What if we told you that men are fickle, and that especially applies to what they find attractive? We live in a world where dating has moved from spontaneous or arranged encounters to getting a date through a swipe from your phone. This gives men even more choices, but having a lot of choices can make us all tyrants. So, what do men look for when choosing a partner? How do they narrow it down?
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00:00They say beauty's only skin deep, but there's no denying that those first impressions are
00:06clutch.
00:07Ever wonder what men notice?
00:08And what they really find most attractive?
00:10Well, it turns out that sometimes it's so hardwired within us, we don't even realize
00:15what we're looking for — until we find it.
00:19Blue eyes?
00:20Swipe right.
00:21A study from the University of Tromsø in Norway asked 443 people about the hair and
00:27eye color of their partners.
00:28They also showed participants a series of photos in which just the models' eyes had
00:33been manipulated to change color.
00:35They found that while women and brown-eyed men showed no preference over any particular
00:39eye color, blue-eyed men overwhelmingly chose blue-eyed women.
00:44The reason?
00:45Genetics.
00:46The only way a child can have blue eyes is to be born to two blue-eyed parents, or to
00:51two people who each carry part of the recessive gene for blue eyes.
00:55The study's authors say that, conscious or subconscious, blue-eyed men's preference for
00:59blue-eyed women might be linked to one extra layer of paternity protection.
01:04Cougar town
01:06Random gray hair?
01:08Higher age bracket?
01:09According to a joint study between psychologists from the University of St. Andrews and the
01:14University of Liverpool, a mature appearance is exactly what some men are into.
01:20There's a cultural norm for what's considered attractive — that's what makes movie stars
01:24so universally admired.
01:26Here, researchers wanted to find out how our personal experiences helped shape what we
01:30find attractive.
01:31The study found that men who were born to moms over 30 were more likely to find older
01:36women more attractive when they were looking for long-term relationships.
01:40It's suggested that when looking for a long-term partner, there's something about the influence
01:44of that parent-child relationship that makes us feel secure as adults.
01:48And that's not all.
01:50Mom genes
01:52Studies suggest that parents' influence on what characteristics men find attractive goes
01:57even beyond age.
01:58Another study from the University of St. Andrews looked at a phenomenon known as imprinting
02:03— well-known to exist in the animal world and, until recently, largely unexplored in
02:09humans.
02:10The study looked at how likely men — and women — will be attracted to certain hair
02:13and eye color in their chosen partners.
02:16They found that for men, the best indicator of preferences was the hair and eye color
02:20of their mothers.
02:21Others suggest that it's possible that the early connection between mother and son formed
02:25a sort of subconscious bond that suggests safety, familiarity, and comfort linked to
02:30the eye and hair color they knew first.
02:33Happy birthday!
02:34What do you want for breakfast?
02:36Privacy!
02:37Please.
02:38Don't forget to wash your bottom.
02:40Knock knock
02:41Everyone loves to laugh, but according to a study published in Evolution and Human Behavior,
02:46the sort of humor men and women find attractive is surprisingly different.
02:52Oh my God.
02:56Wow!
02:57The study found that while women valued both the ability to be funny and to appreciate
03:01the same sort of things they found funny, men had a different take.
03:05They just wanted someone who's gonna laugh at their jokes.
03:08When it came to long-term relationships, it was even more important for men to find someone
03:12who appreciated their sense of humor, while funny gal pals were preferred for friendships
03:17and short-term relationships.
03:19Angle from above
03:21According to a pair of Australian researchers, one thing that men find surprisingly attractive
03:26is a simple one that anyone can master — the right head tilt.
03:29They manipulated a series of faces to appear as if they were being viewed from different
03:33angles, and volunteers were then asked to rate the attractiveness of those faces.
03:38They found that men were most attracted to faces where women tilted their heads forward
03:42enough that they were looking slightly up.
03:44When a man sees a woman who tilts her head forward and looks up at him, the height difference
03:49accents traditional ideas about masculinity and femininity.
03:53Me — Tarzan
03:55Both men and women find risk-taking — super hot — in potential mates.
03:59Perhaps an obviously attractive trait to women, surprisingly, men were also attracted to women
04:04who were adventurous.
04:06According to a study by the University of Alaska Anchorage, men and women were attracted
04:10to those with hunter-gatherer personality traits.
04:13That includes risky activities similar to what our ancient ancestors would have performed,
04:18like skiing, mountain climbing, and whitewater rafting.
04:22But it was only ancient risks that were found attractive.
04:25Modern risks like driving without a seatbelt or dabbling in drugs?
04:29Not so much.
04:31Baby voice
04:32While you might think that a husky voice would be sexier,
04:35"...not get something out."
04:38studies have shown that what men are really attracted to is a higher-pitched voice.
04:42"...this is not just there."
04:45According to one study done by University College London, men favored high-pitched voices
04:50because of the features, figure, and youth they associated with that voice.
04:54But when the voice got too high, the attractiveness declined.
04:57"...funny too."
04:59In short, that in order to be most attractive, a voice should be moderately high-pitched
05:03and slightly breathy, all which reportedly signaled that the speaker had a small frame.
05:08But if your voice doesn't rate as moderately high-pitched, no worries.
05:12According to a study from the Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, women talking to a hot guy speak
05:17in a higher pitch without even realizing it.
05:20Egg-cellence
05:21While ovulation's not exactly a trait, it's linked to things that men find attractive.
05:27"...you're all on the same cycle.
05:29This is very exciting.
05:31Your uterine walls will be shedding for the next three to five days."
05:34"...nice memorization, did you Google that?"
05:37According to a study in the journal Hormones and Behavior, men were more likely to rate
05:41women as being the most attractive when they were at the most fertile point in the month.
05:45Many studies have shown that as women approach peak fertility, voices pitch higher, body
05:50odor becomes more desirable, and skin and lips may change color.
05:54All things men have traditionally found more attractive.
05:57Baby got back
05:59Think it's the hourglass figure that's most attractive?
06:02It depends.
06:04According to research done by professors at the University of Texas, it's your waist and
06:08hips that matter.
06:10Professor Devendra Singh found that when women have a waist-to-hip ratio of between .67 and
06:15.8, they're thought to be the most attractive to men.
06:18She surveyed men as to what shape they found most attractive, but researched everything
06:22from Miss America contestants to Playboy models.
06:26An overwhelming majority of the men agreed that the most attractive shape had to do with
06:30that magic calculation, no matter what their age group was.
06:34From Beyonce to Kate Moss, it didn't matter how much they weighed.
06:37That specific ratio was hottest of all.
06:41Heart of gold
06:42It's easy to get stuck on looks, but studies have shown that personality traits like kindness,
06:47respectfulness, and optimism really do make you look better.
06:51One study done at the University of Westminster surveyed 2,157 male students, and surprisingly
06:58found that there was no body type or shape they liked best.
07:01But when men were supplied with personality traits, they chose a wider range of body types
07:05and sizes, compared to pics based on physical appearance alone.
07:09Another study from a group of Chinese universities found similar results.
07:13They took both men and women and asked them to rate the attractiveness of a series of
07:17faces based only on appearance.
07:19Two weeks later, the same group was given personality traits along with the faces, and
07:24positive traits made faces more attractive.
07:27They even gave it a name — the halo effect.
07:30It doesn't matter what costume I wear, yours or mine, I'm a superhero.
07:34That's who I am.