Involvement of body weight and shape factors in ratings of attractiveness by women: a replication and extension of Tassinary and Hansen (1998)1

We tested the degree to which various body-shape characteristics influence women's ratings of attractiveness for female figures. Line drawings (Tassinary & Hansen, 1998), 150], ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 in waist–hip-ratio (WHR) and varying systematically in body weight and in waist and hip circumference, were rated on attractiveness by 46 female undergraduates. In general, participants preferred figures that had WHRs around 0.7. As body size increased, larger WHRs tended to be more preferred. Figures with small and medium waists and hips were generally preferred regardless of body weight. But, figures with large hips were preferred less regardless of other shape characteristics. Results suggest that body weight, waist size, and hip size all interact to influence women's ratings of attractiveness of other female figures.