{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T15:45:18Z","timestamp":1786117518583,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    A high level of physical attractiveness can confer significant economic resources and behavioural advantages in social development, leading to increasing attention on the \u2018appearance economy\u2019. While evaluations of attractiveness lack uniform standards, it is intriguing that the public exhibits a high degree of consensus regarding who qualifies as \u2018highly attractive\u2019. This phenomenon suggests an underlying, discernible logic within aesthetic judgements. Faced with the escalating prevalence of \u2018appearance capitalism\u2019, there is an academic imperative to provide a theoretical interpretation of \u2018physical attractiveness\u2019, particularly to clarify the underlying logic of its aesthetic judgments. To explore this logic, this paper employs a Grounded Theory methodology. Through in-depth interviews with 35 participants from diverse backgrounds and genders, and following a three-tiered analytical process of open, axial, and selective coding, the data were analysed and refined. Empirical analysis of the interview data reveals that the essence of \u2018facial attractiveness\u2019 lies in a symbolically represented system jointly constructed by multiple environmental factors. This system comprises three intertextual dimensions: (1) a\n                    <jats:italic>physiological environmental<\/jats:italic>\n                    representation system formed by biological genetic attributes; (2) a\n                    <jats:italic>material environmental<\/jats:italic>\n                    representation system embodied by economic capital; and (3) a\n                    <jats:italic>social environmental<\/jats:italic>\n                    representation system shaped by accumulated socio-cultural capital. Building upon these findings, this study constructs an environmental suggestion model within the aesthetic logic of \u2018facial attractiveness\u2019. An individual\u2019s appeal extends beyond biological optimisation of facial features, necessitating the systematic integration of multidimensional environmental factors. This integration process, functioning as a mechanism for reproducing symbolic capital, requires the establishment of a comprehensive personal charm generation system. This system operates through the three intertextual dimensions identified in this research. This theoretical framework offers a novel analytical perspective for understanding aesthetic capitalisation in contemporary society. It further establishes a conceptual model for formulating individual attractiveness management strategies.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1712907","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T14:02:21Z","timestamp":1786024941000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How environmental cues shape human face value perceptions\u2014an exploration based on grounded theory"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Liming","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Al-Farabi International Business School, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University","place":["Almaty, Kazakhstan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Changpeng","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Al-Farabi International Business School, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University","place":["Almaty, Kazakhstan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Youyi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qian Dongnan Prefecture Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital","place":["Kaili, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education, General Graduate School, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Bucheon-si, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1159\/000271558","article-title":"Physical attractiveness research: toward a developmental social psychology of beauty","volume":"20","author":"Adams","year":"1977","journal-title":"Hum. 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