PSYCHOLOGY Study says economy influences magazine's choice of Playmate

The study says that Playmates of the Year look more mature during tough times.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The theory used to be that as hemlines rose, so went the economy, but a psychologist is now suggesting that, in secure social and financial times, men may be looking at more than the length of a woman's skirt.
Terry Pettijohn II, an assistant psychology professor at Mercyhurst College in Erie, is looking to publish a study he says shows a correlation between social and economic conditions and some of the attributes of Playboy magazine's Playmates of the Year.
Measurements
Looking back to 1960, Pettijohn and his co-author, research assistant Brian Jungeberg, found that, when times were tough, the Playmate of the Year was more likely to be more mature looking -- a somewhat older, heavier, taller woman with a larger waist, smaller eyes and a less drastic difference between her waist and her hips.
When economic conditions were secure, however, the Playmate tended to be someone with larger eyes, a smaller chin and a more pronounced hourglass shape.
In the study, Pettijohn was trying to test whether, during hard times, men may be more attracted to "someone who is strong who can take care of themselves and take care of you."
"It's more about facial features. ... Mature vs. baby face are the two extremes," said Pettijohn, who presented his study this month at the American Psychological Society convention in Atlanta.
Take Anna Nicole Smith, the Playmate of the Year in 1993, for example. It wasn't a good time economically, and Smith showed many of the attributes researchers were expecting: She was the heaviest Playmate, at 140 pounds, and tied for the tallest. Her eyes were more mature, too, Pettijohn said.
For the study, researchers used photographs to measure eye height and width, chin size and cheekbone prominence. The magazine provided measurements such as height, weight and waist size.
No one from Playboy was available to comment on the study, a spokeswoman said.
Selection process
The Playmate of the Year is selected each year from the featured Playmates each month -- a group of 12 drawn from a field of some 10,000 women. Editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner, who founded the men's magazine 50 years ago, has final say.
The magazine says Hefner looks for someone with "all-American" qualities in making his selections.
The research is interesting, said James Beggan, an associate professor with the University of Louisville's Sociology Department but hardly conclusive since it only shows a correlation between the data -- not a cause-and-effect relationship.
There are also potential weaknesses depending on what social and economic data is used and the fact that only one Playmate a year was used -- not the ones from the other 12 months every year.
Judging beauty
Still, said Beggan, it's a suggestive finding that may address some of the apparent complexity involved in how people judge attractiveness. "The truth of the matter is it's very complex," he said.
Al Cooper, director of the San Jose Marital and Sexuality Centre in California, agreed that while the study has its limitations, it's important to understand what makes people attracted to others and how that can change over time.
"People sometimes think what's attractive is a fixed concept, and it's really not," he said. "What I like about this particular study is that it shows that it shifts."
There is one other question raised by the study, of course, since Hefner decides who is named Playmate of the Year. He may take into account all kinds of factors, such as sales and fan letters and the advice of his staff, but it still comes down to Hef.
"If it's all built through the beliefs of one man's idea of beauty, it's going to undermine the validity of the argument," Beggan said.