14 DAY TRIAL // Men are known for being attracted to either the face or body of women, but a new study suggests that the target of their eyes is in fact dictated by the expectations they have of the resulting relationship.
In other words, if men are looking for a one-night stand or a fling, they are very likely to look at the woman's body, whereas, if they want a long-term romance, they peek at her face.
These are the conclusions of a new study, whose aim was to analyze the evolutionary motivations underlying dating, LiveScience reports.
According to the team of experts at the University of Texas in Austin (UTA), which conducted the research, it would appear that the findings make perfect evolutionary sense.
Psychology graduate student Jaime Confer, who is also the coauthor of the new research, says that men interested in short-term adventures are understandably more keen on learning about their prospective partner's current fertility.
This is most likely why they look at her waistline first of all. Conversely, those interested in more serious affairs tend to look at her face because this may yield clues as to the woman's reproductive potential for the future.
This happens because a female's face can accurately reflect her youth and health statuses, which males pick up on even without knowing.
From this point of view, the appearance of wrinkles also makes sense, as they suggest that that particular individual has a small number of childbearing years left, which means that her fertility is reduced.
Men looking for a long-term relationship may be persuaded to back off when they see this. Such aspects of a woman's fertility level are not visible through clothes, and do not necessarily reflect in her waistline, experts say.
“Most people probably wouldn't be able to say why they would have preferences for the face over preferences for somebody's body,” explains University of Michigan evolutionary psychologist Daniel Kruger, who was not a part of the research.
“But it makes sense if you consider what the reproductive consequences of each choice would be,” he goes on to say.
Full details of the investigation appear in the September issue of the esteemed scientific journal Evolution and Human Behavior.