PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
Cultural standards for physical attractivenss impact apparel sizing
in terms of choices made all along the pipeline from designer to consumer.
Individual reactions to available assortments become components of self-esteem.
Alley, T. R., & Hall, D. L. (1989). Adults' responses to the
physical appearance of children with growth disorders. Child Study Journal,
19(2), 117-131.
ABSTRACT: The study examined adults reactions to some abnormalities of physical
appearance associated with growth disorders. There was a mean tendency for
the normal child to evoke more favorable ratings. Ratings of defense provokingness
were correlated with perceived age and specific physical characteristics
like height and weight, but did not differ overall for normal vs. abnormal
children. Significant correlations were also found between perceived and
actual size and certain physical attractiveness.
KEYWORDS: Body size
Alley, T. R., & Scully, K. M. (1994). The impact of actual and
perceived changes in body weight on women's physical attractiveness. Basic
and Applied Social Psychology, 15(4), 535-542.
ABSTRACT: The study attempted to determine whether small changes in body
weight are likely to alter women's physical attractiveness (PHA), asking
100 undergraduates to select the more attractive photograph of 33 young
women. Lighter targets were not consistently selected as more attractive,
even though 66% of the pairs of photographs differed in perceived PHA. Photographs
did tend to receive higher PHA ratings when the targets were perceived as
weighing less.
KEYWORDS: Physical attractiveness; Body weight
Anonymous. (1980). The politics of body size: Fear of fat.
(Cassette Recording No. AZ0470). Los Angeles: Pacific Tape Library.
ABSTRACT: The medical perspective on body size, the ideology of individualism/self-control,
the weight and diet foods industry, and feelings that fatness arouse are
examined through interviews with overweight and thin people.
KEYWORDS: Body image; Body size; Obesity
Anonymous. (1992). The men's guide to building self-esteem and
dressing for excellence. (Videocassette). Dallas: Terri Ives Presentations.
A discussion on how to fine tune your appearance for that first impression
that will achieve positive responses and credibility.
KEYWORDS: Body image; Self-perception; Clothing and dress
Anonymous. (1995). The myth of the perfect body accepting your
physical self. (Videocassette). Lake Zurich, Illinois: Learning Seed.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Self-acceptance; Body image; Anorexia
Anonymous. (1995). Deciding who is fat, and who is not. The
CQ researcher, 5(14), 326.
ABSTRACT: (None)The Metlife Weight table and the Body Mass Index are popular
measures.
KEYWORDS: Body
Arnold, C. (1984). Too fat, too thin: Do you have a choice.
New York: US Imprint.
ABSTRACT: (None)The problem of weight control, why it is sometimes difficult,
and what can realistically be done about altering body size are the subjects
of this reference guide for teenagers. The importance of a positive and
realistic attitude toward personal body size is emphasized. Guidelines are
provided for determining if one is too fat, too thin, and/or too obsessed
with body size.
KEYWORDS: Body size; Body fat; Weight reduction
Avery, M. W. (1995). What is beautiful. Berkeley: Tricycle
Press.
ABSTRACT: (None)The book encourages children to recognize different forms
of beauty in various individuals and to see what is beautiful about themselves
in the attached mirror.
KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image
Bangs, K. J. (1994). Body weight and physical challenge: Possible
effects on attractive and responsibility attributions. College of William
and Mary.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body weight
Budge, H. S. (1981). Dimensions of physical attractiveness: How
others see us. Dissertation Abstracts International, 41(11), 4281B,
The University of Utah.
ABSTRACT: The study explored the dimensions of physical attractiveness used
by male and female judges when evaluating stimulus persons of both sexes.
The study tested two hypotheses: (a) All body dimensions are equally significant
in contributing to physical attractiveness ratings given to stimulus persons
of both sexes, and (b) sexual and ideal stereotyped body images exist for
each sex. Results support both hypotheses. Based on 44 physical dimensions,
similarities and differences between male and female judges of male and
female stimulus persons are compared.
KEYWORDS: Body cathexis; Physical attractiveness
Cash, T. F. (1990). The psychology of physical appearance: Aesthetics,
attributes, and images. New York: Guilford Press.
ABSTRACT: The book provides an overview of the psychology of physical appearance
- the scientific study of how our physical aesthetics and our bodily attributes,
including our somatic self-perceptions, affect our lives; focuses largely
upon physical attributes that fall within the normal range of appearance;
overall appearance: social images (appearance-cued stereotyping, social
consequences of appearance stereotyping), bodily attributes: social images
and self-images (body weight: obesity, social stigma, and self-stigma, male
pattern hair loss); aesthetic self-management of physical appearance.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Physical appearance; Body image; Self-concept
Channon, S., de-Silva, P., & Hemsley, D. (1990). Body size perception
and preferences in stable weight and improved weight anorexic patients.
The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(4), 403-408.
ABSTRACT: The study compared attitudes to body size in female anorexic (AN)
patients and sex-matched controls using a series of drawing of female figure
in a paired comparison task. Results indicate that while the AN participants
rated themselves as thinner than the controls, both groups were found to
prefer a thinner than average body size. The dissatisfaction degree with
body size was related to the severity of the illness.
KEYWORDS: Body size
Chocron, N. N. (1990). The relationship between self-esteem, satisfaction
with physical appearance, locus-of-control, and career aspirations among
high school and college female students. Dissertation Abstracts International,
51(10), 5071B, California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles.
ABSTRACT: The study attempted to explore the extent to which levels of perceived
satisfaction with physical appearance, mediated by locus of control orientation,
would predict levels of self-esteem, which would, in turn, be reflected
in women's career behaviors. Results did not confirm the entirety of the
predicted relationship between perceived satisfaction with physical appearance,
locus of control, and their combined contribution to the prediction of self-esteem
and career behavior. The study suggests that the social demand for beauty
may be deleterious, and affect women's self-esteem, their career behavior
and choices only to the extent that it is perceived as important to their
sense of self-worth.
KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Locus-of-control; Physical appearance
Clayton, R., Lennon, S. J., & Larkin, J. (1987). Perceived fashionability
of a garment as inferred from the age and body type of the wearer. Home
Economics Research Journal, 15(4), 237-246.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body type
Cohn, L. D., Adler, N. E., Irwin, C. E., & Millstein, S. G. (1987).
Body figure preferences in male and female adolescents. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 96(3), 276-279.
ABSTRACT: The study replicated the procedure used by Fallon and Rozin (1985)
to assess body-size preferences in a sample of 288 female and 283 male adolescents
aged ten to fifteen years. Both sexes revealed a small degree of body figure
dissatisfaction relative to their chosen ideal, but neither sex rated their
own figure as significantly different from the size considered most attractive
to the opposite sex. Both male and female adolescents held distorted perceptions
of opposite-sex preferences.
KEYWORDS: Body size; Adolescence
Cooke, K. (1995). Real gorgeous: The truth about body and beauty.
New York: W.W. Norton.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image; Feminine beauty (aesthetics)
Cunningham, M. R., Roberts, A. R., Barbee, A. P., & Druen, P. B.
(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 and Social Psychology, 68(2), 261-279.
ABSTRACT: The consistency of physical attractiveness ratings across cultural
groups was examined among Asian, Hispanic, Black, and White female students.
The results revealed high correlation in attractiveness ratings that were
equally influenced by many facial features, whereas exposure to Western
media did not influence attractiveness ratings. The physical attractiveness
of Asians were less influenced by some sexual maturity and expressive features.
The facial attractiveness ratings on Black female were highly correlated.
Black and White American men rated the attractiveness of Black female based
on facial photos and body types.
KEYWORDS: Body image; Physical attractiveness; Cross-cultural perception
Dutton, K. R., & Laura, R. S. (1994, September). The perfect
body-conclusion. Joe Weider's Muscle and Fitness, 55, 142.
ABSTRACT: The Greek conception of the ideal human figure has been captured
by 20th-century bodybuilders.
KEYWORDS: Body
Franzoi, S. L., & Herzog, M. E. (1987). Judging physical attractiveness:
What body aspects do we use. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
13(1), 19-33.
ABSTRACT: The study examined what body parts and functions young adults
use in judging physical attractiveness and how these body items are related
to different dimensions of body esteem. Subjects, who were 193 female and
150 male college students, completed a body esteem scale and rated the importance
of body items in determining same- and opposite-sex attractiveness. Results
indicate a good deal of congruence in men's and women's judgments of physical
attractiveness. Aspects of male body esteem dealing with upper body strength
and aspects of female body esteem dealing with weight concern figured prominently
in these judgments. Findings further indicate that men had more positive
attitudes toward their bodies than did women.
KEYWORDS: Body esteem; Physical attractiveness
Freeman, D. (1984). Beautiful bodies. (1 American ed.). New
York: P. bedrick books.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body image; Body type
Gitter, A. G. (1982). Factors affecting perceived attractiveness
of male physiques by American and Israeli students. Journal of Social
Psychology, 118(2), 167-175.
ABSTRACT: The study recruited 75 male and 102 female students from universities
in both the US and Israel to evaluate 32 drawings of male physiques. The
drawings systematically manipulated five somatic and postural dimensions
of appearance (abdomen, shoulder, neck, head, and body shape). Results show
that the presence of a protruding abdomen resulted in the most negative
ratings, while its absence yielded the most positive ratings. Results indicated
that no significant differences were found between subjects from the two
cultures and only minor differences were obtained between ratings of male
and female subjects.
KEYWORDS: Body cathexis; Physical attractiveness
Gordon, M. (1995, January). Thirty ways to reshape your body (no
diets, exercise or surgery). Self, 17, 124.
ABSTRACT: Today's body shapers can resculpt your physique with no sweat.
KEYWORDS: Body
Greider, K. (1995, May 01). The shape of things to come. In these
times, 19, 14.
ABSTRACT: A discussion on how the fashion industry plans to redesign the
female body from top to bottom
KEYWORDS: Body
Houlihan, M. M., & Dickson-Parnell, B. E. (1987). Appearance
changes associated with participation in a behavioral weight control program.
Addictive Behaviors, 12(2), 157-163.
ABSTRACT: The relationships among objectively-measured weight changes, perceived
changes in weight, and perceived changes in attractiveness were investigated
among 16 women (19-38 years) in a behavioral weight control program. Subjects
were weighed and photographed before and after treatment and at a 6-month
follow-up session. Correlational analyses indicated little correspondence
between objectively-measured weight change and perceived weight changes
or between objectively-measured weight change and perceived change in attractiveness.
Perceptions of weight change and perceptions of attractiveness change were
strongly related.
KEYWORDS: Body weight
Irving, L. M. (1987). Mirror images: Effects of the standard of
beauty on women's self and body esteem. Unpublished master's thesis,
University of Kansas.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body esteem
Irving, L. M. (1990). Mirror images: Effects of the standard of beauty
on the self and body-esteem of women exhibiting varying levels of bulimic
symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 230-242.
ABSTRACT: The study used a social comparison theory paradigm to examine
the impact of exposure to slides of thin, average, and oversize models on
the self-evaluations of 162 university women exhibiting various level of
self-reported bulimic symptoms. The results indicate that subjects with
high levels of bulimic symptoms were reported to have a greater amount of
pressure to be thin from media, peers, and family.
KEYWORDS: Body esteem; Pictorial stimuli; Self-esteem; Body image; Body
size; Self-evaluation
Johnston, J. E. (1994). Appearance obsession: Learning to love
the way you look. Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, Inc.
ABSTRACT: Topic discussions include the beauty culture club, when clothes
hide too much, setting the stage: family beauty messages, breaking the cycle:
beyond ourselves, etc.
KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Body image; Self-concept
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.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body shape; Body measurements; Somatotype
Kowner, R., & Ogawa, T. (1993). The contrast effect of physical
attractiveness in Japan. Journal of Psychology, 127(1), 51-64.
ABSTRACT: The study examined contextual effects on the judgment of others'
attractiveness and self-evaluation among 213 female and 124 male Japanese
college students who rated their body satisfaction and self-esteem following
exposure to various attractiveness stimuli. Results showed the existence
of a contrast effect of attractiveness stimuli on the judgment of target
stimuli in men and women. A gender difference was evident in the contextual
effect of physical attractiveness stimuli.
KEYWORDS: Self-esteem; Physical attractiveness; Self-evaluation; Body image;
Body satisfaction
Kummen, M. E. (1985). The effects of body build and clothing on
the perception of female figures. Unpublished master's thesis, University
of Manitoba, Ottawa.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body build
Makkar, J. K., & Strube, M. J. (1995). Black women's self-perceptions
of attractiveness following exposure to White versus Black beauty standards:
The moderating role of racial identity and self-esteem. Journal of Applied
Social Psychology, 25(17), 1547-1566.
ABSTRACT: The study examines racial identity, self-esteem, and Black vs.
White beauty standards as moderators of body image perceptions among 60
Black female undergraduates. Results suggest that explicit beauty standards
engage a comparison process. Black respondents with high self-esteem or
with high African self-consciousness resulted in self-evaluations that are
significantly higher than the attractiveness attributed to White standard
of beauty.
KEYWORDS: Body esteem; Ethnic-identity; Self-esteem; Body image ; Physical-attractiveness
Marantz Henig, R. (1994, August). Your ideal body weight: How to
measure it, how to reach it. Self, 16, 62.
ABSTRACT: Today, doctors realize that there is more to consider than mere
pounds
KEYWORDS: Body; Body weight
Pedersen, E. L., Markee, N. L., & Salusso, C. J. (1994). Gender
differences in characteristics reported to be important features of physical
attractiveness. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79(3, Pt. 2), 1539-1544.
ABSTRACT: The study examined whether characteristics of physical attractiveness,
named by respondents as important, would differ from those attributes previously
examined by researchers. Gender differences related to the identification
of important characteristics of physical attractiveness were also explored.
A total of 230 male and 240 female undergraduates completed a questionnaire
designed to collect descriptive data on physical characteristics related
to each subjects' perceptions of the ideal male and ideal female. Subjects
agreed that body build was the characteristic of greatest importance for
both physically attractive male and female subjects.
KEYWORDS: Body build
Portnoy, E. J. (1993). The impact of body type on perceptions of
attractiveness by older individuals. Communication Reports, 6(2),
101-108.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body type; Elderly
Powell, A., & Kahn, A. S. (1995). Racial differences in women's
desires to be thin. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 17(2),
191-195.
ABSTRACT: The study investigated cultural and racial reasons why White women
are more prone to develop eating disorders than Black women and the female
physique preferences of White vs. Black males. Results suggest that Black
women experience eating disorders less than White women in part because
they experience less perceived social pressure to be thin.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Racial and ethnic differences; Social influences
Safranek, L. A. (1992). Women and weight in popular magazines.
Honors Thesis, University of Nebraska, Omaha.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body mass; Body image; Self-acceptance
Sakuma, S. M. (1990). Fat or fit: Is there a correlation.
Carlisle Barracks: US Army War College.
ABSTRACT: Subjects include: body composition, physical fitness, army weight
control program.
KEYWORDS: Body weight
Sena, R. E. (1992). The development of body weight and shape preferences
and dieting. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University.
ABSTRACT: This study investigated the development of body weight and shape
preferences and dieting, children's concepts of attractiveness, body image,
knowledge of dieting, and self-reported dieting behavior. The study was
comprised of three tasks: silhouette questions and attractiveness judgments,
knowledge of dieting, and self-report of weight loss and weight gain. Results
showed that the majority of children express body dissatisfaction by five
years of age. The nature of body dissatisfaction, however, seems to change
with age. Children reported attempts at weight loss more than weight gain.
Girls were more likely to report attempts at weight loss than were boys.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Dieting
Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness:
Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
65(2), 293-307.
ABSTRACT: The study is attended to examine how WHR influences female attractiveness
and its role in male selection. Evidence is presented showing that body
fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is correlated with
youthfulness, reproductive endocrinologic status, and long-term health risk
in women.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Physical attractiveness; Social Perception
Singh, D. (1993). Body shape and women's attractiveness: The critical
role of waist-to-hip ratio. Human Nature, 4(3), 297-321.
ABSTRACT: The role of body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip
ratio (WHR) on the judgment of women's physical attractiveness was examined
in three studies. These studies investigated whether humans have perceptual
and cognitive mechanisms to utilize the WHR to infer attributes of women's
health, youthfulness, attractiveness, and reproductive capacity. WHR appears
to be correlated with a woman's reproductive endocrinological status and
long term health risk.
KEYWORDS: Body size; Body shape
Singh, D. (1994). Body fat distribution and perception of desirable
female body shape by young black men and women. International Journal
of Eating Disorders, 16(3), 289-294.
ABSTRACT: The relation between body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip
ratio (WHR) and perception of desirable female body shape was investigated
in 87 undergraduate Black men and women (aged 18-23 yrs). Subjects judged
attractiveness, various personal qualities, and desirability for long-term
relationships of 12 line drawings of female figures that represented 3 body
weight categories and 4 levels of WHRs. Findings do not support the notion
that Black young men and women find overweight female figures as desirable
and attractive.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image; Physical attractiveness; Body size; Body
shape
Singh, D. (1994). Waist-to-hip ratio and judgment of attractiveness
and healthiness of female figures by male and female physicians. International
Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders: Journal of The International
Association for The Study of Obesity, 18(11), 731-737.
ABSTRACT: This study investigated whether physicians would be influenced
by body size or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in assessing health, youthfulness,
and reproductive capability of a woman.
KEYWORDS: Body measurement; Body fat; Body image; Body size
Singh, D. (1994). Is thin really beautiful and good: Relationship
between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and female attractiveness. Personality
and Individual Differences, 16(1), 123-132.
ABSTRACT: Two studies involving a total of 188 subjects (aged 18-22 yrs)
were conducted to determine the relative role played by overall body fat
and body fat distribution as indicated by the measure of WHR in determining
female perceived attractiveness and associated personality attributes. Contrary
to popular belief, thin female figures were neither perceived as most attractive
or assigned many desirable personality traits, except youthfulness. The
measure of body fat distribution, the WHR, was found to be the critical
variable associated with attractiveness. Normal weight female figures with
low WHR were judged to be the most attractive and were assigned many desirable
qualities.
KEYWORDS: Body size
Singh, D. (1994). Ideal female body shape: Role of body weight and
waist-to-hip ratio. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16(3),
283-288.
ABSTRACT: The study investigated female body fat distribution as measured
by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), overall body size, perceived attractiveness,
youthfulness, health, and need to lose weight. Drawings showing thin females
with high WHRs and heavier females with low WHRs were presented to 147 college-age
women with low and high scores on the Restrained Eating Scale and to 64
men who ranked figures for various attributes. Results indicate that female
attractiveness and ideal female shape may be more influenced by WHR than
overall body size.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; body image; Perceived attractiveness & youthfulness;
Body shape
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.
ABSTRACT: Two studies were conducted to examine the role of male body shape
(as defined by waist-to-hip ratio/WHR) in female mate choice. In study 1,
college-age women judged normal-weight male figures with WHR in the typical
male range as most attractive, healthy, and possessing many positive personal
qualities. In study 2, 18-69 year old women rated normal-weight male figures
with differing WHRs and purported income for casual (having coffee) to most-committed
(marriage) relationships.
KEYWORDS: Body shape; Waist-to-hip ratio
Spitzack, C. J. (1985). The subjects of weight consciousness:
A discursive analysis of experiential unity. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
ABSTRACT: The study explored the issue of weight consciousness for women
in American culture by analyzing the speech of women as they talk about
their experience of cultural weight standards. This study attempts to show
that the notion of fulfillment via weight loss is problematic for women,
not because they lack will power, but because their bodily experience does
not fit comfortably in the boundaries of desirable identities and self-definitions
offered by the weight loss. This study offers a description of female experience
which unveils the tactics which subjugate and limit female possibilities
under the guise of liberation and freedom.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image
Trollope, A., & Caton, S. G. T. (1995). Mr. Atlas speaks: Fashion
ideals for men. Canadian Home Economics Journal, 45(1), 11-14.
ABSTRACT: This paper describes the concepts of body image, body cathexis,
and somatotype, and defines the ideal body type for North American men as
tall, muscular and mesomorphic.
KEYWORDS: Body type; Men; Body image; Somatotype; Self esteem; Fashion
Tucker, L. A. (1984). Physical attractiveness, somatotype, and the
male personality: A dynamic interactional perspective. Journal of Clinical
Psychology, 40(5), 1226-1234.
ABSTRACT: The study investigated whether measures of personality considered
compositely and individually differ significantly among groups differentiated
according to self-perceived somatotype (SPS). The Body Cathexis Scale, Eysenck
Personality Inventory, and Tennessee Self-Concept Scale were employed to
assess personality in 285 male undergraduates, and the indices of somatotype
were measured using a perceived somatotype scale. Results indicate that
the male personality is partly a function of the body build perceived as
self, the image viewed as ideal, and whether a discrepancy exists between
the figures perceived as self and ideal.
KEYWORDS: Body cathexis; Somatotype; Physical attractiveness
Villarosa, L. (1994, June). Ageless body. Essence, 25, 82.
ABSTRACT: Advice on how to keep time from taking a toll on your body
KEYWORDS: Body
Worsley, A. (1981). In the eye of the beholder: Social and personal
characteristics of teenagers and their impressions of themselves and fat
and slim people. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 54(3), 231-242.
ABSTRACT: A total of 59 female and 79 male secondary students were selected
to complete the Eysenck Personality Inventory and rated 6 stimulus figures
(self, ideal self, fat, young man/woman, slim young man/woman) on 28 personal
rating scales. Results show that subjects' sex, ethnicity, and perceived
weight status were related to perceptions of the stimulus figures. Findings
indicate that obesity has relevance for social and psychological processes
as well as for medical issues.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Body image
Wyse, C. S. (1976). Person perception as a function of body weight.
Unpublished master's thesis, Austin Peay State University.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Obesity
Young, S. M. (1992). Sex-role ideology and body esteem among women.
Unpublished master's thesis, Ball State University.
ABSTRACT: (None)
KEYWORDS: Body satisfaction; Self-esteem; Sex-role