Intrasexual Competition in Women’s Likelihood of Self-Enhancement and Perceptions of Breast Morphology: A Hispanic Sample

Abstract

Women’s breasts are considered sexually attractive because they may infer a woman’s residual reproductive value. Given that men find women’s breasts attractive, women may compete with other women to enhance their physical attractiveness when primed with an intrasexual competitive cue. The current study investigated women’s intrasexual competition when viewing variations in breast morphology. Women (N = 189) were randomly assigned to a partner threat condition and shown images of women’s breasts that included variations in breast size, ptosis (i.e., sagginess), and intermammary distance (i.e., cleavage). Women were more likely to report an increase in enhancing their appearance, wearing revealing clothing, dieting and exercising, and perceiving the breasts as a sexual threat as a function of larger breast sizes with low ptosis and intermediate distances. The partner threat prime did not play a role in ratings. Interestingly, there was a moderating role for women’s dispositional levels in intrasexual competition. Women with higher levels of intrasexual competition were more likely to enhance their appearance when viewing large breast sizes. The study points to the role that breast morphology indicative of residual reproductive value has on increasing enhancement strategies.

Keywords

• intrasexual competition
• breast size
• breast ptosis
• intermammary distance
• enhancing appearance