As a general trend, heterosexual men have an interest in the bodies of attractive women. But to what degree does this interest change seasonally? Polish researchers Boguslaw Pawlowski and Piotr Sorokowski decided to find out.
They asked adult heterosexual men to rate the attractiveness of female faces, breasts photographed by cosmetic surgery clinics, and images of women with pronounced hip-to-waist ratios. They also had the subjects rate their own attractiveness and that of their romantic partners, if they had any. The researchers then followed up every three months for a year to see if their opinions changed over time.
Pawlowski and Sorokowski found that the men were quite keen on women’s breasts and hips during the winter as contrasted to the summer. Why? The researchers speculate that, during the winter, the men had fewer opportunities to look at women’s bodies without heavy protective clothing. The scarcity of such views led to their increased value.
Photo: Pixabay
Chart: Perception, v.37, 2008.