6533b858fe1ef96bd12b6874
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries
Marta KowalPiotr SorokowskiKatarzyna PisanskiJaroslava V. ValentovaMarco A. C. VarellaDavid A. FrederickLaith Al-shawafFelipe E. GarcíaIsabella GiammussoBiljana GjoneskaLuca KozmaTobias OtterbringMarietta Papadatou-pastouGerit PfuhlSabrina StockliAnna StudzinskaEzgi Toplu-demirtasAnna K. TouloumakosBence E. BakosCarlota BatresSolenne BonneterreJohanna Czamanski-cohenJovi C. DacanayEliane DeschrijverMaryanne L. FisherCaterina GranoDmitry GrigoryevPavol Kaˇcm ́ArMikhail V. KozlovEfisio ManuntaKarlijn MassarJoseph P. McfallMoises MebarakMaria Rosa MiccoliTaciano L. MilfontPavol ProkopToivo AavikPatrícia ArriagaRoberto BaioccoJiˇrí ˇCenˇekHakan ÇEtinkayaIzzet DuyarFarida GuemazTatsunori IshiiJulia A. KamburidisHareesol Khun-inkeereeLinda H. LidborgHagar ManorRavit NussinsonMohd Sofian B. Omar-fauzeeFarid PazhoohiKoen PonnetAnabela Caetano SantosOksana SenykOgnen SpasovskiMona VintilaAustin H. WangGyesook YooOulmann ZerhouniRizwana AminSibele AquinoMerve Bo ̆GaMahmoud BoussenaAli R. CanSeda CanRita CastroAntonio ChirumboloOgeday ÇOkerCl ́Ement CornecSeda DuralStephanie J. EderNasim Ghahraman MoharrampourSimone GrassiniEvgeniya HristovaG ̈Ozde IkizerNicolas KervynMehmet KoyuncuYoshihiko KunisatoSamuel LinsTetyana MandzykSilvia MariAlan D. A. MattiassiAybegum Memisoglu-sanliMara MorelliFelipe C. NovaesMiriam PariseIrena Pavela BanaiMariia PerunNejc PlohlFatima Zahra SahliDuˇsana ˇSakanSanja Smojver-azicÇA ̆Glar SolakSinem S ̈OylemezAsako ToyamaAnna WlodarczykYuki YamadaBeatriz Abad-villaverdeReza AfhamiGrace AkelloNael H. AlamiLeyla AlmaMarios ArgyridesDerya AtamtürkNana BurduliSayra CardonaJo ̃Ao CarneiroAndrea Casta ̃NedaIzabela ChałatkiewiczWilliam J. ChopikDimitri ChubinidzeDaniel Conroy-beamJorge Contreras-gardu ̃NoDiana Ribeiro Da SilvaYahya B. DonSilvia DonatoDmitrii DubrovMichaela Duraˇckov ́ASanjana DuttSamuel O. EbimgboIgnacio EstevanEdgardo EtchezaharPeter FedorFeten Fekih-romdhaneTomasz FrackowiakKatarzyna GalasinskaŁUkasz GargulaBenjamin GelbartTalia Gomez YepesBrahim HamdaouiIvana HromatkoSalome N. ItibiLuna JaforteSteve M. J. JanssenMarija JovicKevin S. KertechianFarah KhanAleksander KobylarekMaida Koso-drljevicAnna KrasnodębskaValerija Kriˇzani ́CMiguel Landa-blancoAlvaro MailhosTiago MarotTamara Martinac DorcicMartha Martinez-banfiMatrahimi YusofMarlon Mayorga-lascanoBojan MusilArooj NajmussaqibKavitha Nalla MuthuJean C. NatividadeIzuchukwu L. G. NdukaiheEllen K. NyhusElisabeth OberzaucherSalma S. OmarFranciszek OstaszewskiMa. Criselda T. PacquingAriela F. PaganiJu Hee ParkEkaterine PirtskhalavaUlf-dietrich ReipsMarc Eric S. ReyesJan P. RoerAysegül SahinAdil SamekinRuta SargautyteTatiana SemenovskikhHenrik SiepelmeyerSangeeta SinghAlicja SołtysAgnieszka SorokowskaRodrigo Soto-lopezLiliya SultanovaWilliam Tamayo-agudeloChee-seng TanGulmira T. TopanovaMerve Topcu BulutSingha TulyakulBelgüzar N. TürkanArkadiusz UrbanekTatiana VolkodavKathryn V. WalterMohd FaizMohd YaakobMarcos Zumarraga-espinosasubject
Social media usageSelf-modificationEvolutionary theoryAppearanceMating market perspectivePathogen stredescription
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complimentary perspectives.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-01-01 |