Americanized beauty? Predictors of perceived attractiveness from US and South Korean participants based on media exposure, ethnicity, and socio-cultural attitudes toward ideal beauty

Abstract

The objective of this project was to identify themes, patterns and predictors related to attractiveness ideals and appearance norms in other women among a sample of men and women in the USA and South Korea. The socio-cultural theoretical model has the strongest empirical support for understanding body image disturbance and appearance anxiety, by presenting to women through media representations the current societal standard for image and appearance. What is not known is how these cultural norms present in the USA are also present in countries like South Korea. This study’s objective was a comparative analysis of South Korean and USA perceptions of attractiveness and beauty along with the influence of US media on South Koreans’ attractiveness ideals. Several independent variables (media exposure, socio-cultural pressures to be thin, socio-cultural pressures to be attractive, perceived influence of outside sources in the development of ideal beauty, and gender) were measured to determine which variables might be more significantly linked to attractiveness estimates and appearance norms. Findings suggest significant differences between US and South Korean participants’ evaluations of attractiveness in others, and several predictor variables including BMI, self-discrepancy, and socio-cultural attitudes were found to be related to higher or lower attractiveness evaluation scores. These and other findings are discussed.