How women really choose their partner
They go for men the others fancy
WOMEN might like to think they make up their own mind when it comes to matters of the heart.
But it seems females are in fact more likely to find a man attractive if other women are interested as well.
Women shown pictures of men in a study led by St Andrews University rated them as 13 per cent more or less attractive based on what other women thought.
Previous studies suggest women are so easily led because it is important to find the right mate, with other women potentially having information about his qualities or fathering ability which they might have missed.
However, the latest research shows women are just as likely to judge pieces of abstract art this way, suggesting what other women think about men is no more important than any other life choice.
This could just offer hope for men less popular with the ladies, that they may still find a partner after all.
Dr Catharine Cross, from St Andrews University, said: ‘We see in some species of bird and fish that many females choose to mate with the same male, so it’s been suggested that women copy each other’s mating choices too.
‘Our study suggests, however, that copying the behaviour of others is useful in every area of life, which might also include choosing where to live and what to eat. It suggests that there is nothing special about men.’
In evolution terms, it makes sense for women to use others’ opinions when judging men, as in the past this would have allowed them to expend less energy in the hunt for a mate.
This may explain why women tend to agree on men with heartthrob status, such as George Clooney and Tom Hiddleston.
The British researchers showed 49 women 30 pictures of men and asked them to rate them from ‘not at all attractive’ to ‘very attractive’.
The study participants were also shown an ‘average’ of the other women’s ratings, but this varied from their true average to an average of the highest or lowest marks.
The results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, show women were significantly swayed by others’ views, changing their rating by 13 per cent.
However they also changed their ratings for pictures of male hands by the same amount, while adjusting their ratings of abstract art by 14 per cent based on what others thought.
The authors conclude that women may copy others’ choices of attractive men because they are less confident in their own views.
They may also be less sure than men about who they find attractive, so more likely to have their mind changed.
The study, also involving the universities of Durham, Exeter and Arizona State, found lesbian women were similarly guided by other women in how attractive they rated men to be.