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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Generating Strictly Controlled Stimuli for Figure Recognition Experiments
Published on: March 18, 2019
Evidence that ideal and attractive figures represent different constructs: A replication and extension of Fingeret,
Tom Hildebrandt1, D Catherine Walker
1Eating and Weight Disorders Program, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1230, New York, NY 10029, USA. tom.hildebrandt@mssm.edu
Abstract:
Figure rating scales are commonly used to measure body dissatisfaction through discrepancy indexes (e.g., difference between current and ideal body) and recent methodological work by Fingeret, Gleaves, and Pearson suggests that distinctions between referent bodies (e.g., ideal or most attractive) are unnecessary. The purpose of the current study was to replicate these findings using both male and female figure rating scales and an opposite-sex comparison group. We examined the relationship between three referent figures (Ideal, Most Attractive to the Opposite Sex, and Most Attractive) and attractiveness attributions in 365 undergraduate men (n=164) and women (n=201). Results suggested that referent figures were associated with different attractiveness attributions for both male and female figures, but physical characteristics differed only in male figures. The impact of referent bodies on discrepancy indexes was also explored. Considerations for future research using figure rating scales are discussed.
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