NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hey guys, when times are tough, what do you look for in a Playboy centerfold?

Something along the lines of Anna Nicole Smith, according to preliminary research from a Pennsylvania psych professor.

No, not the TV ogre that exists today. We're talking the 36"-28"-38", 140-pound Miss May 1992 Anna Nicole Smith. The one that hooked the 89-year old billionaire J. Howard Marshall II back in 1994.

And if times are good? Someone a little more petite, like the diminutive, 103-pound 36"-20"-34" Miss December 1962 June Cochran.

Why? Well, the -- how shall I put this? -- the more Amazon-type woman is more likely to take care of herself...and maybe even you, posits Terry Pettijohn, a psychology researcher at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. When you are worried about a job, money, and the general deteriorating state of the world, that sturdy self-support element is appealing.

But when times are good, you want someone a little softer and distinctly feminine. At least, that's what the professor's research indicates.

And tough research it was. Pettijohn and his co-author, student Brian Jungeberg, went through 40 years of Playboy magazines, analyzing face and body dimensions of the Playmate of the Year.

Then they compiled a "hard times" index, using statistics on jobs, spending, and crime.

For good times years (like the early 1960s), the Playmates of the Year were smaller and thinner. Bad times (early 1990s) tended to showcase the more full-figured look.

"We don't have to be conscious of these identifying factors, whether someone is taller or heavier...it could be something we do unconsciously," Pettijohn told me.

He cautioned against using his research as an economic indicator. First of all, he hasn't finished it yet...he just made a presentation at an academic conference that got everyone, including some reporters, hot and bothered. The actual paper with the full, centerfold by centerfold data should be out in a few months.

Also, there's a lot of different things that go into the hubba-hubba factor, not the least of which is that Hugh Hefner makes the final decision on Playmate of the Year. Who knows what the old geezer (God bless him) thinks makes a lady hot.

Nevertheless, as a value added service to CNN/Money readers, I checked out the last few months of Playmates to see if the research is bearing out.

We're definitely edging toward the Amazon end in the first quarter. Average weight was about 119 pounds and the proportions were 34"-24"-34". Since then a war has ended and the economy has shown some slight signs of life. And centerfold proportions and weight have come down a little (thanks largely to a very slim Miss April, who wants to go into pharmaceutical sales).

But don't rejoice yet. The height climbed.

Here's hoping for Twiggy.  

Allen Wastler is Managing Editor of CNN/Money and a commentator on CNNfn. He can be e-mailed at allen.wastler@turner.com.