What’s Behind The Perception Of Physical Attractiveness?
Technorati tags: beauty, beautiful, beauty science
In three recent studies, scientists uncover that there is more to beauty than meets the eye. Our perception of attractiveness appears to be influenced by the invisible.
The recent results show that people’s perception of beauty is highly different when looking at strangers vs, others they know. In studies evaluating beauty and attractiveness, the participants are often shown pictures of complete strangers and asked to rate them by attractiveness.
Scientist have now discovered that whether or not we find someone beautiful also depends on whether we know the person or not. We include non-visible traits in our perception which might make someone close to us a lot more attractive than a stranger.
What is beautiful?
The final results of many studies suggest that these physical criteria are commonly rated attractive:
- high degrees of bilateral facial symmetries, such as eyes that are identical in shape and size
- and waist-to-hip ratios of 0.7 for women and 0.9 for men
- many humans are attracted to those who are likely to increase their own fitness — the likelihood of surviving and reproducing