Many people in Western societies pursue a thin body. Among the multiple reasons to lose weight, concerns about social perceptions play a prominent role in the desire to shed pounds. Previous research associates thinness with attractiveness, especially in Western societies. The current work demonstrates that moderate deviations from the average body size cue judgments on person perception dimensions. Results from three studies show that whereas moderately thin (vs. heavy) individuals are rated as more competent, moderately heavy (vs. thin) people are rated as more warm. The studies present mediation- and manipulation-based evidence that these effects occur because a thin (vs. heavy) body signals self-control—a construct instrumental in drawing competence inferences—and that a heavy (vs. thin) body signals emotional expressiveness—a construct that triggers inferences of warmth.

西方社会的许多人追求瘦弱的身体。在减肥的多种原因中，对社会观念的担忧在减轻体重的愿望中起着重要作用。先前的研究将稀薄度与吸引力联系在一起，尤其是在西方社会。当前的工作表明，与平均体型大小的适度偏差会暗示对人的感知维度的判断。来自三项研究的结果表明，中度瘦弱（相对于沉重）的人被认为更有能力，而中度沉重（相对于瘦弱）的人被认为更温暖。这些研究提供了基于调解和操纵的证据，表明这些影响的发生是因为薄的（相对于沉重的）身体表示自我控制（一种有助于得出能力推论的构造），而较重的（相对于沉重的）表示自我控制。