volume 43 issue 6 pages 455-474

Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

Marta Kowal
Piotr Sorokowski
Katarzyna Pisanski
Jaroslava V. Valentova
Marco A C Varella
David A. Frederick
Laith Al-Shawaf
Felipe E. García
Isabella Giammusso
Biljana Gjoneska
Luca Kozma
Tobias Otterbring
Marietta Papadatou-Pastou
Gerit Pfuhl
Sabrina Stöckli
Anna Studzinska
Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş
Anna K Touloumakos
Bence E. Bakos
Carlota Batres
Solenne Bonneterre
Johanna Czamanski-Cohen
Jovi C. Dacanay
Eliane Deschrijver
Maryanne L. Fisher
Caterina Grano
Pavol Kačmár
Mikhail V. Kozlov
Efisio Manunta
Karlijn Massar
Joseph P. McFall
Moises Mebarak
Maria Rosa Miccoli
Taciano L. Milfont
Pavol Prokop
Toivo Aavik
Patrícia Arriaga
Roberto Baiocco
Jiří Čeněk
Hakan Çetinkaya
Izzet Duyar
Farida Guemaz
Tatsunori Ishii
Julia A. Kamburidis
Hareesol Khun-Inkeeree
Linda H Lidborg
Hagar Manor
Ravit Nussinson
Mohd Sofian B. Omar-Fauzee
Farid Pazhoohi
Koen Ponnet
Anabela Caetano Santos
Oksana Senyk
Ognen Spasovski
Mona Vintila
Austin H. Wang
Gyesook Yoo
Oulmann Zerhouni
Rizwana Amin
Sibele Aquino
Merve Boğa
Mahmoud Boussena
Ali R. Can
Seda Can
Rita Castro
Antonio Chirumbolo
Ogeday Çoker
Clément Cornec
Seda Dural
Stephanie J Eder
Nasim Ghahraman Moharrampour
Simone Grassini
Evgeniya Hristova
Gözde Ikizer
Nicolas Kervyn
Mehmet Koyuncu
Yoshihiko Kunisato
Samuel Lins
Tetyana Mandzyk
Silvia Mari
Alan D. A. Mattiassi
Aybegum Memisoglu-Sanli
Mara Morelli
Felipe C Novaes
Miriam Parise
Irena Pavela Banai
Mariia Perun
Nejc Plohl
Fatima Zahra Sahli
Dušana Šakan
Sanja Smojver-Azic
Çağlar Solak
Sinem Söylemez
Asako Toyama
Anna Wlodarczyk
Yuki Yamada
Beatriz Abad-Villaverde
Reza Afhami
Grace Akello
Nael H Alami
Leyla Alma
Marios Argyrides
Derya Atamtürk
Nana Burduli
Sayra Cardona
João Carneiro
Andrea Castañeda
Izabela Chałatkiewicz
William J. Chopik
Dimitri Chubinidze
Daniel Conroy-Beam
Jorge Contreras-Garduño
Diana Ribeiro Da Silva
Yahya B. Don
Silvia Donato
Dmitrii Dubrov
Michaela Duračková
Sanjana Dutt
Samuel O Ebimgbo
Ignacio Estevan
Edgardo Etchezahar
PETER FEDOR
Feten Fekih-Romdhane
Tomasz Frackowiak
Katarzyna Galasinska
Łukasz Gargula
Benjamin Gelbart
Talia Gomez Yepes
Hamdaoui Brahim
Ivana Hromatko
Salome N. Itibi
Luna Jaforte
Steve M. J. Janssen
Marija Jovic
Kevin S. Kertechian
Farah Khan
Aleksander Kobylarek
Maida Koso-Drljevic
Anna Krasnodębska
Valerija Križanić
Miguel Landa-Blanco
Alvaro Mailhos
Tiago Marot
Tamara Martinac Dorcic
Martha Martinez-Banfi
Mat Rahimi Yusof
Marlon Mayorga-Lascano
Vita Mikuličiūtė
Katarina Mišetić
Bojan Musil
Arooj Najmussaqib
Kavitha Nalla Muthu
Jean C Natividade
Izuchukwu L. G. Ndukaihe
Ellen K Nyhus
Elisabeth Oberzaucher
Salma S Omar
Franciszek Ostaszewski
Ma. Criselda T. Pacquing
Ariela F Pagani
Ju Hee Park
Ekaterine Pirtskhalava
Ulf-Dietrich Reips
Marc Eric S. Reyes
Jan P. Röer
Ayşegül Şahin
Adil Samekin
Rūta Sargautytė
Tatiana Semenovskikh
Henrik Siepelmeyer
Sangeeta Singh
Alicja Sołtys
Agnieszka Sorokowska
Rodrigo Soto-López
Liliya Sultanova
William Tamayo-Agudelo
Chee-Seng Tan
Gulmira T. Topanova
Merve Topcu Bulut
Bastien Trémolière
Singha Tulyakul
Belgüzar N. Türkan
Arkadiusz Urbanek
Tatiana Volkodav
Kathryn V Walter
Mohd Faiz Mohd Yaakob
Marcos Zumárraga-Espinosa
Publication typeJournal Article
Publication date2022-11-01
scimago Q1
wos Q1
SJR1.355
CiteScore5.8
Impact factor3.2
ISSN10905138, 18790607
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Abstract
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 complementary perspectives.
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Kowal M. et al. Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries // Evolution and Human Behavior. 2022. Vol. 43. No. 6. pp. 455-474.
GOST all authors (up to 50) Copy
Kowal M. et al. Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries // Evolution and Human Behavior. 2022. Vol. 43. No. 6. pp. 455-474.
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BibTex (up to 50 authors) Copy
@article{2022_Kowal,
author = {Marta Kowal and Piotr Sorokowski and Katarzyna Pisanski and Jaroslava V. Valentova and Marco A C Varella and David A. Frederick and Laith Al-Shawaf and Felipe E. García and Isabella Giammusso and Biljana Gjoneska and Luca Kozma and Tobias Otterbring and Marietta Papadatou-Pastou and Gerit Pfuhl and Sabrina Stöckli and Anna Studzinska and Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş and Anna K Touloumakos and Bence E. Bakos and Carlota Batres and Solenne Bonneterre and Johanna Czamanski-Cohen and Jovi C. Dacanay and Eliane Deschrijver and Maryanne L. Fisher and Caterina Grano and Dmitry Grigoryev and Pavol Kačmár and Mikhail V. Kozlov and Efisio Manunta and Karlijn Massar and Joseph P. McFall and Moises Mebarak and Maria Rosa Miccoli and Taciano L. Milfont and Pavol Prokop and Toivo Aavik and Patrícia Arriaga and Roberto Baiocco and Jiří Čeněk and Hakan Çetinkaya and Izzet Duyar and Farida Guemaz and Tatsunori Ishii and Julia A. Kamburidis and Hareesol Khun-Inkeeree and Linda H Lidborg and Hagar Manor and Ravit Nussinson and Mohd Sofian B. Omar-Fauzee and others},
title = {Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries},
journal = {Evolution and Human Behavior},
year = {2022},
volume = {43},
publisher = {Elsevier},
month = {nov},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.003},
number = {6},
pages = {455--474},
doi = {10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.003}
}
MLA
Cite this
MLA Copy
Kowal, Marta, et al. “Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries.” Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 43, no. 6, Nov. 2022, pp. 455-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.003.