Posted on 01/17/2007 11:41:16 AM PST by blam
Beauty is in the eye of your friends
00:01 17 January 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Debora MacKenzie
Suddenly, the man on the left seems more attractive (Image: Ben Jones et al)
It is a classic image: a group of young women sighing over the latest heartthrob. But do they all really share identical taste for, say, Brad Pitt, or that cute guy in physics class? A new study suggests that, in fact, women will look more favourably on the men that other women find attractive.
Female guppies, quail and finches tend to mate with males that look like the males they have seen other females paired with. Such “mate choice copying” can pay off. If it is difficult to choose the best mating material, or takes a lot of time and energy, it makes sense to go with what works for the other girls.
Yet although human mate selection suffers just such difficulties, there has been little evidence that women do this, until now.
Ben Jones at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and colleagues, showed 28 men and 28 women pairs of male faces and asked them to rate their attractiveness. The photos had been already been rated by 40 women as of about equal attractiveness.
Striking difference
The researchers then showed the same faces alongside a
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Wow. Another ground-breaking study.
Who knew?
I think the guy on the right is cuter! LOL
Noticed the trend EARLY on.
Oh...come...on. This has been known to men the world over since the dawn of time. I even learned this in Jr. High School.
Let me give these researchers a hint. Do you think there is a reason some of the old codgers in Hollywood pay young blondes to hang around them? Sheesh.
My first impression on seeing the photos was what they were arrested for.
Go to any party, club, or bar. Bring a girl/wife with you and see if you get noticed by other women.
Now, go to that same place on a different night, only, this time go alone or with another guy. Wait, and see what happens... or, wait and see what doesn't happen!
Don't start with me just cause I'm a guy. ;^)
I think George Costanza knew this as well!!
That kind of thing used to drive me to distraction. I guess guys are just unattractive until some female points out to others that a certain guy is other wise.
There. Fixed it.
I think the one in the middle is that chick on "Alias."
This is how/why the concept of having a "wing woman" was born. I've provided this service for my brothers and several guy friends over the years. Those guys who have friends that are girls already know this.
That suggests a follow-on experiment.
Hang a number below one of the faces and see how much more attention it gets.
...or, perhaps the girl is just laughing AT him because she finds him unattractive. I have always preferred to make my own assessments, though it is interesting to hear that other females are so dependent on the opinions of others. It reminds me of the cheerleader mentality in most high schools.
We are presently trying to teach our older daughter to be more of an independent thinker. She is a very intelligent and physically lovely young lady. We know that this type of group mentality is destructive in many cases, and we would prefer our children be value-filled thinkers.
I think they all look like convicts. Maybe it's the style of the pic.
Lemme guess......"federally funded" study.
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