Physical attraction measured by use of a body figure scale in an age of changing body ideals: An age discriminated sample from an Australian city.
Description
There is a substantial body of research that uses figure rating scales for personal body image assessment and satisfaction where typically women self-identify as heavier than what they wish to be, and men self-identify as less muscular than what they wish to be. The aim of this research was to determine the difference in attractiveness of physical body image by age of men and women using figure rating scales. It was hypothesised that younger age groups are more likely to identify more muscular figures as more attractive. Although the results of this study did not support the hypothesis, women were found to identify thinner images of women as more attractive to men; and men were found to identify more muscular images of men as more attractive to women. These findings have implications for clinical treatments related to body image and eating disorders.
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Participants were recruited in person and were requested to complete a computer-based survey to gather age and sex and provide responses to questions of attractiveness using figure rating scales. Two dimensional men’s and women’s figure rating scales which had been developed by Ralph-Nearman and Filik (2018, 2020) were used with permission. There are two figure rating scales for each sex; an ectomorphic to endomorphic figure rating scale, and an ectomorphic to mesomorphic scale. Participant sampling was conducted at various public locations around a major Australian city. Locations were selected where a cross-section of persons representative of the population were likely to occur. Sampling locations include parks and recreation areas, sporting venues, market venues, and various shopping centres where permission was granted. Sampling took place at various times of the day (morning, during the day, afternoon, and evening) in order to achieve a population-representative sample. A sample size of 420 persons was calculated as the minimum required to achieve sufficient statistical power, consisting of approximately 50% male and 50% female participants and distributed approximately evenly across the six 10-year age groups. All participant sampling was conducted by the authors. Selection bias was minimised through a system of approaching every fourth person who walked past a static location and requesting their participation in the research project. If those who were approached showed interest, the researchers provided those prospective participants with the participant information sheet which described the study. Persons who confirmed they were adults (persons over the age of 18) and who read the participant information sheet and provided consent were invited to complete the computer-based survey on a provided lap-top computer. The computer-based survey requested participants to provide their biological sex, age group, and whether they were more attracted to members of the same or opposite biological sex. The ectomorphic to endomorphic figure rating scale and the ectomorphic to mesomorphic figure rating scale for both men and women were provided, and participants were requested to select the figure that best represented what they considered to be the best-fit average figure for both men and women in the Australian population; which figure best represented what they consider to be the most attractive (depending on sexual preference); and which figure best represented what they believe their preferred sexual partner (men or women) would find the most attractive. 222 men and 238 women for a total of 460 participants were sampled.