In this volume, contributors from a range of perspectives - evolutionary psychology to anthropology, sociology to cognitive and motivational psychology - explore questions of what our attractiveness preferences are and why we find certain others physically attractive, offering a fresh perspective to understanding the perception of attractiveness.
Part I: INTRODUCTION Mutual and Partaken Bliss: Introducing the Science of Bodily Beauty; V.Swami & A.Furnham Part 2: METHODOLOGICAL CRITIQUES Waist-to-hip Ratios and Female Attractiveness; Comparing Apples, Oranges and Pears; D. McBurney & S.Streeter The Volume-height Index as a Body Attractiveness Index; J.Fan Methodological Issues in Studies in Female Attractiveness; M.Bateson , P.Cornelissen & M.Tovee Part 3: ATTRACTIVENESS RESEARCH ACROSS CULTURES An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Preferences for Female Body Shape; I.Scott , G.Bentley , M.Tovee , F. Uddin Ahamed & K.Magid Masculinity, Culture and the Paradox of the Lek; D.Yu , S.Proulx & G.Shepard Healthy Body Equals Beautiful Body? Changing Perceptions of Health and Attractiveness with Shifting Socioeconomic Status; M.Tovee , A.Furnham & V.Swami Part 4: THEORY DEVELOPMENT; EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES The Shaping of Women's Bodies: Men's Choice of Fertility or Heat Stress Avoidance? D.Einon Interpersonal Metaperception: The Importance of Compatibility in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Bodily Cues; K.Johnson & L.Tassinary Mate Preferences in Social Cognitive Context: When Environmental and Personal Change Leads to Predictable Cross-Cultural Variation; L.Nelson , T.Pettijohn & J.Galak Part 5: THEORY DEVELOPMENT: SOCIOCULTURAL PERSEPCTIVES The Roles of Stereotypes and Group Norms on Perceptions of Bodily Attractiveness; T.Hildebrandt & J.Latner Feminism and Body Image; L.Smolak & S.Murnen The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective; R.Calogero , M.Boroughs & J.Thompson
