Women are
fine tuned subconsciously to detect the qualities
they are looking for in a man - just by looking
at his face, US research suggests.
Women can spot subtle signs of interest in
children in a man's face, and accurately assess
his level of the sex hormone testosterone, it
claims.
Child-friendly men were rated as good long-term
bets, masculine men as ideal for a more short-term
fling.
Details feature in Proceedings of the Royal
Society B: Biological Sciences.
The study was carried out by researchers at
the University of Chicago and the University
of California, Santa Barbara.
Researcher Dr Dario Maestripieri said: "Our
results show that women are surprisingly accurate
in judging a man's masculinity and his interest
in infants by looking at his face.
"Our results also show that women value masculinity
as a desirable trait for short-term relationships
and interest in infants as a desirable trait
for more stable long-term relationships."
Lots of information
Dr Maestripieri said the results suggested
there was more information in the face about
the potential value of a man as a mating partner
than previously thought.
"I don't think that evolution has given women
a second sense in this area but has made them
very good at using every piece of information
at their disposal when making decisions about
mating and relationships."
The researchers recruited male undergraduate
students, who underwent saliva tests to determine
their testosterone levels.
They were also shown a series of pictures
of adults and babies, and asked which they preferred.
Pictures of the volunteers were then shown
to 29 female undergraduates, who were asked
to rate the men according to whether they thought
they liked children, appeared masculine, physically
attractive, or kind.
The women were then asked to determine men's
attractiveness as short-term romantic partners
or as long-term partners for relationships such
as marriage.
The men women chose as being most interested
in children were the same men who had expressed
the most interest in children in the photo test.
The women also accurately rated the men with
the highest testosterone levels as being the
most masculine.
Most women said they were attracted to the
men who tested high for testosterone.
However, the results also showed that they
tended to opt for men with a greater affinity
for children when considering who had the greatest
potential as a long-term partner.
