Hungry People Prefer Larger Bodies and Objects: The Importance of Testing Boundary Effects

Saxton, Tamsin, Kristofor McCarty, Jasmine Caizley, Dane McCarrick, and Thomas V. Pollet. 2019. “Hungry People Prefer Larger Bodies and Objects: The Importance of Testing Boundary Effects.” PsyArXiv. April 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/s7ta8

Abstract: Several experimental studies have indicated that when people are hungry, they assess larger women’s bodies as more attractive, compared to when they are satiated. These satiety-dependent judgements are assumed to contribute to the noted cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards women’s adiposity. However, it is premature to make this assumption until satiety-dependent judgements of stimuli other than female bodies have also been tested. Accordingly, we collected attractiveness judgements of female and male bodies manipulated to vary in size by varying level of adiposity, and objects manipulated to vary in size, from 186 participants who also reported their current hunger level. We found that larger sizes of stimuli in general, and women’s bodies in particular, especially when judged by women, were judged as more attractive at higher levels under conditions of hunger. We discuss these patterns in the context of the Insurance Hypothesis, the Environmental Security Hypothesis, and the impact of hunger on acquisition.