men and women have ideas about what should be the ideal body of the partner, are strongly distorted. Moreover, the ideal proportions of the body produce the opposite sex is much less impressive than people think. This is evidenced by the results of a new study of psychologists from St. Andrews University (Scotland), published in the British Journal of Psychology.
Psychologists sue lei and David Perrette found a discrepancy between perceptions of the ideal body for men and women and its impact on partner for short-term and long-term relationships
thus, the study showed that women overestimate men’s preferences in relation to thinness, and men’s preferences of women in relation to the “mountains of muscles”.
the experiment involved 75 men and 75 women aged 18 to 26 years. They proposed an interactive 2D images of bodies and asked to adjust the shape of these bodies, following the instructions above each image (correction for BMI, percentage body fat, etc.).
it turned Out that men and women are mistaken about the preferences of the opposite sex.
the Results showed that women exaggerate the importance of thinness for relationship, for men it was not so important. Men, in turn, tend to overestimate the athletic physique, believing that women want to see muscular partners. Moreover, psychologists point out, these misconceptions are particularly concerned short-term relationship. The survey participants were convinced that the conventional standards of physical attractiveness ensure maximum success with the opposite sex.
the authors of the study believe that it is necessary to correct misconceptions about the preferences of the opposite sex: it will help prevent or eliminate eating disorders and body dissatisfaction in young men and women who are in thrall to a rigid and stereotyped ideas about some perfect bodies.
