The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness
We used attractiveness judgements as a proxy to visualize the ideal female and male body for male and female participants and investigated how individual differences in the internalization of cultural ideals influence these representations. In the first of two studies, male and female participants j...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.980277/full |
| _version_ | 1798030994736939008 |
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| author | Bethany J. Ridley Piers L. Cornelissen Nadia Maalin Sophie Mohamed Robin S. S. Kramer Kristofor McCarty Martin J. Tovée |
| author_facet | Bethany J. Ridley Piers L. Cornelissen Nadia Maalin Sophie Mohamed Robin S. S. Kramer Kristofor McCarty Martin J. Tovée |
| author_sort | Bethany J. Ridley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We used attractiveness judgements as a proxy to visualize the ideal female and male body for male and female participants and investigated how individual differences in the internalization of cultural ideals influence these representations. In the first of two studies, male and female participants judged the attractiveness of 242 male and female computer-generated bodies which varied independently in muscle and adipose. This allowed us to map changes in attractiveness across the complete body composition space, revealing single peaks for the attractiveness of both men and women. In the second study, we asked our participants to choose the most attractive male and female bodies in a method of adjustment task in which they could independently vary muscle and adipose to create the most attractive body. We asked whether individual differences in internalization of cultural ideals, drive for muscularity, eating disorder symptomatology and depressive symptoms could systematically shift the location of peak attractiveness in body composition space. We found a clear preference by both genders for a male body with high muscle and low adipose, and a toned, low adipose female body. The degree of internalization of cultural ideals predicted large individual differences in the composition of the most attractive bodies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:50:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-422a31f1b8c142e8b620803a00489d87 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:50:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-422a31f1b8c142e8b620803a00489d872022-12-22T04:06:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-10-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.980277980277The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractivenessBethany J. Ridley0Piers L. Cornelissen1Nadia Maalin2Sophie Mohamed3Robin S. S. Kramer4Kristofor McCarty5Martin J. Tovée6Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United KingdomAberdeen Royal Infirmary, NHS Grampian, Aberdeen, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomWe used attractiveness judgements as a proxy to visualize the ideal female and male body for male and female participants and investigated how individual differences in the internalization of cultural ideals influence these representations. In the first of two studies, male and female participants judged the attractiveness of 242 male and female computer-generated bodies which varied independently in muscle and adipose. This allowed us to map changes in attractiveness across the complete body composition space, revealing single peaks for the attractiveness of both men and women. In the second study, we asked our participants to choose the most attractive male and female bodies in a method of adjustment task in which they could independently vary muscle and adipose to create the most attractive body. We asked whether individual differences in internalization of cultural ideals, drive for muscularity, eating disorder symptomatology and depressive symptoms could systematically shift the location of peak attractiveness in body composition space. We found a clear preference by both genders for a male body with high muscle and low adipose, and a toned, low adipose female body. The degree of internalization of cultural ideals predicted large individual differences in the composition of the most attractive bodies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.980277/fullbody idealsbody compositionmuscularityadiposityattractivenessbody fat |
| spellingShingle | Bethany J. Ridley Piers L. Cornelissen Nadia Maalin Sophie Mohamed Robin S. S. Kramer Kristofor McCarty Martin J. Tovée The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness Frontiers in Psychology body ideals body composition muscularity adiposity attractiveness body fat |
| title | The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness |
| title_full | The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness |
| title_fullStr | The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness |
| title_full_unstemmed | The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness |
| title_short | The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness |
| title_sort | degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness |
| topic | body ideals body composition muscularity adiposity attractiveness body fat |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.980277/full |
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