“Do Women Have Male Intuition?”
By Peter Gorner
Chicago Tribune
Just from looking at a man’s face, women can sense how much he likes children, gauge his testosterone level and decide whether he’d be more suitable as a one-night stand or as a husband, new research published Tuesday suggests.
Scientists in Chicago and California photographed men’s faces and asked women to rate them on whether they seemed to like children, on their masculinity, on their physical attractiveness and on whether they seemed kind.
Then the women rated them on their potential as long- and short-term lovers.
The masculine men – those with a large jaw, prominent cheekbones, straighter eyebrows, thinner lips and a heavy beard – were found to be attractive as short-term romantic partners. But for long-term relationships, women were more drawn to men who they thought were interested in children.
The study indicates male hormone levels and affinity for children may play a role in determining how attractive men are to women – albeit on a subconscious level.
“Our data suggest that women are picking up on facial cues that may be related to paternal qualities,†said the lead author of the paper, James Roney of the University of California, Santa Barbara. “The more they perceived the men as liking kids, they more likely they could see having a long term relationship.â€
The women were surprisingly adept in being able to read subtle sexual signals, Roney said.
The study’s female subjects accurately determined from the photos which men had high testosterone levels – they perceived the men as more masculine. The also could pick out the men who had expressed the interest in children.
“Our study shows that women don’t just look for masculinity; they also see cues for interest in infants, and they’re very accurate in judging both,†said Dario Maestripieri, a behavioral biologist at the University of Chicago and co-author of the study, which appeared in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, a British scientific journal.
“They’re attracted to one or the other, depending on whether they’re interested in a short- or long-term partner,†Maestripieri said.
The research suggests that our behavior may be affected by genetic programming that evolved to increase survival of the species, said Dr. Daniel Alkon, scientific director of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute in Morgantown, W.Va., and Washington, D.C.
“It looks like all of us are responding to many nonverbal cues and pieces of information of which we’re not really conscious that may have some origins in the hard-wired parts of the brain,†Alkon said.
For example, hormones that circulate in the body can have a profound impact on behavior, he said.
“What’s really quite amazing is that women actually can detect aspects of men and their attitudes by looking at pictures of facial expressions,†said Alkon, who was not involved in the research. “But there’s evolutionary value in doing this. It’s important for a woman to choose a mate that’s going to help her have children and will have a survival value for the whole species. Something that seems like our own voluntary choice is not so voluntary, after all.â€
In the new study, researchers measured the testosterone levels of 39 male undergraduate students at the University of Chicago, based on saliva samples. They determined the men’s affinity for children by asking them to choose between photos of an adult or a baby and to rate their interest.
The researchers stressed that they have no idea whether the men who expressed more interest in children would actually turn out to be good fathers.
Photos of the men were then shown to 29 female students at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
It makes sense that these women tended to be drawn to the more masculine men as short-term romantic partners, the researchers said, because high-testosterone males have a better ability to fight off disease and some of their children would be likely to inherit the trait.
But although masculine-faced males might have good genes, they are seen as poor parents. Conversely, more feminine-faced males are perceived as better parents and better long-term partners.
William from Amazingly Enough sent me the following link - it’s about this same study! Take a look!
May 10th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Interesting study. I have been with my husband since we were 15 and I remember watching closely already in high school to his attitude with my baby sister and nephew.
May 10th, 2006 at 11:33 am
This make sense to me!!
May 10th, 2006 at 11:43 am
I have to agree! Seems logical to me!
May 10th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Amie … yes, I agree. It’s a very interesting study. It’s a shame that it used such a small group of people though. Hopefully, more studies will be done on the subject!
Deb … yes, I though about you, and thought it might! I believe we do that sort of “filtering” subconsciously - with everyone we meet. Some of it may be stereotyping from past experiences, but some of it may actually come from a lower level of understanding. It would be interesting to have the chance to do more research on this sort of thing.
May 10th, 2006 at 11:49 am
Sarah! You and I posted at the same time!
Yes, I agree too! As you know … ;o)
May 10th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
I saw this! And yes, I agree; but I don’t know how it worked or if it worked with Chris and I…he doesn’t have the “paternal” look; but he definitely is great with the kids.
May 10th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
OMG…. Moof, that is scary, but it explains why the madam slam’d the door in my face…..she knew I was there only to talk…………….
May 10th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Moof,
I read about this study in my local paper this morning.
“The more they perceived the men as liking kids, they more likely they could see having a long term relationship.â€
I fully admit..if a man is a great father, I am totally attracted to that. No matter what. Thankfully, I think my husband is masculine yet sensetive and is a wonderful husband,and father. I KNEW I married him for a reason! :)
May 11th, 2006 at 12:14 am
hmmm maybe thats why when I met my husband I knew, four months after we started dating we talked marriage six months after the deed was done;) Up until that time i dated around but every time I knew i wasn’t intrested in marriage with that person… not until i met my husband;0 And her I just thought I got lucky LOL
May 11th, 2006 at 10:54 am
Shel … I think that Chris could probably fit himself into whatever he wanted to do. He’s a really smart fellow! He comes across as a concerned person, too … so, I’m not surprised that he’s a great dad! How’s he doing on his courses? I’m drowning in the psych reading!
William … dear heart … you are bad, bad, bad to the bone! Not to mention funny as the dickens, too! How have you been, by the way? I have a feeling you’re keeping yourself quite busy with charitable work …
Pattie … I still would like to borrow your husband and rub him up and down my husband to see if some of him rubs off … *sigh!* … ;o)
Wolfbaby … sounds like it didn’t take the two of you very long to make up your minds! And don’t forget, by the way, we make our own luck!
May 11th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Yesterday my wife and I was married for 13 years.
Let me tell ya: She has known me all the way through, both “innards and outtards”, since our first date 15 some years ago.
I still aint figured nothing out about you women though.
See - and I didn’t even need no fancy study ter figure it on out!
May 11th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
Hmmm.. another reason for considering plastic surgery?
May 12th, 2006 at 4:20 am
Like a lot of small studies that make the lay press, this one is fun to talk about and nothing more. N=29? They couldn’t recruit more subjects than that?
My boys and I were at a museum in Cambridge last year when a couple of grad students asked us to participate in a study. They were just pulling folks out of the crowd; They must have gotten 29 subjects in an hour!
best,
Flea
May 12th, 2006 at 6:18 am
Moof: I’d be happy to let you borrow my hubby but then you’ll be stuck with the…ummm…eccentricities he has as well! :)
I didn’t realize this study only had 29 subjects….
May 13th, 2006 at 10:48 am
I think women are just great at everything! lol… Interesting blog!
May 13th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
Fug!!! You’ve got some big days really close together, don’t you!? May 10 is your anniversary, and May 13 is your BIRTHDAY! w00t! Don’t look at BD’s at having gotten this far without dying, look at them as being one more year smarter! :o)
Dr. Flea! Welcome! I agree with you on the number they recruited … someone should do it right! If I had the media for reaching people, I think something like that woudl be a tremendous amount of fun!
Pattie … Hmmm … that sounds serious! *LOL* Also, I told my husband and he said: “You know, it might go the other way, too!” … Yah. Well. Believe me … you wouldn’t want my hubby rubbing off on yours! *ack!*
Kate - thank you for dropping in and leaving a message! Don’t be a stranger! By the way … I really liked your Maude and Claude …. >:o)
May 13th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Doc Hans … I missed you in there! Sorry!
Plastic surgery!?!? For WHO? Yourself? A handsome gentleman like you doesn’t need such silliness! ;o)
May 14th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
Happy Mother’s Day to you Moofie!
May 15th, 2006 at 12:34 am
And to you too, Fug!
Erm … *cough*
Gee. that didn’t sound right … *blink!*
>;o)