School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK.
Br J Psychol. 2021 Feb;112(1):247-264. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12451. Epub 2020 May 25.
Thin and muscular have been characterized as ideals for women and men, respectively. Little research has investigated whether men and women have accurate perceptions of opposite-sex preferences of thinness and muscularity. Further, no study has explored whether opposite-sex perceptions of thinness and muscularity preferences differ for short-term and long-term relationships. The present study set out to address these questions. We used interactive 3D human models to represent bodies varying in size (body mass index/BMI weight scaled by height) and body composition. University-aged (18-31) White European heterosexual men and women were asked to choose their own and ideal body shape, the ideal body shape for a short- and a long-term partner, and the body shape they thought the opposite-sex would most like for short- and long-term partners. Women overestimated the thinness that men prefer in a partner and men overestimated the heaviness and muscularity that women prefer in a partner. These misperceptions were more exaggerated for short-term relationships than for long-term relationships. The results illustrate the importance of investigating misperceptions of opposite-sex preferences and raise the possibility that correcting misperceptions might have utility in reducing body dissatisfaction or eating disorders.
瘦和肌肉发达分别被描述为女性和男性的理想体型。很少有研究调查男性和女性对异性的瘦身和肌肉发达偏好是否有准确的认识。此外，没有研究探讨异性对瘦身和肌肉发达偏好的看法是否因短期和长期关系而有所不同。本研究旨在解决这些问题。我们使用交互式 3D 人体模型来代表体型大小（体重指数/身高体重）和身体成分的变化。年龄在 18-31 岁之间的白种欧洲异性恋男性和女性被要求选择自己和理想的体型、短期和长期伴侣的理想体型，以及他们认为异性在短期和长期伴侣中最想要的体型。女性高估了男性在伴侣中喜欢的瘦身程度，而男性高估了女性在伴侣中喜欢的肥胖和肌肉发达程度。这些误解在短期关系中比在长期关系中更为夸张。研究结果表明，研究异性偏好的误解非常重要，并提出了纠正误解可能有助于减少身体不满或饮食失调的可能性。
