To assess whether the most attractive size of breasts corresponds with the size associated with the highest mate value, one has to determine which breast size is perceived as the most attractive and how the breast size is related to important components of Darwinian fitness, such as health or lactational capability.Īttractiveness of women with regard to breast size has been extensively investigated. However, such evolution may be hampered by other factors, e.g., costs of developing and maintaining body tissues (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005 Zahavi, 1975), biomechanical effects of breast mass (Kerrigan et al., 2001 Spector & Karp, 2007), and the minimum amount of glandular tissue required to effectively nurse the infant (Linzell, 1972 Neifert, 2001). In addition, breast size would evolve toward the value most preferred by men given that this specific breast size makes a woman more attractive to men and competitive in the mating market.
The preference for the breast size signaling the highest mate value would enhance male reproductive success via partner choice. On grounds of the theory of sexual selection and evolution of biological signals, one can expect that the size of breasts most attractive for men will correspond with the size associated with the highest mate value, or maximum expected reproductive success for a man who mates with the woman (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005 Sugiyama, 2005). Taken together, these properties suggest that the evolution of breast size has, at least to some extent, been driven by sexual selection. Breast size impacts on the woman’s physical attractiveness (see below), is heritable (Eriksson et al., 2012 Wade, Zhu, & Martin, 2010), and is highly variable between individuals with the coefficient of variation about 60% (Kayar et al., 2011 Vandeweyer & Hertens, 2002) which is a characteristic for sexually selected traits (Pomiankowski & Møller, 1995). Women’s breasts are important in interpersonal relations as they draw attention and arouse sexually (Dixson, Grimshaw, Linklater, & Dixson, 2011a Schmidt & Sigusch, 1970), even in traditional societies (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1989, p. We discuss our results from the perspectives of evolutionary psychology, perceptual biases, and social stereotypes. In addition, big-breasted women were perceived as less faithful and less intelligent than women with average or small breasts. Nevertheless, large breasts were not regarded more attractive than average ones, though small breasts were the least attractive. Women and men perceived breasts in a similar way to each other: the bigger the breasts the higher the reproductive efficiency, lactational efficiency, sexual desire, and promiscuity attributed to the woman. Breast size (breast circumference minus chest circumference) was negatively associated with body asymmetry and positively associated with infections of the respiratory system, but did not correlate with infections of the digestive system, openness to casual sex, and testosterone and estradiol level. The aim of the second study was to determine preferences and stereotypes related to breast size: 252–265 women and men evaluated female digital figures varying in, among other characteristics, breast size. Our first study encompassed 163 young women and aimed to establish actual correlates of breast size. Few studies, however, have examined whether breast size really signals biological quality or its components and whether observers accurately interpret these signals. The theory of sexual selection predicts that physical criteria of partner selection should be markers of the candidate’s desirable properties, mainly biological quality. Breast size varies substantially among women and influences perception of the woman by other people with regard to her attractiveness and other characteristics that are important in social contexts, including mating.
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