Table_3_The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and female physical attractiveness.docx

We used attractiveness judgements as a proxy to visualize the ideal female and male body for male and female participants and investigated how individual differences in the internalization of cultural ideals influence these representations. In the first of two studies, male and female participants judged the attractiveness of 242 male and female computer-generated bodies which varied independently in muscle and adipose. This allowed us to map changes in attractiveness across the complete body composition space, revealing single peaks for the attractiveness of both men and women. In the second study, we asked our participants to choose the most attractive male and female bodies in a method of adjustment task in which they could independently vary muscle and adipose to create the most attractive body. We asked whether individual differences in internalization of cultural ideals, drive for muscularity, eating disorder symptomatology and depressive symptoms could systematically shift the location of peak attractiveness in body composition space. We found a clear preference by both genders for a male body with high muscle and low adipose, and a toned, low adipose female body. The degree of internalization of cultural ideals predicted large individual differences in the composition of the most attractive bodies.

本研究以吸引力评价作为代理指标，为男性与女性被试可视化理想男女躯体形态，并探究文化理想内化（internalization of cultural ideals）程度的个体差异如何影响此类躯体表征。在两项研究的第一项中，男性与女性被试对242套男女计算机生成躯体的吸引力进行评分，这些躯体的肌肉量与脂肪量可独立变化。借此我们得以绘制完整躯体构成维度空间内的吸引力变化曲线，结果显示男女躯体的吸引力均存在单一峰值。在第二项研究中，我们采用调节任务范式（method of adjustment task），让被试独立调整躯体的肌肉量与脂肪量，以选出最具吸引力的男女躯体。我们探究了文化理想内化程度、肌肉渴求倾向（drive for muscularity）、进食障碍症状（eating disorder symptomatology）与抑郁症状（depressive symptoms）的个体差异，是否会系统性地改变躯体构成空间内吸引力峰值的位置。研究发现，两性均明显偏好肌肉量高、脂肪量低的男性躯体，以及线条紧致、脂肪量低的女性躯体；文化理想内化程度可显著预测最具吸引力躯体构成的个体差异。