Women tend to consider taller men with broader shoulders more attractive, masculine, dominant, and higher in fighting ability, according to recent research published in Evolutionary Psychological Science. However, these preferences are not uniform; they are influenced by women’s perceptions of their own mate value.
Previous research has suggested that physical traits like height and body masculinity are important indicators of a man’s genetic quality and resource acquisition potential, both of which are critical factors in mate selection. However, the researchers wanted to examine how these preferences might change under different ecological conditions and how individual differences, such as sociosexuality (interest in short-term mating) and mate value (self-perceived attractiveness), might influence these preferences.
“We were following up on a previous study by Pazhoohi et al. (2023), where we found that the interacting effects of shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR) and height affected women’s ratings of men for perceived attractiveness, masculinity, dominance, and fighting ability. Here, we ran an experiment to see if these perceptions were amplified based off cues of ecological harshness (e.g., safety, violence, resource scarcity),” said study author Ray Garza, an assistant professor of psychology at Texas A&M International University.
For their study, the researchers recruited 247 self-identified heterosexual women with an average age of 24.46 years from a predominantly Hispanic serving institution. The participants were shown a series of images depicting men with varying heights and SHRs. The heights ranged from 160 cm to 190 cm, and the SHRs were categorized as small (1.1), intermediate (1.2), and large (1.3). Each male image was positioned next to a 172 cm tall female figure, anchoring the height comparison.
To assess the impact of ecological conditions, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: safe, resource scarce, or violent. These conditions were presented through reading prompts and slideshows designed to evoke feelings of stability, economic uncertainty, or violence. After viewing the images, participants rated each man on attractiveness, masculinity, dominance, and fighting ability using a seven-point scale.
Women rated men as more attractive, masculine, dominant, and higher in fighting ability as the men’s height and SHR increased. The interaction between height and SHR was particularly noteworthy; taller men with larger SHRs received the highest ratings across all categories.
Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, ecological priming (conditions simulating resource scarcity, violence, or safety) did not significantly alter women’s ratings of men’s physical traits. This was surprising given that previous research suggested environmental factors could influence mate preferences, potentially prioritizing traits that signal the ability to provide resources or protection in harsh conditions. The study’s findings imply that preferences for height and SHR may be robust and consistent across different ecological scenarios.
“It was predicted that ecological harshness cues would amplify women’s perceptions of men, but we did not see those effects,” Garza told PsyPost. “Although women did perceive our manipulation as being effective, it did not affect the way they rated men. This may suggest that taller men with larger shoulder-to-hip ratios are preferred across all contexts due to their perceptions of being highly attractive and formidable, which are traits that some women prefer in men.”
Women’s sociosexual orientation also did not significantly influence their ratings of men’s attractiveness, masculinity, dominance, or fighting ability. This suggests that a woman’s interest in short-term versus long-term mating may not play a major role in how she perceives these physical traits.
However, women who rated themselves as more attractive tended to give higher ratings to taller men. This suggests that women with higher self-esteem or confidence in their attractiveness set higher standards for their potential partners, particularly valuing height.
The findings provide evidence “that shoulder-to-hip ratio and height are morphological traits that women consider important in men,” Garza said. “However, women’s self-perceived mate value amplifies those preferences for taller men. It is suggested that women with higher mate value are better able to compete with other women to access men that display ideal traits.”
One major limitation was the reliance on ecological priming through visual presentations and reading prompts, which may not fully capture the complexity of long-term exposure to harsh or safe environments. “Although effective for causing temporary states of uncertainty, it could be that other cues of harshness or lifetime exposure of harshness cues could affect ratings differently,” Garza noted.
The researchers also noted the importance of considering socioeconomic status and perceived resource availability in future studies. Understanding how women’s own economic stability influences their preferences for physical traits in men could offer deeper insights into the interplay between ecological conditions and mate selection.
“One long-term goal is to investigate some of the proximate mechanisms involved in mate choice, such as examining attentional processing in evaluating men,” Garza said. “For instance, do women visually evaluate men differently across conditions of ecological harshness cues? Do women with higher-mate value demonstrate increase levels of attention to formidable men? These are some long-term avenues of research that we will evaluate further.”
The study, “Examining Ecological Harshness, Sociosexuality, and Mate Value in Women’s Preferences for Men’s Height and Shoulder‑to‑Hip Ratio,” was authored by Ray Garza, Regina Gonzalez Elizondo, and Farid Pazhoohi.