Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed
Previous research documents that men and women can accurately judge male physical strength from gait, but also that the sexes differ in attractiveness judgments of strong and weak male walkers. Women’s (but not men’s) attractiveness assessments of strong male walkers are higher than for weak male wa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2017-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01427/full |
| _version_ | 1818345217254752256 |
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| author | Bernhard Fink Bernhard Fink Marieke Wübker Julia Ostner Julia Ostner Julia Ostner Marina L. Butovskaya Marina L. Butovskaya Anna Mezentseva José Antonio Muñoz-Reyes Yael Sela Todd K. Shackelford |
| author_facet | Bernhard Fink Bernhard Fink Marieke Wübker Julia Ostner Julia Ostner Julia Ostner Marina L. Butovskaya Marina L. Butovskaya Anna Mezentseva José Antonio Muñoz-Reyes Yael Sela Todd K. Shackelford |
| author_sort | Bernhard Fink |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous research documents that men and women can accurately judge male physical strength from gait, but also that the sexes differ in attractiveness judgments of strong and weak male walkers. Women’s (but not men’s) attractiveness assessments of strong male walkers are higher than for weak male walkers. Here, we extend this research to assessments of strong and weak male walkers in Chile, Germany, and Russia. Men and women judged videos of virtual characters, animated with the walk movements of motion-captured men, on strength and attractiveness. In two countries (Germany and Russia), these videos were additionally presented at 70% (slower) and 130% (faster) of their original speed. Stronger walkers were judged to be stronger and more attractive than weak walkers, and this effect was independent of country (but not sex). Women tended to provide higher attractiveness judgments to strong walkers, and men tended to provide higher attractiveness judgments to weak walkers. In addition, German and Russian participants rated strong walkers most attractive at slow and fast speed. Thus, across countries men and women can assess male strength from gait, although they tended to differ in attractiveness assessments of strong and weak male walkers. Attractiveness assessments of male gait may be influenced by society-specific emphasis on male physical strength. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T16:58:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-853e5f8a99b642b085bb054bece09654 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T16:58:52Z |
| publishDate | 2017-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-853e5f8a99b642b085bb054bece096542022-12-21T23:37:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782017-08-01810.3389/fpsyg.2017.01427266451Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and SpeedBernhard Fink0Bernhard Fink1Marieke Wübker2Julia Ostner3Julia Ostner4Julia Ostner5Marina L. Butovskaya6Marina L. Butovskaya7Anna Mezentseva8José Antonio Muñoz-Reyes9Yael Sela10Todd K. Shackelford11Institute of Psychology, University of GöttingenGöttingen, GermanyLeibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingen, GermanyDepartment of Behavioral Ecology, University of GöttingenGöttingen, GermanyLeibniz ScienceCampus Primate CognitionGöttingen, GermanyDepartment of Behavioral Ecology, University of GöttingenGöttingen, GermanyResearch Group Social Evolution in Primates, German Primate CenterGöttingen, GermanySocial Anthropology Research and Education Center, Russian State University for the HumanitiesMoscow, RussiaInstitute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of SciencesMoscow, RussiaSocial Anthropology Research and Education Center, Russian State University for the HumanitiesMoscow, RussiaCentro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa AnchaValparaíso, ChileDepartment of Psychology, Oakland University, RochesterMI, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Oakland University, RochesterMI, United StatesPrevious research documents that men and women can accurately judge male physical strength from gait, but also that the sexes differ in attractiveness judgments of strong and weak male walkers. Women’s (but not men’s) attractiveness assessments of strong male walkers are higher than for weak male walkers. Here, we extend this research to assessments of strong and weak male walkers in Chile, Germany, and Russia. Men and women judged videos of virtual characters, animated with the walk movements of motion-captured men, on strength and attractiveness. In two countries (Germany and Russia), these videos were additionally presented at 70% (slower) and 130% (faster) of their original speed. Stronger walkers were judged to be stronger and more attractive than weak walkers, and this effect was independent of country (but not sex). Women tended to provide higher attractiveness judgments to strong walkers, and men tended to provide higher attractiveness judgments to weak walkers. In addition, German and Russian participants rated strong walkers most attractive at slow and fast speed. Thus, across countries men and women can assess male strength from gait, although they tended to differ in attractiveness assessments of strong and weak male walkers. Attractiveness assessments of male gait may be influenced by society-specific emphasis on male physical strength.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01427/fullphysical strengthhandgripgaitattractivenessmale |
| spellingShingle | Bernhard Fink Bernhard Fink Marieke Wübker Julia Ostner Julia Ostner Julia Ostner Marina L. Butovskaya Marina L. Butovskaya Anna Mezentseva José Antonio Muñoz-Reyes Yael Sela Todd K. Shackelford Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed Frontiers in Psychology physical strength handgrip gait attractiveness male |
| title | Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed |
| title_full | Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed |
| title_fullStr | Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed |
| title_short | Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed |
| title_sort | cross cultural investigation of male gait perception in relation to physical strength and speed |
| topic | physical strength handgrip gait attractiveness male |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01427/full |
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