Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

Kowal M. Sorokowski P. Pisanski K. Valentova J.V. Varella M.A.C. Frederick D.A. Al-Shawaf L. García F.E. Giammusso I. Gjoneska B. Kozma L. Otterbring T. Papadatou-Pastou M. Pfuhl G. Stöckli S. Studzinska A. Toplu-Demirtaş E. Touloumakos A.K. Bakos B.E. Batres C. Bonneterre S. Czamanski-Cohen J. Dacanay J.C. Deschrijver E. Fisher M.L. Grano C. Grigoryev D. Kačmár P. Kozlov M.V. Manunta E. Massar K. McFall J.P. Mebarak M. Miccoli M.R. Milfont T.L. Prokop P. Aavik T. Arriaga P. Baiocco R. Čeněk J. Çetinkaya H. Duyar I. Guemaz F. Ishii T. Kamburidis J.A. Khun-Inkeeree H. Lidborg L.H. Manor H. Nussinson R. Omar-Fauzee M.S.B. Pazhoohi F. Ponnet K. Santos A.C. Senyk O. Spasovski O. Vintila M. Wang A.H. Yoo G. Zerhouni O. Amin R. Aquino S. Boğa M. Boussena M. Can A.R. Can S. Castro R. Chirumbolo A. Çoker O. Cornec C. Dural S. Eder S.J. Moharrampour N.G. Grassini S. Hristova E. Ikizer G. Kervyn N. Koyuncu M. Kunisato Y. Lins S. Mandzyk T. Mari S. Mattiassi A.D.A. Memisoglu-Sanli A. Morelli M. Novaes F.C. Parise M. Banai I.P. Perun M. Plohl N. Sahli F.Z. Šakan D. Smojver-Azic S. Solak Ç. Söylemez S. Toyama A. Wlodarczyk A. Yamada Y. Abad-Villaverde B. Afhami R. Akello G. Alami N.H. Alma L. Argyrides M. Atamtürk D. Burduli N. Cardona S. Carneiro J. Castañeda A. Chałatkiewicz I. Chopik W.J. Chubinidze D. Conroy-Beam D. Contreras-Garduño J. da Silva D.R. Don Y.B. Donato S. Dubrov D. Duračková M. Dutt S. Ebimgbo S.O. Estevan I. Etchezahar E. Fedor P. Fekih-Romdhane F. Frackowiak T. Galasinska K. Gargula Ł. Gelbart B. Yepes T.G. Hamdaoui B. Hromatko I. Itibi S.N. Jaforte L. Janssen S.M.J. Jovic M. Kertechian K.S. Khan F. Kobylarek A. Koso-Drljevic M. Krasnodębska A. Križanić V. Landa-Blanco M. Mailhos A. Marot T. Dorcic T.M. Martinez-Banfi M. Yusof M.R. Mayorga-Lascano M. Mikuličiūtė V. Mišetić K. Musil B. Najmussaqib A. Muthu K.N. Natividade J.C. Ndukaihe I.L.G. Nyhus E.K. Oberzaucher E. Omar S.S. Ostaszewski F. Pacquing M.C.T. Pagani A.F. Park J.H. Pirtskhalava E. Reips U.-D. Reyes M.E.S. Röer J.P. Şahin A. Samekin A. Sargautytė R. Semenovskikh T. Siepelmeyer H. Singh S. Sołtys A. Sorokowska A. Soto-López R. Sultanova L. Tamayo-Agudelo W. Tan C.-S. Topanova G.T. Bulut M.T. Trémolière B. Tulyakul S. Türkan B.N. Urbanek A. Volkodav T. Walter K.V. Yaakob M.F.M. Zumárraga-Espinosa M.
November 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Evolution and Human Behavior
2022 #43 Issue 6 455 - 474 pp.

People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives.

Appearance , Evolutionary theory , Mating market perspective , Pathogen stress , Self-modification , Social media usage

Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи

University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
ENES Bioacoustics Research Laboratory, University of Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
DDL Language Dynamics Laboratory, University of Lyon 2, Lyon, France
University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, United States
Universidad De Concepción, Concepción, Chile
University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, North Macedonia
University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, United Kingdom
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Institute of Retail Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Icam, Toulouse, France
Mef University, İstanbul, Turkey
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Elte, Budapest, Hungary
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, United States
University of Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
University of Asia and the Pacific, Pasig City, 1605, Philippines
imec-mict-Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia
Saint Marys University, Halifax, Canada
Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, RF, Russian Federation
University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Université De Toulouse, Cnrs, Ut2j, Toulouse, France
Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY, United States
Universidad Del Norte, Puerto Colombia, Colombia
University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
University of Waikato, Tauranga, New Zealand
Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Iscte-university Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
Yasar University, Izmir, Turkey
Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
Univerity of Setif2, Setif, Algeria
Japan Womens’ University, Tokyo, Japan
Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria
Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, Thailand
Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel
Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Malaysia
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv, Ukraine
University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Trnava, Slovakia
West University of Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States
Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey
Izmir University of Economics, İzmir, Turkey
University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
University of Pamukkale, Denizli, Turkey
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria
Tobb University of Economics and Technology, Ankara, Turkey
Université Catholique De Louvain, Louvain La Neuve, Belgium
Senshu University, Kawasaki, Japan
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy
J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
University of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco
Faculty of Legal and Business Studies Dr Lazar Vrkatić, Novi Sad, Serbia
University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
Universidad Católica Del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
Modern University for Business and Science, Damour, Lebanon
Neapolis University Pafos, Paphos, Cyprus
University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia
Del Valle University of Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
University of California, Santa Barbara, United States
ENES, Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico
University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia
Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Conicet, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia
International University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Université Ibn Tofail, Kenitra, Morocco
University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Busara Center for Beahvioral Economics, Nairobi, Kenya
University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
University of Belgrade, Fon, Belgrade, Serbia
École supérieure des sciences commerciales dAngers, Angers, France
Women University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of Opole, Opole, Poland
National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Universidad De La República, Montevideo, Uruguay
Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
Pontificia Universidad Católica Del Ecuador-Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador
Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Malaysia
Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria
Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russian Federation
Universidad Nacional Autónoma De México in Mexico City, Ciudad De México, Mexico
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Branch in Tashkent, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Universidad Cooperativa De Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
Kazakh National Womens University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
University of Toulouse Jean-Jaures, Toulouse, France
Thaksin University, Songkhla, Thailand
Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
Kuban State University, Krasnodar, Russian Federation
Salesian Polytechnic University, Quito, Ecuador
Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (IUL), CIS-IUL, Lisboa, Portugal
Psychological Set Research and Correction Center, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
DecisionLab: Center for Behavioral Research im Decision Making, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
Center for Research on Biological Basis of Social Behavior, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland

University of Wrocław
ENES Bioacoustics Research Laboratory
DDL Language Dynamics Laboratory
University of São Paulo
Chapman University
University of Colorado
Universidad De Concepción
University of Palermo
Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts
University of Pécs
University of the West of Scotland
University of Agder
Institute of Retail Economics
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
UiT the Arctic University of Norway
University of Bern
Icam
Mef University
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
University of Oxford
Elte
Franklin and Marshall College
University of Paris Nanterre
University of Haifa
University of Asia and the Pacific
imec-mict-Ghent University
University of New South Wales (UNSW)
Saint Marys University
Sapienza University of Rome
National Research University Higher School of Economics
University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice
University of Turku
Université De Toulouse
Maastricht University
State University of New York at Fredonia
Universidad Del Norte
University of Konstanz
University of Waikato
Comenius University
Slovak Academy of Sciences
University of Tartu
Iscte-university Institute of Lisbon
Mendel University in Brno
Yasar University
Istanbul University
Univerity of Setif2
Japan Womens’ University
Sofia University
Prince of Songkla University
Durham University
The Open University of Israel
Universiti Utara Malaysia
University of British Columbia
Universidade de Lisboa
Ukrainian Catholic University
University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava
West University of Timisoara
University of Nevada
Kyung Hee University
Université Paris Nanterre
Bahria University
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio De Janeiro
Ege University
Hatay Mustafa Kemal University
Izmir University of Economics
University of Porto
University of Pamukkale
University of Vienna
University of Melbourne
University of Stavanger
NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
New Bulgarian University
Tobb University of Economics and Technology
Université Catholique De Louvain
Senshu University
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
University of Milano-Bicocca
University of Florence
Middle East Technical University
Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore
J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek
University of Maribor
University of Mohammed V
Faculty of Legal and Business Studies Dr Lazar Vrkatić
University of Rijeka
Manisa Celal Bayar University
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Universidad Católica Del Norte
Kyushu University
Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña
Tarbiat Modares University
Gulu University
Modern University for Business and Science
Neapolis University Pafos
University of Georgia
Del Valle University of Guatemala
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Michigan State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
University of California
ENES
University of Coimbra
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University
Nicolaus Copernicus University
University of Nigeria
University of Buenos Aires
Conicet
Razi Hospital
Tunis El Manar University
International University of Valencia
Université Ibn Tofail
University of Zagreb
Busara Center for Beahvioral Economics
University of Nottingham Malaysia
University of Belgrade
École supérieure des sciences commerciales dAngers
Women University Mardan
University of Sarajevo
University of Opole
National Autonomous University of Honduras
Universidad De La República
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Pontificia Universidad Católica Del Ecuador-Ambato
Vilnius University
National University of Modern Languages
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Alex Ekwueme Federal University
Alexandria University
University of Santo Tomas
University of Urbino Carlo Bo
Yonsei University
Witten/Herdecke University
M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University
Tyumen State University
Universidad Nacional Autónoma De México in Mexico City
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Universidad Cooperativa De Colombia
Kazakh National Womens University
Lund University
University of Toulouse Jean-Jaures
Thaksin University
Pamukkale University
Kuban State University
Salesian Polytechnic University
Ghent University
ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (IUL)
Psychological Set Research and Correction Center
DecisionLab: Center for Behavioral Research im Decision Making
Center for Research on Biological Basis of Social Behavior

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026