The Relative Stability of the Beauty Connotations across a Lifespan and its Gender Differences

Abstract

The concept of beauty is multifaceted and subject to various influences that include the age and gender of the perceiver. This study aimed to explore the relationship between age and the connotations associated with the concept of beauty over a lifespan. A sample of 1,558 adults aged 19 to 89 years provided connotations of beauty through free production tasks with the objective to investigate changes in the occurrence of connotations associated with the concept of beauty in relation to the age of the evaluator. Occurrences of sixty-two connotations were analysed with respect to age using Spearman's correlation. The results showed that only three percent of the connotations had a significant correlation with age, suggesting that the concept of beauty is relatively stable over time. Specifically, associations with the terms "man" and "God" decreased as age increased, particularly among women. Separate analyses by gender revealed distinct patterns, with women reporting stronger associations between age and connotations related to "man," "God," and "friend." In contrast, men reported correlations with connotations such as "flower," "sea," "joy," and "figure," suggesting shifts in perception away from physical attractiveness to natural scenery. The findings show the relative stability of the beauty concept over a lifespan, but also underscore the importance of considering gender in our understanding of the dynamics of the perception of beauty.