Not unique to physical attractiveness research, data produced by research in all fields frequently, at least initially, suggest apparent straightforward facts. However, data or facts alone do not provide meaningful understanding. They usually require interpretation and context. For example, finding from a study in 1980 seemed, at least initially, to diverge from the large majority of findings from physical attractiveness phenomenon research. Data showed women of moderate physical attractiveness had more opposite-sex dates and more same-sex socializing compared to their counterparts of high physical attractiveness.

The larger context of collective research knowledge about physical attractiveness phenomenon, both then and now, permits at least three explanations for the above data.

1. One explanation is a Matching Hypothesis that motivates people to prefer others whom they judge most similar to themselves in appearance. This reasoning assumes a rather normal or bell-shaped distribution of population and physical attractiveness whereby the majority of persons, i.e., the average person, possesses average physical attractiveness. The two ends of this bell-shaped distribution would then comprise far fewer individuals, respectively possessing lower than average and higher than average physical attractiveness.

2. An alternate explanation regards suitors who consider the probability of success to partner is more likely with others who represent moderate levels of physical attractiveness rather than higher levels.

3. Still another explanation for when moderate physical attractiveness appears preferred over higher levels is that judgments of physical attractiveness as determined by body types may be categorical in a person’s mind rather than continuous. With this explanation, people make judgments or decisions about higher and lower physical attractiveness only when confronted with marked deviations from the average that clearly exceeds some perceptual threshold.