According to a new study from Durham and St Andrews Universities in the UK, women perceive masculine men as unsuitable long-term partners, and instead prefer men with feminine features, believing they are less likely to cheat. Published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the researchers asked 400 men and women to judge digitally altered pictures of male faces made to look more masculine or feminine. The participants were then asked to predict personality traits including sexual behavior and parenting skills.
Macho features (such as a square jaw, larger nose and smaller eyes) were associated with dominance, being less faithful and a worse parent, compared to their 'feminine' counterparts, who had finer facial features with fuller lips, wide eyes and thinner, more curved eyebrows.
The researchers say the new study backs up earlier research about masculinity and perceptions of personality and gives further insight into what people see in others when choosing potential partners. "This research shows a high amount of agreement between women about what they see, personality wise, when asked to 'judge a book by its cover'," said Durham University's Lynda Boothroyd. "They may well use that impression of someone to decide whether or not to engage with that person. That decision-making process all depends on what a woman is looking for in a relationship at that time of her life."
The study also found that faces which appeared healthier, for instance those with better complexions, were seen as more desirable in terms of all personality traits compared to those who looked unhealthy. Similarly, older faces were generally viewed more positively compared to younger ones.
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Source: Durham University
