The body beautiful : evolutionary and sociocultural perspectives / edited by Viren Swami and Adrian Furnham.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Swami, Viren, 1980-

Furnham, Adrian.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sexual attraction.

Interpersonal attraction.

Human body--Psychological aspects.

Human body.

Physical Description:

xvii, 316 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Summary:

The last decade has witnessed an exciting change in our understanding of what makes the human body beautiful, and why certain bodies are idealised over others. The traditional idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, with preferences varying idiosyncratically from person to person, has been challenged by evolutionary psychologists, who argue that human beings share an eye for an attractive body. Yet, not everyone is in agreement: cross-cultural evidence suggests that there may indeed be differences in what is termed an 'attractive body'. Moreover, social psychologists stress that preferences emerge early in development, with children as young as four or five years old mirroring core cultural assumptions about what is an attractive body. These findings raise intriguing questions about bodily attractiveness: just what are these preferences, why do we have them, and how did we get them? This book brings together seminal work from evolutionary and sociocultural perspectives, to explore these questions in a fresh perspective.

Contents:

Part I Introduction

1 Mutual and Partaken Bliss: Introducing the Science of Bodily Beauty / Adrian Furnham, Viren Swami 3

Part II Methodological Critiques

2 Waist-to-Hip Ratios and Female Attractiveness: Comparing Apples, Oranges, and Pears / Donald H. McBurney, Sybil A. Streeter 15

3 The Volume-Height Index as a Body Attractiveness Index / Jintu Fan 29

4 Methodological Issues in Studies of Female Attractiveness / Melissa Bateson, Piers L. Cornelissen, Martin J. Tovee 46

Part III Attractiveness Research Across Cultures

5 An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Preferences for Female Body Shape / Isabel Scott, Gillian R. Bentley, Martin J. Tovee, Farid Uddin Ahamed, Kesson Magid 65

6 Masculinity, Culture, and the Paradox of the Lek / Douglas W. Yu, Stephen R. Proulx, Glenn H. Shepard 88

7 Healthy Body Equals Beautiful Body? Changing Perceptions of Health and Attractiveness with Shifting Socioeconomic Status / Martin J. Tovee, Adrian Furnham, Viren Swami 108

Part IV Theory Development: Evolutionary Perspectives

8 The Shaping of Women's Bodies: Men's Choice of Fertility or Heat Stress Avoidance? / Dorothy Einon 131

9 Interpersonal Metaperception: The Importance of Compatibility in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Bodily Cues / Kerri L. Johnson, Louis G. Tassinary 159

10 Mate Preferences in Social Cognitive Context: When Environmental and Personal Change Leads to Predictable Cross-Cultural Variation / Leif D. Nelson, Terry F. Pettijohn II, Jeff Galak 185

Part V Theory Development: Sociocultural Perspectives

11 The Roles of Stereotypes and Group Norms on Perceptions of Bodily Attractiveness / Tom Hildebrandt, Janet D. Latner 209

12 Feminism and Body Image / Linda Smolak, Sarah K. Murnen 236

13 The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective / Rachel M. Calogero, Michael Boroughs, J. Kevin Thompson 259.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230521872

0230521878

9780230521865

023052186X

OCLC:

163313703