Face facts, ladies only trust handsome guys
GOOD-LOOKING men are also seen as more trustworthy by potential mates, a study has found.
How reliable a man is judged to be is linked to attractiveness, researchers say.
And features which indicate trustworthiness, such as face shape, can be inherited.
A team at the University of Glasgow found handsome men have a head start when it comes to winning people’s confidence.
But the study of more than 1,300 identical and non-identical twins and siblings found that the more macho a man is, the less trustworthy he appears to others.
An aggressive appearance and fear of a ruthless nature make him less than dependable to potential partners, it is suggested. Researchers asked volunteers to view images of faces and rate their attractiveness and how trustworthy they seemed.
Dr Anthony Lee, co-author of the research at the university’s Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, said: ‘Attractive faces are perceived as more trustworthy. This could be because we may have evolved to find cues to trustworthiness attractive, because trustworthy individuals are evolutionarily beneficial as a mating partner.’
The pictures of men and women were individually rated by a large panel for facial trustworthiness and attractiveness.
Signs of being honest highlighted by the volunteers included the gaze and the shape of the mouth. Attractiveness included regular features and healthy skin, suggesting a sound genetic history.
The wider a face is compared to its height, the more aggressive a person can appear.
The link between looks and trust was not replicated with the pictures of women.
Dr Lee said: ‘When considering a mate, women overall face higher potential costs with choosing an untrustworthy partner due to minimal parental investment.
‘An untrustworthy male introduces higher physical risk, as men are more likely to have higher levels of aggression and strength.’
The study is published in the Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology journal.