Thin and muscular have been characterized as ideals for women and men, respectively. Little research has investigated whether men and women have accurate perceptions of opposite‐sex preferences of thinness and muscularity. Further, no study has explored whether opposite‐sex perceptions of thinness and muscularity preferences differ for short‐term and long‐term relationships. The present study set out to address these questions. We used interactive 3D human models to represent bodies varying in size (body mass index/BMI weight scaled by height) and body composition. University‐aged (18–31) White European heterosexual men and women were asked to choose their own and ideal body shape, the ideal body shape for a short‐ and a long‐term partner, and the body shape they thought the opposite‐sex would most like for short‐ and long‐term partners. Women overestimated the thinness that men prefer in a partner and men overestimated the heaviness and muscularity that women prefer in a partner. These misperceptions were more exaggerated for short‐term relationships than for long‐term relationships. The results illustrate the importance of investigating misperceptions of opposite‐sex preferences and raise the possibility that correcting misperceptions might have utility in reducing body dissatisfaction or eating disorders.

中文翻译：

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对异性的偏瘦和肌肉偏好的误解

瘦弱和肌肉发达分别被认为是女性和男性的理想选择。很少有研究调查过男人和女人是否对异性的瘦弱和肌肉偏好有准确的认识。此外，没有研究探讨短期和长期关系中异性对瘦度和肌肉偏好的看法是否不同。本研究着手解决这些问题。我们使用交互式3D人体模型来表示大小（身体质量指数/体重指数（BMI）体重按高度缩放）和身体组成变化的身体。大学年龄（18-31岁）的欧洲白人异性恋者被要求选择自己理想的身材，短期和长期伴侣的理想身材以及他们认为异性的身材最适合短期和长期合作伙伴。女人高估了男人喜欢伴侣的瘦弱，而男人则高估了女人喜欢伴侣的沉重和肌肉。对于长期关系，这些误解比长期关系更为夸大。结果表明，调查对异性偏好的误解很重要，并提高了纠正误解可能有助于减少身体不满或饮食失调的可能性。