The influence of skin tone, body weight, and hair colour on perceptions of women's attractiveness and health: a cross-cultural investigation

This study investigated the role of skin tone, hair colour, and body weight in perceptions of women's physical attractiveness and health. Four-hundred and thirty-six women and 423 men in eight distinct national settings on three continents rated a series of 18 female line drawings that varied in three levels of skin tone, two levels of hair colour, and three levels of body weight. Results showed significant cross-cultural differences in what was considered attractive and healthy, as a function of the three manipulated physical characteristics. However, the role played by, and the importance of, the three characteristics appeared to differ relative to the type of rating being made. Specifically, ratings of health were not congruent with ratings of physical attractiveness. There were also a number of interactions between the different variables, which were most pronounced with participants' nationality. Interactions between the different stimulus variables themselves were small, but nevertheless suggest combined effects. These results support recent arguments for contextualising interpersonal perceptions, rather than viewing them in isolation of sociocultural environments