If you're a man, you might wonder, "How can I become more attractive to women?" Well, you could update your wardrobe, shower more often, learn how to cook or wear a very convincing
mask. All of those options might work.
However, researchers from the Universities of St Andrews, Durham and Exeter discovered something that definitely works. They found that when a man is desired by other women, he receives an "attractiveness boost." That means if you want to become more attractive to women, all you have to do is become more attractive to women. I know. It's a real Catch-22. But why does this happen, exactly?
In a study published by the journal Scientific Reports, researchers showed 49 women images of men’s faces, hands and a piece of art. (Which must have been a welcome break from the
.) Each woman was asked to individually rate each image. Then they were told what the rest of the group rated the images, and were asked to rerate them.
When re-rating the attractiveness of men's faces, thirteen percent of the participants, on average, changed their initial rating. Their opinions changed as a direct result of the new social information.
"Women appear to copy the mate preferences of other women, " explained Dr. Kate Cross, the research leader. "But this might simply be because humans have a general tendency to be influenced by the opinions of others." It's like why we go see movies that good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. If a bunch of women like you, you're certified fresh.
This behavior is called "The Wedding Ring Effect," or "mate copying." When a man's in a relationship with a woman, or is desired by other women, he is proven to have desirable characteristics. He's perceived to be kind, faithful, compassionate, a good father and maybe he'll even remember to
. Scientists have observed this trait in nature as well, most frequently with female birds and fish. It's just biology. You used to swipe left on
, but now that he's with
? Swipe right. (And if they break up, back to swipe left.)
These results support another study conducted by Oklahoma State University. They found that when women were told a man was single, 59% of them were interested. However, when women were told the man was taken, 90% of women were interested. We all want what we can't have.
It would be interesting to see how this study would go if with guys. If woman's with a man, or is desired by other men, does she also receive an "attractive boost"? Who knows? As men and women, we're wired differently. All I know is I'm
to a picture of me surrounded by women holding signs that say "I approve!"
