My sense, which I also think most consistent with cog, is that extreme bods are too disparate to trigger surprisal and gap-closing response. They read Lovecraftian. But that uniquity of impressive but recognizably human and attainable physiques might suck some into treadmill.
Haha. Prob both more complicated and simpler (enduring idiosyncratic prefs juggled w/ uneven trendiness & gap btwn make expectations & fem desire) for actual selection. I think there’s some evidence shirtless pics get more likes despite constant carping about them?
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One more thing - what’s the explanation of responding to physical inferiority by buying more stuff? Just immediate, generalized status compensation?
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1/I'll speculate -- crudely. At the bio level, likely related to cortisol/testosterone, glucocorticoid receptors --> dopamine, and serotonin; the mechanics are quite tricky (see e.g. this review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5964298/ …, and note many lab studies don't even generalize to IRL). But
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2/the general idea is that, when a guy ("Brad") sees a more-dominant or aesthetic male ("Araya), Brad rapidly and unknowingly experiences neurochemical changes reflecting the "new prediction" that Brad is lower-status than Araya. This sudden "loss of status" triggers anxiety, b/c
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3/Brad (if he's a fighter) has not yet updated his top-down vision of himself as having at least the status he thought he had when he saw Araya posing at the store-front. Brad then generates (also likely unconsciously) top-down predictions that will "settle the score" b/t the
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4/top-down {PFC &C} ("I'm high status!") and bottom-up {e.g., tuning of social standing signals from sense data --> test/cortison <--> serotonin & glucocorticoids <--> DA/NE) signals Brad is getting. Because the store is right there, available images --> "me buying stuff b/c
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5/I'll be more high status because I will LOOK high status as I THINK I should if I buy this."
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Right, buying is the cheapest (cheaper than confronting Araya) available way to update (change of emphasis to $/style) and fulfill a prediction of high status.
End of conversation
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