Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, women may find men with wide heads more appealing for short-term dates and perceive them to be more masculine than men with narrower offerings. “Our study shows that within three minutes of meeting in real life, women find more dominant, wider-faced men attractive for short-term relationships, and want to go on another date with them,” says psychological scientist and lead researcher Katherine Valentine of Singapore Management University.
According to Valentine, there is an ongoing debate in academia as to whether women desire partners that exhibit signs of physical dominance — at the same time, researchers have been exploring facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) as a possible domineering attribute in men. Valentine attempted to address both issues in her recent study. “High male fWHR has previously been associated with surviving in hand-to-hand combat, aggressiveness, self-perceived power, and CEO’s financial success,” says Valentine. “Our study shows it’s also a reasonably good indicator of perceived dominance — not only that, it piques women’s interest in a face-to-face speed-dating setting.”
It was hypothesised by Valentine and her colleagues that, due to its link with testosterone, a high fWHR would make men seem more dominant and therefore more attractive to women looking for short-term relationships. As facial width is also linked with less desirable qualities, such as aggressive behaviour, it was thought women would not be interested in anything more substantial than a brief fling.
150 single men and women between the ages of 18 and 32 were studied in a speed-dating event to test the hypothesis.
The results of the events revealed that male speed daters with higher fWHR were measured as being more dominant, which the women found to be more appealing for short-term relationships and what’s more, were more likely to see them for a second date (proving a willingness to engage with them, at least for one real date).
These results suggest the hypothesis was right, linking female desire for short-term relationships with perceived male dominance (associated, in this instance, with a high fWHR). “The fact that women wanted to see these men again suggests that our findings are robust — women aren’t just saying they are interested, they’re actually willing to be contacted by these men,” says Valentine. “Previous studies have found that women prefer more dominant men for short-term relationships, but almost all of these studies were based in the lab and did not involve an interaction that could actually lead to mating and dating.”
