On different theories of beauty and the role of perception in judging beauty.
The psychology of beauty is complex, not only because the concept of beauty is still undefined, but also because it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder or how individuals perceive other people or things. Beauty can be attributed to anything that appeals to the senses and all objects that are compatible with our personal preferences. Beauty as we perceive it is largely a projection of our needs and beautiful objects or people who just take care of our idealizations or fantasies and reflect our natural need to relate to all that is attractive. Humans are controlled by the senses, and we tend to repeat the processes and experiences that appeal to the senses, which are in harmony and have a structure and form. Appeals to the beauty of our sense of sight so there is a preference to repeat the experience of beauty.
But how do we perceive beauty and why some people or objects considered more beautiful than others? Psychological tests have considered the symmetry and proportion as extremely important for the perception of beauty. Beauty is also more holistic specific as a beautiful object is judged as a complete package that is attractive instead of judging on the basis of its parts. Freudian or psychoanalytic explanations of beauty are scarce but psychoanalytic concepts could be used to consider our view of beauty as a projection or wish fulfillment for people appealing to us are typically those who admire or that somehow represent our own desires and fantasies. Psychoanalysis can also be compatible with the idea that beauty is perceived preferential treatment, where there are similarities with their parents. Most people also are considered beautiful when they have a baby face features or innocence of an individual in their faces. The beauty can also be culturally motivated by what in some cultures, women with beautiful feet east are considered attractive, while in the Victorian era in England, women with elegance and grace were those soft, thin neck and waist modern Western women are judged on the basis of their breasts, bottom and lips. The perception of beauty can change and studies have found that women prefer softer characteristics of men at certain times and on other occasions male characteristics depending on the stage of their reproductive cycle. So actually there are several theories of beauty that are discussed here, one by one.
1. The beauty and symmetry and proportion - As you may have noticed in the case of old architectural wonders, the symmetry was very important. If it was the great pyramids of Egypt or the architectural wonders of Greece, symmetry and perfect dimensions played an important role in the history of aesthetics. This whole idea of symmetry also applies to any other object or person we perceive what a person with perfectly symmetrical face would also be considered as an epitome of physical perfection. Features are perfectly crisp and attractive to most people and most beautiful faces are those with well proportioned features. The same applies to the body and low waist to hip giving some lower body curved in females is considered more attractive than a straight, which usually does not indicate fertility. Since human beings are ultimately looking for women with a curved evolutionary advantage is considered more fertile and more attractive to men. Similarly men with athletic bodies and muscular are attractive to women. However, many men prefer women perhaps not very voluptuous curves and like many women prefer men not very muscular. This suggests that the ratio is also about moderation or perhaps humans are more comfortable with some restraint in what they perceive rather than excess and thus the perception of beauty, even may depend on some kind of social programming.
2. Beauty as a whole instead of parts - When we find something beautiful, I usually try to take an overall holistic approach. Therefore if we consider a rose so beautiful, they are less attentive to each petal and consider the symmetry of the flower as a whole. Similarly, if we consider the face of a man or a woman, beauty is the quality of composite that seems to represent the entire face of the person rather than the parts or characteristics. Our senses prefer a holistic view and perception of things and therefore a person is considered attractive or beautiful only when all functions are added to something very pleasant to the senses.
3. Beauty as the projection and wish fulfillment - The perception of beauty is not just a mental process, but also very personal. If you say that your partner has blonde hair, you may find other people with blond hair very attractive, as they tend to project their inner fantasies to other people. The "he" is like my lover, or "she" looks like my lover is a common syndrome in our perception of beauty and the people who are remotely similar to our fellow suddenly more beautiful to us than others. The same projection is applied in case of selecting a mate who is like a father. If a man like his father or family member who is obviously much more attractive for you than for others. The theory of wish fulfillment is also true, and when someone want to be like in terms of talent or of certain qualities, it is natural to consider that person absolutely perfect and beautiful. Some teenagers may idolize popular actors or actresses and need to be like them also determines its own perception of beauty.
4. The beauty and the innocence and charm - Nobody can deny that a charming personality with social trust can be much more appealing than a boring personality. A person who has the inherent ability to attract people with the sheer force of personality and presence is considered very attractive. In some ways may be an association between appearance and social trust, and sometimes good-looking people are also more socially accepted and therefore safer. Individuals with baby's facial features with high cheekbones and certain innocence or defined in their faces are often considered attractive by both sexes. Beauty is an advantage in social adaptation and good looking people are therefore social success as well, as the support and positive evaluation by others. But otherwise in women also seek truth and goodness and men can sometimes be very self-conscious and not to develop enough self-confidence. It looks good in some cases become an obstacle like a good looking woman are smart can also be judged more on the basis of their appearance rather than their intelligence and this is sometimes a sad reality in modern society.
5. Beauty as a product of culture and society - this is an accepted fact. The concept of beauty seems to change over time as society changes and the perception of beauty varies in different cultures. Dark skin is considered attractive in Western societies and white skin is considered attractive in Eastern societies, because of the element of novelty in the two cases. The feet and the hair of women are important in Eastern cultures, while in the West, the woman's lips, and hips are considered important. Women's breasts are important indicators of beauty in all cultures and the human body and the chin or jaw, and certain male sharpness are also considered attractive. Studies have shown that women however, tend to prefer men who look dominant during the follicular phase for the first time in their reproductive cycle, but they prefer men with softer features more feminine when they are in phase and ovulation. This may have some evolutionary advantage for men with soft feminine natures and faces are considered the most stable and family oriented than men who have extreme masculinity or a kind of raw appeal. This is however very general and individual differences.
Finally, beauty is in how we perceive the outside world and how we can integrate our project needs and desires in what we see in the external world. "Beauty in the viewer's eyes right across from a psychological point of view as our own preferences change over time and so do our desires, aesthetic sense and perception of beauty.