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Title: All in the Face
Source:
Daily Telegraph
URL Source: http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/s ... 20281,19092596-5001022,00.html
Published: May 11, 2006
Author: Julie Wheldon
Post Date: 2006-05-12 01:35:48 by Peetie Wheatstraw
Keywords: None
Views: 359
Comments: 68
WOMEN can work out if a man will make a good father just by looking at his face, new research reveals. Even studying a photograph gives them subconscious clues that he likes children and is therefore a good long-term partner. Scientists behind the discovery believe it adds an important dimension to knowledge about mate selection among humans. They say women judge a man on his genetic quality as well as his willingness to be a good parent for her offspring. And their studies show keen ladies use masculine features as a guide to genetic quality. When at their most fertile, they are especially attracted to men with features such as strong jaws. But at other times of the month women prefer more feminine faces – as softer features suggest a man will be a good long-term partner and help care for any children. Researchers at St Andrew's University have even come up with the face of the perfect man, whose softer, more feminine features reflected a more nurturing side. They concluded that the ideal partner should have a symmetrical face, large deep and expressive eyes, a straight nose and soft jaw. A team from the University of California, Santa Barbara, took it a step further – and analysed how accurate women were at reading a man's face for clues to testosterone levels and interest in children. First they took 39 men aged 18 to 33 and tested their hormone levels. The men were shown pairs of adult and infant faces and had to say which they found most appealing. This was designed to show whether they had a natural liking for children. A group of 29 women aged around 18 were then given snaps of the men and asked to rate them. They were told to point out if they thought each male liked children, was masculine, physically attractive or kind. They also rated how attractive they would be as a short-term partner and a long-term mate. The study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, showed women were able to spot which men liked babies. Those who women considered would be good with older children also scored highly on the baby affinity test. Likewise they pointed out which men had the highest testosterone levels, as they tended to rate them as more masculine. As expected, they found the masculine faces more attractive as short-term mates. Intriguingly, even though all the men were asked to make a neutral expression for the photos, women thought those who liked children looked happier than those who did not seem interested. Northumbria University evolutionary psychologist Dr Nick Neave said: "It seems that women can tell an awful lot from a man's face. "The paper is a step forward in our understanding – but it does not go all the way to answering questions about just what makes someone a good parent or perfect partner."
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 63.
#1. To: All, Zipporah, christine, Diana, robin, mehitable, rowdee, fatidic (#0)
Prepare yourselves. This is the perfect male face: It also amazingly looks just like a clean-shaven version of me.
Perfect for someone....I'm sure....just not this woman. Poor lad looks like a hip version of a pharoah wannabe..........or a female impersonator sans wig and dangly ear rings......maybe a showgirl wannabe from Vegas?
Poor lad looks like a hip version of a pharoah wannabe..........or a female impersonator sans wig and dangly ear rings......maybe a showgirl wannabe from Vegas? This portion of the article claims that what you find attractive as a woman in a man depends on what time of the month it is: And their studies show keen ladies use masculine features as a guide to genetic quality. When at their most fertile, they are especially attracted to men with features such as strong jaws. But at other times of the month women prefer more feminine faces – as softer features suggest a man will be a good long-term partner and help care for any children. Researchers at St Andrew's University have even come up with the face of the perfect man, whose softer, more feminine features reflected a more nurturing side.
Seems to me a lot of women are settling for a men to father their children who are very low down on the list of commendable criteria.
A result of the "we're all the same" concept that we have all been beaten over the head with. In past eras the selection of husbands was carefully considered, with parents involved in deciding who their daughters would marry based on factors such as family background, character and education. My grandparents steered their daughters away from men they considered not good husband material, and had a lot of influence on who they ended up marrying. They were on to something as my aunts ended up having happy, lasting marriages producing healthy, bright and stable children.
Diana, absolutely excellent point. Most people have relatives who are pretty decent people (although the media tries to beat it into our heads that all famlies are dysfunctional - and certainly we've become more so since the 60s). Your relatives can sometimes assess a situation far better than you can. How many times has someone brought home a new boy/girl friend and the parents know right off that it's not going to work, or that this person has real problems or lack of potential as a mate? They can see it. But we're too much involved with this whole idea of marrying for romantic love to be able to think clearly. The society has been inundated with this crazy, unworkable idea of just marrying for romantic/sexual love that actually doesn't work frequently over a long haul or where there are children involved. That's why people should listen to their relatives about their romantic choices (assuming there is no real problem with the parents), as they do have their children's best interests at heart and they're viewing the situation from a more removed perspective. Frankly, when they've done studies, usually arranged marriages work out at least as well in those countries that still practice it, as our marriages for love. The reason being that the marriages are contracted with practical considerations by people who care about both the bride and groom and who want the best for them. I've always been a big fan of arranged marriage and I think it would benefit our society greatly if we were to re-consider this method of getting people together.
And I would add, contracted by people who have their own experience with marriage, managing a household, earning the keep, raising kids. They know that "love" is nice but doesn't pay the bills, and that a marriage isn't one big, long honeymoon.
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#3. To: Peetie Wheatstraw (#1)
#4. To: rowdee (#3)
Perfect for someone....I'm sure....just not this woman.
#7. To: Peetie Wheatstraw (#4)
WOMEN can work out if a man will make a good father just by looking at his face, new research reveals.
#56. To: fatidic, Peetie Wheatstraw (#7)
Seems to me a lot of women are settling for a men to father their children who are very low down on the list of commendable criteria.
#62. To: Diana (#56)
#63. To: mehitable, Diana (#62)
The reason being that the marriages are contracted with practical considerations by people who care about both the bride and groom and who want the best for them. I've always been a big fan of arranged marriage and I think it would benefit our society greatly if we were to re-consider this method of getting people together.
Replies to Comment # 63.