Journal article
Eye-tracking women's preferences for men's somatotypes
Evolution and Human Behavior, Vol.35(2), pp.73-79
2014
Abstract
Judging physical attractiveness involves sight, touch, sound and smells. Where visual judgments are concerned, attentional processes may have evolved to prioritize sex-typical traits that reflect cues signaling direct or indirect (i.e. genetic) benefits. Behavioral techniques that measure response times or eye movements provide a powerful test of this assumption by directly assessing how attractiveness influences the deployment of attention. We used eye-tracking to characterize women’s visual attention to men’s back-posed bodies, which varied in overall fat and muscle distribution, while they judged the potential of each model for a short- or long-term relationship. We hypothesized that when judging male bodily attractiveness women would focus more on the upper body musculature of all somatotypes, as it is a signal of metabolic health, immunocompetence and underlying endocrine function. Results showed that mesomorphs (muscular men) received the highest attractiveness ratings, followed by ectomorphs (lean men) and endomorphs (heavily-set men). For eye movements, attention was evenly distributed to the upper and lower back of both ectomorphs and mesomorphs. In contrast, for endomorphs the lower back, including the waist, captured more attention over the viewing period. These patterns in visual attention were evident in the first second of viewing, suggesting that body composition is identified early in viewing and guides attention to body regions that provide salient biological information during judgments of men’s bodily attractiveness.
Details
- Title
- Eye-tracking women's preferences for men's somatotypes
- Authors
- Barnaby J W Dixson (Author) - UNSW AustraliaGina M Grimshaw (Author) - Victoria University of WellingtonDiane K Ormsby (Author) - Victoria University of WellingtonAlan Dixson (Author) - Victoria University of Wellington
- Publication details
- Evolution and Human Behavior, Vol.35(2), pp.73-79
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc.
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.10.003
- ISSN
- 1879-0607
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Psychology; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99629736002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
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- Web Of Science research areas
- Behavioral Sciences
- Psychology, Biological
- Social Sciences, Biomedical
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