EP # 20 | Are Attractiveness Preferences Universal? | Lynda Boothroyd
From Cognitations by Jay Richardson and Tanay Katiyar
February 27, 2026 · 1h 12m
About this episode
The episode explores whether attractiveness preferences are universal, featuring insights from Lynda Boothroyd's research in Nicaragua.
Our appearance is very important to us. This is evident when we look at advertisements, online trends such as what the youth call “looksmaxxing”, or simply reflect on the amount of time we spend looking at a mirror in the morning. For decades, theories in evolutionary psychology state that humans are attracted to specific physical features: think of symmetrical faces. The story goes, that humans everywhere should share these appearance/attractiveness preferences as they are signals of health and fertility? Is this really the case? Are these universal preferences? Our guest today, Lynda Boothroyd, has long questioned the universality of these preferences by studying them in communities in Nicaragua.Lynda Boothroyd is a Professor of Psychology at Durham University. Her research focuses on Evolutionary and Cross-Cultural understandings of interpersonal attraction and sexual selection. She has recently focused on body ideals in rural Nicaragua alongside experimental work both in the laboratory and in the field on the impacts of visual experience on body size preferences. She has a multidisciplinary approach to her research, incorporating perspectives from Evolutionary Psychology…
People in this episode
Hosts: Jay Richardson, Tanay Katiyar
Guest: Lynda Boothroyd
Topics covered
- attractiveness preferences
- evolutionary psychology
- cross-cultural studies
- interpersonal attraction
- body ideals
- sexual selection
Keywords
- attractiveness
- evolutionary psychology
- body ideals
- Nicaragua
- interpersonal attraction
- sexual selection
- cross-cultural
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Durham University
More episodes of Cognitations
- EP #22 | Religion as Make-Believe | Neil Van Leeuwen · May 8, 2026 · 1h 15m
- EP #21 | Human Innovation in the AI Age | Bret Beheim · April 9, 2026 · 59 min
- EP #19 | The Social Lives of Our Ancestors | Manvir Singh · February 5, 2026 · 1h 1m
- EP #18 | Relevance & Communication | Dan Sperber · November 28, 2025 · 1h 26m
- EP #17 | The Anthropology of Leisure Time | Mark Dyble · June 27, 2025 · 54 min
- EP #16 | What do Auditory Illusions Reveal about the Brain? | Daniel Pressnitzer · May 30, 2025 · 1h 5m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Cognitations podcast page.