A cue-based approach to sociometer theory: Waist-to-hip ratio and lumbar curvature predict females' self-esteem

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Self-esteem is hypothesized to be an evolved psychological system that monitors and responds to cues to one's own relational value. Here, we employ a novel, cue-based approach to generate and test the hypothesis that self-esteem tracks specific, fitness-relevant morphological features. Specifically , we investigated whether females' self-esteem systematically varies as a function of their waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and lumbar curvature (LC). Participants ( N = 177) indicated on two body morph arrays—one varying in WHR and one varying in LC—the morphs that corresponded to (i) their current levels of these features, (ii) the levels they believed potential mates find most attractive, and (iii) the levels they viewed as ideal for themselves. They also completed the Body Esteem Scale and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. Results demonstrated that (1) participants internalized, as their own “ideal”, the levels of WHR and LC they perceived potential mates to desire, and (2) their self-esteem levels tracked the discrepancy between their idealized levels of WHR and LC and their own current levels of these features. These effects of WHR and LC on self-esteem were independent and fully mediated by their effects on body esteem. Discussion centers on how efforts to mitigate the negative effects of media exposure on women's self-esteem could potentially be improved by more precisely targeting the specific morphological cues to which self-esteem is sensitive.

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