Who is that girl?: A mixed method study on the perception of physical beauty and influencing factors

• Main Authors: Diano, Angela Claudia. S, Guzman, Maria Angelica G., Ignacio, Erika Mae D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2013
• Subjects: Social interaction; Beauty, Personal; Beauty culture; Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/11150
• Institution: De La Salle University

Media, together with social interaction and culture are known to be influential factors of physical beauty. In this study, the researchers focused on creating a definition of physical beauty in the Filipino context and identifying factors that influence it using a mix-method study design. Chi-square and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the perceptions of physical beauty across different age groups. After which, thematic analysis was done on the qualitative data obtained through interviews, which centered on the respondents perceptions of physical beauty in the Filipino context and the different factors that influence their perceptions. Purposive sampling was used to choose the participants for each age group, i.e., early adolescence (12-18 years old), late adolescence (19-24 years old), early adulthood (25-34 years old) and middle childhood (35-60 years old). Results showed that perceptions of physical beauty vary across age group. What is considered beautiful in the Filipino context is a woman who has silky long hair, a Grecian nose, fair complexion and has curves. It was also confirmed that factors that influence the perception of physical beauty are as follows: media, social interaction, and culture. In addition, results suggest that fashion and time also influence the perception of beauty. Fashion trends were seen to be the root factor that influenced what is considered to be beautiful.