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Updated: May 8, 2026

Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Social dominance orientation predicts drive for muscularity among British men
Viren Swami1, Rudolfos-Valentino Neofytou, Joanna Jablonska
1Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, UK; Department of Psychology, HELP University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract:
The present study tested the hypothesis that men's drive for muscularity would be associated with their valuation of domination, power, status, and aggression over others. A community sample of 359 men from London, UK, completed measures of drive for muscularity, social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, trait aggression, and need for power, as well as their demographic details. Bivariate correlations showed that greater drive for muscularity was significantly correlated with most of the measures and their subscales. However, in a multiple regression analysis, the only significant predictor of drive for muscularity was support for group-based dominance hierarchies (Adj. R(2)=.17). These results suggest that men's drive for muscularity is associated with a socio-political ideology that favours social dominance.
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