Facial look can be a giveaway
Apr 9 2008 The Journal
PEOPLE’S attitude towards sex may be given away by the look on their face, according to new research. The study into attractiveness and how we find a mate has confirmed that young heterosexual men and women are looking for complete opposites when it comes to relationships.
The Durham University-led survey of 700 heterosexuals in their early 20s found men generally prefer women whom they perceive to be open to short-term sexual relationships, but women are usually interested in men who seem to have the potential to be a long-term partner.
It also found men picked out women who appear open to sex as more attractive, while men looking for a one-night stand were deemed to be more masculine-looking with squarer jaw, smaller eyes and larger nose.
Scientists behind the study said people use their first impressions to quickly make an informed decision about their partner selection and what kind of relationship they want.
The study, funded by the Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council, involved teams from Durham, St Andrews and Aberdeen universities. Participants were asked to judge the attractiveness and attitudes to sex of the opposite sex from a photo of their face.
This was compared to the real-life behaviour and attitude of the people in the photos – revealed in a detailed questionnaire. The experiments found that the men and women taking part could generally judge who would be more interested in a short-term fling just by looking at their expression and features.
In one study of 153 participants, 72% of people correctly identified the attitudes from photographs more than half of the time.
However, further questioning showed that the participants were not always confident their judgment was right. The findings, published in Evolution and Human Behaviour, indicate subtle facial expressions give away more than was previously thought.
Lead author Dr Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham University’s Psychology Department, said: “Our results suggest that although some people can judge the sexual strategy of others simply from looking at their face, people are not always sure about their judgments, possibly because the cues are very subtle.
“Yet preferences for different types of face were actually quite strong. This shows that these initial impressions may be part of how we assess potential mates – or potential rivals – when we first meet them. These will then give way over time to more in-depth knowledge of that person, as you get to know them better, and may change with age.”
