BMI was more important in dynamic rather than static cues, while WHR was important for both static and dynamic cues. These findings suggest that movement plays a crucial part in the attractiveness of female bodies and cannot be ignored in studies of human mate choice. Furthermore, dynamic and static cues may contain differential information related to female body shape, which further research should attempt to elucidate.     

The relative contribution of profile body shape and weight to judgements of women's physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia

Ninety-six Malaysian and British men rated for physical attractiveness a set of photographs of real women in profile, with known body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Results showed that BMI accounted for the greater amount of variance in all settings. There were also significant differences in preferences for body weight, with low resource, low socioeconomic status (SES) raters preferring a significantly heavier partner than high resource, high SES raters. The disparity with previous findings using line drawings of women in profile was discussed in terms of the weaknesses of line-drawn stimuli.     

Men's preferences for women's profile waist‐to‐hip ratio,breast size,and ethnic group in Britain and South Africa

One particular aspect of the literature on preferences for female body shapes has focused on the purported universality of preferences for a low waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), despite substantial evidence of cross‐cultural variability in such preferences. In the present study, we examined the effects of manipulating women's profile WHR, breast size, and ethnicity on men's ratings of physical attractiveness and health. A total of 51 African men in South Africa, 56 British Africans, and 114 British Caucasians rated 12 line drawings that varied in two levels of ethnicity, three levels of WHR, and two levels of breast size. Overall, the results suggested that there were cross‐cultural differences in preferred body shape, with the preferred body configuration varying as a function of the ethnicity of the figure being rated. In addition, there was a strong positive correlation between ratings of attractiveness and health. These findings are discussed in relation to the interplay between culture and evolution in determining ideals of attractiveness.     

Does hunger influence judgments of female physical attractiveness?

To account for male preferences for female body weight following a consistent socio‐economic pattern, Nelson and Morrison (2005) proposed a social‐cognitive model based on the individual experience of resource scarcity. We replicated their studies showing that calorific dissatisfaction can influence preference for female body weight using a different dependent variable, namely photographic stimuli of women with known body weight and shape. Using this revised methodology, we found that operationalized intra‐individual resource scarcity affects preferences for body weight: 30 hungry male participants preferred figures with a higher body weight and rated as more attractive heavier figures than 31 satiated male participants. Hungrier men were also less likely to be influenced by cues for body shape, supporting extant cross‐cultural studies on female physical attractiveness. These findings corroborate those of Nelson and Morrison (2005) and are discussed in terms of how cultural contexts shape individual psychological experience as predicted by the theory of mutual constitution.     

The effects of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio on ratings of female attractiveness, fecundity, and health

This paper examines the effects of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on people’s perceptions of female attractiveness and fecundity. One hundred and two participants (51 females) were asked to rate 18 line drawings, varying across three BMI and six WHR levels, on seven different attributes (‘healthy’, ‘fertile’, ‘youthful’, ‘intelligent’, ‘nurturing’, ‘flirty’, and ‘attractive’). Line drawings manipulated arm and leg thickness while keeping torso WHR consistent, thus unconfounding previously confounded variables. The data were analysed through a doubly multivariate analysis of variance. Effect sizes were larger for BMI than for WHR. Figures of average weight and a WHR of 0.7 were rated as most attractive and healthy. Overall, the results demonstrate that the effects of BMI and WHR on perceptions of attractiveness and fecundity are interdependent and should be studied concurrently rather than in isolation.     

面孔参照或观察者参照：性别二态线索、面孔吸引力与表情对正视面孔偏好的影响

本研究探讨了性别二态线索、面孔吸引力和表情对正视面孔偏好的影响。实验1基于面孔参照,被试普遍偏好正视面孔;相对男性化/厌恶和生气/低吸引力的面孔,被试更偏好女性化/高兴和中性/高吸引力的正视面孔;实验2基于观察者参照,总体并未表现出正视偏好;对低吸引力/中性表情/男性化面孔更偏好斜视面孔。     

Sexual dimorphism of male face shape,partnership status and the temporal context of relationship sought modulate women's preferences for direct gaze

Most previous studies of face preferences have investigated the physical cues that influence face preferences. Far fewer studies have investigated the effects of cues to the direction of others' social interest (i.e. gaze direction) on face preferences. Here we found that unpartnered women demonstrated stronger preferences for direct gaze (indicating social interest) from feminine male faces than from masculine male faces when judging men's attractiveness for long‐term relationships, but not when judging men's attractiveness for short‐term relationships. Moreover, unpartnered women's preferences for direct gaze from feminine men were stronger for long‐term than short‐term relationships, but there was no comparable effect for judgements of masculine men. No such effects were evident among women with romantic partners, potentially reflecting different motivations underlying partnered and unpartnered women's judgements of men's attractiveness. Collectively these findings (1) complement previous findings whereby women demonstrated stronger preferences for feminine men as long‐term than short‐term partners, (2) demonstrate context‐sensitivity in the integration of physical and social cues in face preferences, and (3) suggest that gaze preferences may function, at least in part, to facilitate efficient allocation of mating effort.     

Integrating gaze direction and expression in preferences for attractive faces

Few studies have investigated how physical and social facial cues are integrated in the formation of face preferences. Here we show that expression differentially qualifies the strength of attractiveness preferences for faces with direct and averted gaze. For judgments of faces with direct gaze, attractiveness preferences were stronger for smiling faces than for faces with neutral expressions. By contrast, for judgments of faces with averted gaze, attractiveness preferences were stronger for faces with neutral expressions than for smiling faces. Because expressions can differ in meaning depending on whether they are directed toward or away from oneself, it is only by integrating gaze direction, facial expression, and physical attractiveness that one can unambiguously identify the most attractive individuals who are likely to reciprocate one's own social interest.     

Gay male attraction toward muscular men: Does mating context matter?

The purpose of this study was to examine gay men's perceived attractiveness of male figures based on short-term and long-term partner contexts. A sample of 190 gay adult men rated the attractiveness of line-drawings depicting male figures varying systematically in muscularity and body fat percentage in both short-term and long-term dating contexts. Mixed effects modeling was used to estimate the effects of figure (muscularity and body fat), dating context (short-term vs. long-term), and individual rater characteristics on attractiveness ratings. Results indicated that figure muscularity and body-fat had significant non-linear (i.e., quadratic) relationships with attractiveness ratings, and short-term dating context was associated with more discriminating ratings of attractiveness. Interactions between individual characteristics and figure characteristics indicated that the more available the individual and lower body fat, the more discriminating they were in ratings of attractiveness. The implications for future investigations considering both object and observer characteristics of attractiveness preferences are discussed.     

Female condition influences preferences for sexual dimorphism in faces of male humans (Homo sapiens)

In some species, female condition correlates positively with preferences for male secondary sexual traits. Women's preferences for sexually dimorphic characteristics in male faces (facial masculinity) have recently been reported to covary with self-reported attractiveness. As women's attractiveness has been proposed to signal reproductive condition, the findings in human (Homo sapiens) and other species may reflect similar processes. The current study investigated whether the covariation between condition and preferences for masculinity would generalize to 2 further measures of female attractiveness: other-rated facial attractiveness and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Women with high (unattractive) WHR and/or relatively low other-rated facial attractiveness preferred more "feminine" male faces when choosing faces for a long-term relationship than when choosing for a short-term relationship, possibly reflecting diverse tactics in female mate choice.     

Women's meta-perceptions of attractiveness and their relations to body image

The present study examined meta-perceptions of attractiveness among women. More specifically, ratings were collected about how women thought their partner, family and friends, and strangers would view their physical attractiveness. In an online survey, 1287 Dutch women (aged 19-80 years) answered questions concerning meta-perceptions of attractiveness, demographic data, body mass index (BMI), body image (Body Areas Satisfaction Scale, self-rated general physical attractiveness, and actual-ideal weight discrepancy), and self-esteem. Results showed that women's meta-perceptions of attractiveness reflected the level of closeness of the relationship with the other person, with the most positive meta-perceptions reported for the partner, followed by those for family and friends, and the least positive meta-perceptions for strangers. Meta-perceptions were strongly related to body image, self-esteem and BMI. Self-ratings of attractiveness appeared to be lower than all meta-perceptions of attractiveness, suggesting that women are aware of their own negative self-bias and/or other people's positive bias.     

Physical attractiveness and health in Western societies: a review

Evidence from developed Western societies is reviewed for the claims that (a) physical attractiveness judgments are substantially based on body size and shape, symmetry, sex-typical hormonal markers, and other specific cues and (b) physical attractiveness and these cues substantially predict health. Among the cues that the authors review, only female waist-to-hip ratio and weight appear to predict both attractiveness and health in the claimed manner. Other posited cues--symmetry and sex-typical hormonal markers among them--failed to predict either attractiveness or health (or both) in either sex. The authors find that there is some indication that attractiveness has an overall relationship with health among women, but little indication that male attractiveness relates to male health.     

Judging the differences between women's attractiveness and health: Is there really a difference between judgments made by men and women?

Perceived weight in the face and body size have been shown to be significant predictors of both attractiveness and health. Studies looking at the relationship between attractiveness, perceived health, and perceived weight in faces have found that individuals prefer a lower weight for attractiveness than for apparent health. Here, a group of twenty-four Asian participants were allowed to manipulate the apparent body mass indices (BMIs) of full-length photographs of young Malaysian Chinese women to enhance their perceived healthiness and attractiveness. Results showed that both men and women differentiated between attractiveness and health by preferring a lower BMI for attractiveness than health, suggesting a consistency in the preferred ideal BMI for attractiveness and healthy appearance across both sexes. Results also suggested that BMI provides important cues to judgments of attractive and healthy appearance.     

The relative influence of facial neoteny and waist-to-hip ratio on judgements of female attractiveness and fecundity

Numerous studies have demonstrated that waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) affects perceptions of female physical attractiveness and fecundity. This study tested the assumption that facial attractiveness explained more variance in overall ratings and fecundity than WHR, when the latter is manipulated within the normal range (0.67 - 0.85). One hundred and sixty-one participants (mean age = 21.5) rated the attractiveness, youthfulness, fertility, healthiness and likelihood of being pregnant for 27 photographs of three females in which facial attractiveness in terms of neoteny (three levels) and WHR (three levels) had been systematically digitally manipulated. Facial attractiveness exerted a significant influence on judgements of attractiveness, youthfulness, fertility and healthiness, whereas WHR only affected likelihood of being pregnant. Results are interpreted in terms of neotenous facial attractiveness providing potential mates with information concerning phenotypic and genetic quality.     

Correlated male preferences for femininity in female faces and voices

Sexually dimorphic physical traits are important for mate choice and mate preference in many species, including humans. Several previous studies have observed that women's preferences for physical cues of male masculinity in different domains (e.g., visual and vocal) are correlated. These correlations demonstrate systematic, rather than arbitrary, variation in women's preferences for masculine men and are consistent with the proposal that sexually dimorphic cues in different domains reflect a common underlying aspect of male quality. Here we present evidence for a similar correlation between men's preferences for different cues of femininity in women; although men generally preferred feminized to masculinized versions of both women's faces and voices, the strength of men's preferences for feminized versions of female faces was positively and significantly correlated with the strength of their preferences for feminized versions of women's voices. In a second study, this correlation occurred when men judged women's attractiveness as long-term, but not short-term, mates, which is consistent with previous research. Collectively, these findings (1) present novel evidence for systematic variation in men's preferences for feminine women, (2) present converging evidence for concordant preferences for sexually dimorphic traits in different domains, and (3) complement findings of correlations between women's facial and vocal femininity.