Okay, so maybe my title is a bit unfair: you can read this article for yourself, but here are some snippets:
“Our data suggest that men’s interest in children predicts their long-term mate attractiveness even after we account for how physically attractive the women rated the men,” said James Roney of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“The study provides the first direct evidence that women’s attractiveness judgments specifically track both men’s affinity for children and men’s hormone concentrations,” said Dario Maestripieri of the University of Chicago, and a co-author of the study.”
Well, that much isn’t news. But then it gets interesting:
“The scientists tested the testosterone levels of 39 male undergraduate students from saliva samples. They also determined their affinity for children by asking them to choose between photos of an adult or a baby and to rate their interest.
The researchers photographed the men and showed the photos to 29 female students who were asked to rate the men on whether they thought they liked children, their masculinity, physical attractiveness and potential as short and long-term partners.
What’s noteworthy here is (if I’m reading this correctly) that the women had no contact with the men, other than seeing just their photos. Yet they were still able to correctly identify which men had an affinity for children, and which men had high levels of testosterone.
We’re so smart!
Filed under: fun, men and women
