Posted on 05/24/2011 8:05:22 AM PDT by decimon
Women find happy guys significantly less sexually attractive than swaggering or brooding men, according to a new University of British Columbia study that helps to explain the enduring allure of "bad boys" and other iconic gender types.
The study – which may cause men to smile less on dates, and inspire online daters to update their profile photos – finds dramatic gender differences in how men and women rank the sexual attractiveness of non-verbal expressions of commonly displayed emotions, including happiness, pride, and shame.
Very few studies have explored the relationship between emotions and attraction, and this is the first to report a significant gender difference in the attractiveness of smiles. The study, published online today in the American Psychological Association journal Emotion, is also the first to investigate the attractiveness of displays of pride and shame.
"While showing a happy face is considered essential to friendly social interactions, including those involving sexual attraction – few studies have actually examined whether a smile is, in fact, attractive," says Prof. Jessica Tracy of UBC's Dept. of Psychology. "This study finds that men and women respond very differently to displays of emotion, including smiles."
In a series of studies, more than 1,000 adult participants rated the sexual attractiveness of hundreds of images of the opposite sex engaged in universal displays of happiness (broad smiles), pride (raised heads, puffed-up chests) and shame (lowered heads, averted eyes).
The study found that women were least attracted to smiling, happy men, preferring those who looked proud and powerful or moody and ashamed. In contrast, male participants were most sexually attracted to women who looked happy, and least attracted to women who appeared proud and confident.
"It is important to remember that this study explored first-impressions of sexual attraction to images of the opposite sex," says Alec Beall, a UBC psychology graduate student and study co-author. "We were not asking participants if they thought these targets would make a good boyfriend or wife – we wanted their gut reactions on carnal, sexual attraction." He says previous studies have found positive emotional traits and a nice personality to be highly desirable in a relationship partners.
Tracy and Beall say that other studies suggest that what people find attractive has been shaped by centuries of evolutionary and cultural forces. For example, evolutionary theories suggest females are attracted to male displays of pride because they imply status, competence and an ability to provide for a partner and offspring.
According to Beall, the pride expression accentuates typically masculine physical features, such as upper body size and muscularity. "Previous research has shown that these features are among the most attractive male physical characteristics, as judged by women," he says.
The researchers say more work is needed to understand the differing responses to happiness, but suggest the phenomenon can also be understood according to principles of evolutionary psychology, as well as socio-cultural gender norms.
For example, past research has associated smiling with a lack of dominance, which is consistent with traditional gender norms of the "submissive and vulnerable" woman, but inconsistent with "strong, silent" man, the researchers say. "Previous research has also suggested that happiness is a particularly feminine-appearing expression," Beall adds.
"Generally, the results appear to reflect some very traditional gender norms and cultural values that have emerged, developed and been reinforced through history, at least in Western cultures," Tracy says. "These include norms and values that many would consider old-fashioned and perhaps hoped that we've moved beyond."
Displays of shame, Tracy says, have been associated with an awareness of social norms and appeasement behaviors, which elicits trust in others. This may explain shame's surprising attractiveness to both genders, she says, given that both men and women prefer a partner they can trust.
While this study focused on sexual attraction between heterosexual men and women in North America, the researchers say future studies will be required to explore the relationship between emotions and sexual attractiveness among homosexuals and non-Western cultures.
Overall, the researchers found that men ranked women more attractive than women ranked men.
Basically. In my humble opinion, I believe the trick is to always maintain a poker face. Just keeping a somewhat alert but otherwise blank expression at all times. The exception might be when hanging out with the guys. But letting women see any evidence of any kind of emotion always seems to lead to problems. Of course inwardly we can be as happy as clams.
also “nice” guys is code for boring. Also, being overly “nice” comes across as weak, and less confident. Most guys who say they are “nice” guys are wet noodles. The woman voices and opinion, and he agrees regardless. We all know that guy or girl who just “tries to hard”. It turns women off.
Hence the conundrum: Why is this guy happy? ;-)
They just want to get a preview of the face you’ll definitely have after you marry them and they succeed in making you truly miserable, that’s all.
Not with me.
I love happy guys. Guys with a great sense of humor attract me every time.
____________
Phoebe the hummingbird has another egg!
This is four clutches this year.
We’ll have to start calling her Phoebe Dugger!
Live cam: http://phoebeallens.com/
I think it may be more like:
"Why is this guy happy without me?"
Good points.
In the end, after disaster or recognition of reality...
The nice guys end up married in steady relationships.
Until they get thrown out of the house they paid for.
Then Mandingo moves in with the wife.
I suspect the study confuses cause and effect. Happy guys are either getting laid, or don’t care about getting laid. That is why they are happy. Unhappy guys are either not getting any or not satisfied with what they are getting. That is why they brood and are unhappy.
If you are happy about your love live are you going to put yourself out and go the extra mile to attract a woman? Why would you? You are happy about the way things are, already.
If you are unhappy about your love live are you going to put yourself out and go the extra mile to attract a woman? Darn straight. You are going to work hard to get what you want.
So which guy do you think a gal is going to be attracted to? The happy guy who is putting no extra effort into pleasing her or the brooding, unhappy guy who puts ina *whole* lot more into signalling how excited he is about this woman in the hope transforming himself into a happy guy?
Seems like a no-brainer to me.
I prefer to be happy and enjoy life. And as the old joke goes, I’m not cutting that off for any woman.
LOL! That is funny as heck!
You know what is funny (pardon the pun) about this? My “gaydar” picks out gay men Because of their smiles. To me, if a guy smiles really really big, he often sets off my gaydar.
"I bought a dog to meet girls and I found out the dog was using me to meet other dogs." - Rodney Dangerfield
A smile is usually an instinctive attempt to appease larger and stronger males, to stave off an attack. Of course women and gays do it all the time - while powerful men hardly ever do it. Think chimpanzee culture - it predominates in America these days. :)
Every woman needs a man to make miserable, my observation on life.
Women prefer fixer uppers. Behind every “bad boy” is a prince charming that they can pull out with the proper training. Of course, “bad boys” play on this romantic notion to increase their scoring factor. The women that go for these guys seem to enjoy the drama of the whole process as far as I can tell.
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