Physical attractiveness

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Adonis, a Roman God, restored and completed by François Duquesnoy, formerly in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin (Louvre Museum).
Venus de Milo on display at the Louvre

Physical attractiveness is the perception of the physical traits of an individual human person as pleasing or beautiful. It can include various implications, such as sexual attractiveness and physique. Judgment of attractiveness of physical traits is (1) partly universal to all human cultures, (2) partly dependent on culture and society, and (3) partly a matter of individual subjective preference.

Despite the existence of universally agreed upon signs of beauty in both genders, both heterosexual and homosexual men tend to place significantly higher value on physical appearance in a partner than women do.[1] This can be explained by evolutionary psychology as a consequence of ancestral humans who selected partners based on secondary sexual characteristics, as well as general indicators of fitness (for example, symmetrical features) enjoying greater reproductive success as a result of higher fertility in those partners, although a male's ability to provide resources for offspring was probably signalled less by physical features.[1] There appear to be universal standards regarding attractiveness, such that raters agree who is and isn't attractive both within and across cultures and ethnicity.[2]

Physical attractiveness can have a significant effect on how people are judged, in terms of employment or social opportunities, friendship, sexual behavior, and marriage.[3] In many cases, humans attribute positive characteristics, such as intelligence and honesty, to attractive people without consciously realizing it.[4] Physical attractiveness is distinct from sexual attraction; humans often regard children and young individuals—both human and animal—as being highly attractive for various reasons, but without sexual attraction.

Contents

[edit] Determinants of male physical attractiveness

[edit] Build

Research has found that male physiques with slim waists are rated as being attractive, particularly by females.[5] Participants also identified physiques with relatively broad shoulders as being attractive. In addition, chest muscularity resulted in slightly higher attractiveness ratings.[5] Preference can also emerge for muscularity, though research has shown that Western men have a tendency to overestimate the amount of muscle considered ideal by women by as much as thirty pounds, whereas Asian men collectively do not exhibit such a misconception.[6] A normal level of the hormone testosterone is a possible indicator of good sexual health. In the absence of normal testosterone levels, a man may exhibit physical symptoms of less muscle development and physical height reduction.

A near-universal sexually attractive feature of a man is a v-shaped torso: a relatively narrow waist offset with broad shoulders. While some cultures prefer their males huskier and others leaner, the rule of a v-shaped torso generally holds true. Consistently, men with a waist-to-shoulder ratio of 0.75 or lower are viewed as considerably more attractive than men with more even waists and shoulders.[7]

[edit] Height

Females' sexual attraction towards a male can be partly determined by the height of the man.[8] Women seem more receptive to an erect posture than men, though both prefer it as an element of beauty; this fact appears correlated to the preference for males who demonstrate confidence, physical strength, and a powerful bearing. This preference can be explained by evolutionary psychology as the fact that ancestral women who were attracted to tall, physically powerful men benefited from better protection and therefore gained evolutionary fitness.[9] Additionally, height in men is associated with status in many cultures, which is beneficial to women romantically involved with them. This preference was passed on genetically. As a corollary, short men are viewed as unattractive for both casual and intended long-term relationships. Studies of women's personal ads support the existence of this preference; in one study of ads requesting height in a mate, 80 percent requested a height of 6 feet or taller. However, this percentage only was of ads specifying height in the first place, and therefore possibly self-selected and/or biased by a third factor such as female height.[9]

Recent research has found that women are statistically more likely to be attracted to men of average height when looking for long-term commitment, while the opposite is true when a short-term relationship is intended.[10] Cosmopolitan Magazine published an article stating that women are most attracted to men who are 1.1 times their own height. In addition, it was found that women have these different preferences for height depending on the phase of their menstrual cycle at the time. While women usually desire men that are at least the same height as themselves or taller, other factors also determine male attractiveness.[10]

[edit] Variability in preferences

It has been shown that women prefer more masculine men during the fertile period of the menstrual cycle and more feminine men during other parts of the cycle.[11] This distinction supports the sexy son hypothesis, which posits that it is evolutionarily advantageous for women to select potential fathers who are traditionally masculine rather than the best caregivers.[12] Masculine facial features are characterized by a prominent chin, strong brow, a strong nose, a high forehead[citation needed] and a prominent lower jaw whereas feminine features are less pronounced.

[edit] Determinants of female physical attractiveness

The beauty of Maud Gonne (pictured here ca. 1900) was enough to drive the poet William Butler Yeats half mad.

Features such as a symmetrical face, full lips, and low waist-hip ratio are commonly considered physically attractive when part of a female, because they are thought to indicate physical health and high fertility to a potential mate. The determinants of female physical attractiveness include those aspects that display health and fitness for reproduction and sustenance. These include correlates of fertility such as youth,[13] waist-hip ratio,[14] mid upper arm circumference,[15] body mass proportion[16] and facial symmetry.[17][18]

[edit] Signals of youth

Because female fecundity typically declines after the late twenties, youth is an important aspect of physical attractiveness[19]. One study across 37 cultures showed men desire, on average, a woman 2.5 years younger than themselves for a wife, with men in Nigeria and Zambia at the far extreme, desiring their wives to be 6.5 to 7.5 years younger. As men age, they also desire a larger age gap from their mates.[13] The reasons for this preference are currently debated.

This preference for youth has also led to a preference of neotenic and youthful-appearing features. Full lips, clear, smooth skin, clear eyes, lustrous hair, and good muscle tone are all viewed as attractive in women.[13]

[edit] Breast size

Large breasts have also been shown to be attractive to men in Western societies, with the explanation that larger breasts will more explicitly show the aging process, hence an "honest" indicator of fertility.[20]


[edit] Proportion of body mass to body structure

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is another important universal determinant to the perception of beauty.[16] The BMI refers to the proportion of the body mass to the body structure. However, the optimal body proportion is interpreted differently in various cultures. The Western ideal considers a slim and slender body mass as optimal while many historic cultures consider an embonpoint or plump body-mass as appealing.[21][22] Men don't seem to have evolved to hold a particular build as more attractive, but rather to be drawn to whichever build associates with social status.[22]

However, it should be noted that, in the United States, women overestimate men's preferences for thinness in a mate. In one study, American women were asked to choose what their ideal build was and what they thought the build most attractive to men was. Women chose slimmer than average figures for both choices, though when American men were independently asked to choose the female build most attractive to them, they (the men) chose figures of average build, indicating that women may be misled as to how thin men prefer women to be.[22]

The attraction for a proportionate body also influences an appeal for erect posture.[23]

[edit] Waist-hip ratio

Main article: waist-hip ratio

Notwithstanding wide cultural differences in preferences for female build, scientists have discovered that the waist-hip ratio (WHR) of any build is very strongly correlated to attractiveness across all cultures.[22] Women with a 0.7 WHR (waist circumference that is 70% of the hip circumference) are usually rated as more attractive by men from European cultures. Such diverse beauty icons as Jessica Alba[24], Marilyn Monroe, Salma Hayek, Sophia Loren, and the Venus de Milo all have ratios around 0.7.[25] In other cultures, preferences vary,[26] ranging from 0.6 in China,[27] to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa,[28][29][30] and divergent preferences based on ethnicity, rather than nationality, have also been noted.[31][32]

[edit] Height

Most males exhibit a preference for females of shorter physical stature than themselves.[33][34] Women .7 to 1.7 standard deviations below the mean in height are the most reproductively successful. One possible explanation is that shorter females may reach sexual maturity earlier than their taller counterparts. An alternative explanation is that since most men demonstrate a preference for women shorter than themselves, being shorter allows a woman access to a larger potential dating pool.[33]

[edit] Prototypicality as beauty

See also: Koinophilia
See also: Averageness

Besides biology and culture, there are other factors determining physical attractiveness. The more common features a face bears, the more highly it is usually judged to be attractive. This may be a result of the familiarity of common facial features, an example of the mere exposure effect. When many faces are combined into a composite image (through computer morphing), people usually view the resulting image as more familiar, attractive, and beautiful than the faces that were combined to make the composite.[35] One interpretation is that this shows an inherent human preference for prototypicality. That is, the resultant face emerges with the salient features shared by most faces, and hence becomes the prototype. The prototypical face and features is therefore perceived as symmetrical and familiar. This may reveal an "underlying preference for the familiar and safe over the unfamiliar and potentially dangerous."[17] However, critics of this interpretation point out that compositing computer images also has the effect of removing skin blemishes such as scars, and generally softens sharp facial features.

Classical conceptions of beauty are essentially a celebration of this "prototypicality." This may show the importance of prototypicality in the judgment of beauty, and also explain the emergence of similarity of the perception of attractiveness within a community or society, which shares a gene pool.

[edit] Skin tone

 The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (November 2008)

In his foreword to Peter Frost's 2005 Fair Women, Dark Men, U. of Washington sociologist Pierre L. van den Berghe summarizes:

"Although virtually all cultures express a marked preference for fair female skin, even those with little or no exposure to European imperialism, and even those whose members are heavily pigmented, many are indifferent to male pigmentation or even prefer men to be darker."[36] A consequence of this is that, since higher-ranking men get to marry the more attractive women, the upper classes of a society generally tend to develop a lighter complexion than the lower classes by sexual selection (see also Fisherian runaway).[37]

In eastern parts of Asia, including Southeast Asia, this preference for lighter skin remains prevalent. In East Asia in particular, fair skin is associated with youth, since skin darkens with exposure to the sun and aging. This conflation of youth and beauty is not exclusive to East Asia, and can be linked to the phenomenon of neoteny. Thus, sales of skin whitening cosmetic products are popular in East Asia. A preference for fair skin however is not a recent development, and in China, for example, can be traced back to ancient drawings depicting women and goddesses with fair skin tones.

[edit] Social effects of attractiveness

When a person is seen as attractive or unattractive, assumptions are brought into play.

Across cultures, what is beautiful is assumed to be good. Attractive people are assumed to be more extroverted, popular, and happy. However, this may be due to self-fulfilling prophecy; from a young age, attractive people receive more attention that helps them develop these characteristics.[38][39]

Physical attractiveness can have various effects. A survey conducted by London Guildhall University of 11,000 people showed that those who subjectively describe themselves as physically attractive earn more income than others who would describe themselves as less attractive.[40] People who described themselves as less attractive earned, on average, 13% less than those who described themselves as more attractive, while the penalty for being overweight was around 5%. It is important to note that other factors such as self-confidence may explain or influence these findings as they are based on self-reported attractiveness as opposed to any sort of objective criteria; however, as one's self-confidence and self-esteem are largely learned from how one is regarded by his/her peers while maturing, even these considerations would suggest a significant role for physical appearance. One reason that unattractive people might not have friends is that they have low self-esteem.

Some have proposed that discrimination against or prejudice towards others based on their appearance should be referred to as Lookism[citation needed].

Many have asserted that certain advantages tend to come to those who are perceived as being more attractive, including the ability to get better jobs and promotions; receiving better treatment from authorities and the legal system; having more choices in romantic partners and, therefore, more power in relationships; and marrying into families with more money.[41][38][39]

Both men and women use physical attractiveness as a measure of how 'good' another person is. However, in terms of sexual behavior, some studies suggest little difference between men and women. Symmetrical men and women have a tendency to begin to have sexual intercourse earlier, to have more sexual partners, to engage in a wider variety of sexual activities, and to have more one-night stands. They are also prone to infidelity and are more likely to have open relationships.[42] Symmetrical men and women are also best suited for their environment and have the most reproductive success. Therefore, their physical characteristics are most likely to be inherited by future generations.[43][44][45]

[edit] See also

Look up physique, hotness, handsomeness, belle, beau in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Buss, David (2003) [1994] (hardcover). The Evolution of Desire (second ed.). New York: Basic Books. pp. 57, 58, 60–63. 
  2. ^ Maxims or Myths of Beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review," J.H. Langlois, L. Kalakanis, A.J. Rubenstein, A. Larson, M. Hallam, & M. Smoot, Psychological Bulletin, 2000, 126, 390-423.
  3. ^ Lorenz, Kate. (2005). "Do Pretty People Earn More?" www.CNN.com.
  4. ^ Dion, K., Berscheid, E., Walster, E. (1972). "What is beautiful is good." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24(3), 285-290.
  5. ^ a b Physical attractiveness: The influence of selected torso parameters" in Archives of Sexual Behavior Volume 10, No 1 1981.
  6. ^ ParaPundit: Erroneous Views Of Western Men On Female Ideals For Male Bodies?
  7. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article855409.ece Women seduced by ‘V man’ with a matted chest from www.timesonline.com.
  8. ^ Pierce C. A. 1996; Cunningham, M.R. 1990; Pawlowski B, Dunbar RI, Lipowicz A 2000.
  9. ^ a b Buss, David (2003) [1994] (hardcover). The Evolution of Desire (second ed.). New York: Basic Books. pp. 38–40. 
  10. ^ a b Sohn, E. Health, Nov2005, Vol. 19 Issue 9.
  11. ^ "Women's choice of men goes in cycles". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/376321.stm. Retrieved on 30 November 2006. 
  12. ^ University of Michigan.
  13. ^ a b c Buss, David (2003) [1994] (hardcover). The Evolution of Desire (second ed.). New York: Basic Books. pp. 51–54. 
  14. ^ Singh, D 1993
  15. ^ Girl power; Human evolution.(Mothers, malnutrition and daughters) Economist (US), The, May, 22, 2003.
  16. ^ a b Tovee MJ, Reinhardt S, Emery JL, Cornelissen PL. 1998
  17. ^ a b Berscheid and Reis, 1998
  18. ^ Fink, B. & Penton-Voak, I.S. (2002)
  19. ^ Sex Differences: Developmental and Evolutionary Strategies by Linda Mealey and Mother Nature by Sarah Hrdy.
  20. ^ http://www.uoregon.edu/~sugiyama/docs/LSsugiyama-buss_c09CEforrequests.pdf Lawrence S. Sugiyama
  21. ^ Cunningham, M.R., Roberts, A.R., Barbee, A.P., Druen, P.B., & Wu, C.H. 1995
  22. ^ a b c d Buss, David (2003) [1994] (hardcover). The Evolution of Desire (second ed.). New York: Basic Books. pp. 55,56. 
  23. ^ Furnham, Adrian, Gianna Caroline Fischer, Lauren Tanner, Melanie Dias, and Alastair McClelland 1998.
  24. ^ "Study: Alba has mathematically best wiggle". United Press International, Inc. http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/08/25/study_alba_has_mathematically_best_wiggle/1665/. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  25. ^ BMI and Waist-hip Ratio: The Magic Number for Health and Beauty
  26. ^ Fisher, M.L.; Voracek M. (June 2006). "The shape of beauty: determinants of female physical attractiveness". J Cosmet Dermatol 5 (2): 190–4. doi:10.1111/j.1473-2165.2006.00249.x. PMID 17173598. 
  27. ^ Dixson, B.J.; Dixson A.F., Li B., Anderson M.J. (January 2007). "Studies of human physique and sexual attractiveness: sexual preferences of men and women in China". Am J Hum Biol 19 (1): 88–95. doi:10.1002/ajhb.20584. PMID 17160976. 
  28. ^ Marlowe, F.; Wetsman, A. (2001). "Preferred waist-to-hip ratio and ecology" (PDF). Personality and Individual Differences 30 (3): 481–489. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00039-8. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7Ehbe-lab/acrobatfiles/preferred%20waist.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  29. ^ Marlowe, F.W.; Apicella, C.L. and Reed, D. (2005). "Men’s Preferences for Women’s Profile Waist-Hip-Ratio in Two Societies" (PDF). Evolution and Human Behavior 26: 458–468. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.07.005. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hbe-lab/acrobatfiles/profilewhr.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  30. ^ Dixson, B.J.; Dixson A.F., Morgan B., Anderson M.J. (June 2007). "Human physique and sexual attractiveness: sexual preferences of men and women in Bakossiland, Cameroon". Arch Sex Behav 36 (3): 369–75. doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9093-8. PMID 17136587. 
  31. ^ Freedman, R.E.; Carter M.M., Sbrocco T., Gray JJ. (August 2007). "Do men hold African-American and Caucasian women to different standards of beauty?". Eat Behav 8 (3): 319–33. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2006.11.008. PMID 17606230. 
  32. ^ Freedman, R.E.; Carter M.M., Sbrocco T., Gray J.J. (July 2004). "Ethnic differences in preferences for female weight and waist-to-hip ratio: a comparison of African-American and White American college and community samples". Eat Behav. 5 (3): 191–8. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2004.01.002. PMID 15135331. 
  33. ^ a b BBC News: “Tall men ‘top husband stakes’”
  34. ^ http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/daniel.nettle/procroysoc.pdf
  35. ^ Buss, David (2003) [1994] (hardcover). The Evolution of Desire (second ed.). New York: Basic Books. pp. 54,55. 
  36. ^ see Steve Sailer, Blondes Have Deeper Roots (2005)
  37. ^ Peter Frost "Fair Women, Dark Men: The Forgotten Roots of Color Prejudice," (2005).
  38. ^ a b Cash, T.F; Gillen, B; & Burns, D.S; 1977
  39. ^ a b Clark, M.S; & Mills, J. (1979)
  40. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/Careers/07/08/looks/ Do Pretty People Earn More from cnn.com
  41. ^ De Santis, A; and Kayson, W. A; 1999
  42. ^ Etcoff pp.50-53,185-187
  43. ^ Rhodes, Gillian; Zebrowitz, Leslie, A. (2002). Facial Attractiveness - Evolutionary, Cognitive, and Social Perspectives. Ablex. ISBN 1567506364. 
  44. ^ Edler R. J. "Background Considerations to Facial Aesthetics", (British) Journal of Orthodontics, Vol. 28, No. 2, June 2001, pp. 159-168.
  45. ^ Zaidel D. W., Aarde S. M., and Baig, K. "Appearance of symmetry, beauty, and health in human faces", Brain and Cognition 57(3):(2005) pp. 261-263.

[edit] References and bibliography

  • Barber, N. (1995). The evolutionary psychology of physical attractiveness: Sexual selection and human morphology. Ethology and Sociobiology, 16, 395-424.
  • Buss, D. M. (1985). Human mate selection. American Scientist, 73, 47-51.
  • Buss, D. M. (1992). Do women have evolved preferences for men with resources? Ethology and Sociobiology, 12, 401-408.
  • Buss, David (2003) [1994] (hardcover). The Evolution of Desire (second ed.). New York: Basic Books. 
  • Buss, D. M., & Barnes, M. (1986). Preferences in human mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 559-570.
  • Cash, T.F; Gillen, B; & Burns, D.S; (1977) "Sexism and 'beautyism' in personnel consultant decision making." Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 301-310.
  • Clark, M.S; & Mills, J. (1979) "Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 12-24.
  • Cunningham, M.R. (1990) "What do women want." Journal of personality & social psychology, 59, 61-72.
  • Cunningham, M.R.; Roberts, A.R.; Barbee, A. P.; Duren P.B.; & Wu, C.H.; (1995) "Their ideas of beauty are, on the whole, the same as ours: Consistency and Variability in the cross cultural perception of female physical attractiveness". Journal of Personality & social psychology, 68, 261 - 279.
  • De Santis, A.; and Kayson, W. A.; (1999) "Defendants charactersitics of attractiveness, race, & sex and sentencing decisions." Psychological reports, 81. 679 - 683.
  • Ellen Berscheid and Harry T. Reis. "Attraction and Close Relationships". In Daniel T. Gilbert, Susan T. Fiske, and Gardner Lindzey, editors, Handbook of Social Psychology, pages 193-281. New York: McGrawHill, 1998.
  • Etcoff, Nancy (1996) Survival of the Prettiest:the science of beauty, New York , Anchor Books ISBN 0385-47942-5
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  • Fisher, Helen. (2004) Why We Love : The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love, Henry Holt and Co.,
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  • Grammer, K., Fink, B., Møller, A.P. & Thornhill, R. (2003). Darwinian Aesthetics: Sexual Selection and the Biology of Beauty. Biological Reviews, 78(3), 385-407.
  • Harper, B. "Beauty, Statute and the Labour Market: A British Cohort Study", Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 62, December 2000, pp773-802. Press release and summary
  • Hughes, S.M., & Gallup, G.G. (2003). Sex differences in morphological predictors of sexual behavior. Shoulder to hip and waist to hip ratios. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24(3), 173-178.
  • Kasser, T. and Sharma, Y. S. (1999). Reproductive freedom, educational equality, and females' preference for resource acquisition characteristics in mates. Psychological Science, 10: 374-377.
  • Katch, F. I. (1993). The body profile analysis system (BPAS) to estimate ideal body size and shape: Application to ballet dancers and gymnasts. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, 71, 69-83.
  • Pawlowski B, Dunbar RI, Lipowicz A (2000) Evolutionary fitness: tall men have more reproductive success;Nature,13 Jan 2000, n. 403 (6766):156
  • Pierce C. A. (1996) Body Height and Romantic Attraction: A Meta-Analytic Test of the Male-Taller Norm, Social Behavior and Personality,24 (2), 143-150
  • Rikowski, A., & Grammer, K. (1999). Human body odour, symmetry and attractiveness Proceedings. of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 266, 869-874.
  • Singh, D. (1995). Female judgment of male attractiveness and desirability for relationships: Role of waist-to-hip ratio and financial status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(6), 1089-1101.
  • Singh, D; (1993) "Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: role of waist - to - hip ratio". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293 - 307
  • Tovee MJ, Reinhardt S, Emery JL, Cornelissen PL. (1998) Optimum body-mass index and maximum sexual attractiveness. Lancet; 352(9127):548
  • Waynforth, D. (2001) Mate Choice Trade-offs and Women's Preference for Physically Attractive Men. Human Nature 12:207-219.

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