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Rich, handsome men
The female students were asked to rate the men for their attractiveness as long-term partners. Overall, the better looking men were rated as more attractive, as were those men with higher status. Crucially, however, there was an interaction between facial attractiveness and status, such that good-looking men with high status were actually rated as less attractive than good-looking men of medium status.
Here is the full report. Remember when Yogi Berra said (more or less): "No one goes there anymore, it is too crowded."
I am not sure that being rated less high is, for these wealthy, handsome men, a sexual or mating disadvantage. I do not feel sorry for them.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 22, 2007 at 07:11 AM in Science | Permalink
Comments
From the report web page: "The researchers said this reflected the female strategy of avoiding men who are more likely to be unfaithful in the future." I wonder if rather than this reflecting fears of future unfaithfulness, it might be a psychological defense mechanism on the part of the female students: having learned which men are likely to be "out of their league", they pre-emptively degrade their rankings of the attractiveness of men in that category.
A test for that would be to gauge the attractiveness and status of the women participating in the experiment and check that against this trend.
Posted by: James at Apr 22, 2007 1:19:21 PM
The same thing happens with men and hot women. Most 10s don't get hit on constantly. The 7s and 8s do.
Posted by: TJ at Apr 22, 2007 1:28:09 PM
"The same thing happens with men and hot women. Most 10s don't get hit on constantly. The 7s and 8s do."
I've heard this a lot. I wonder if this isn't just a old wivestale told amongst 5s and 6s.
Posted by: Ray Midge at Apr 22, 2007 1:55:46 PM
So suppose this is true of both men and women, that the 9s and 10s (assuming a number scale that incorporates everything, looks, status, etc..) actually are perceived as less attractive, or at least less enthusiastically pursued. What should the equilibrium outcome be? I always feel like there's a lot more 10s and 9s walking around with 5s and 6s (both gender combos) than mistakenly low self-image would account for, but that perception may just be the bias of a lonely 7/8.
Posted by: mtc at Apr 22, 2007 3:24:22 PM
I think the idea that nobody hits on 10s is a BS story that women who overestimate their own attractiveness tell. When I see real 10s in a bar - those unbelievably amazing looking girls that know it - they have a huddle of guys all around them, clawing at each other like monkeys for the opportunity to buy the girl more expensive presents. It makes it really easy to hit on the 6s/7s/8s that are there because every other guy is prostrating himself before the one or two 10s that showed up.
Posted by: Dave at Apr 22, 2007 4:12:55 PM
i agree with dave, with a caveat - if the women are really tall, not so much...
Posted by: adrian at Apr 22, 2007 4:43:25 PM
The female students in this poll are lying. Why? Who knows. They're women, that's what they do.
Posted by: ricpic at Apr 22, 2007 7:28:51 PM
And to think, our next president will be a 6 woman, married to an 8 man. Oy vey.
Posted by: ricpic at Apr 22, 2007 8:07:47 PM
I think 6 is overly generous for her. Have you seen any of the photos of her an him as grad students?
Posted by: Steven Andrew Miller at Apr 23, 2007 12:04:38 AM
I hope you'll excuse for me lowering the tone here but couldn't this effect be explained thusly:
Women, when rating a man that is both attractive and wealthy perceive that there is likely to be greater competition for that man and subconsciously adjust his score to protect from disappointment, fear of trying etc. etc.
Isn't this one of the rather eloquent ways used in the movie 'A beautiful Mind' to explain Nash's competition theory?
R
Posted by: Richard Gray at Apr 23, 2007 7:49:47 AM
Looking at who hits on whom at a nightclub is completely pointless. Almost all nightclubs are total sausage parties - note that they have to give free drinks in usually futile efforts to attract more women - so just about any woman is going to have men swarming over her like flies swarm around a ... well, you know. She could be a 1 or a 2, for Christ's sakes, and still be surrounded by men.
Posted by: Peter at Apr 23, 2007 9:57:40 AM
I'm a girl, and I think the female subjects in this study were being honest about their assessments of the men. An attractive, rich, successful gay tends to be perceived as vain and selfish. One suspects that he'll cheat on a girl because he's used to getting whatever he wants. The other concern: he may be more in love with himself than with his girlfriend.
We females like a good-looking man. But we also like to be the "pretty" one in the relationship -- the prize.
Posted by: CL at Apr 23, 2007 11:18:21 AM
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins and The Red Queen by Matt Ridley had a good potential explanation for this. It was basically that animals that partner up for life will tend to cheat for specific reasons. Females will tend to cheat on males with higher status than their partners (where as men it's usually about looks). In a sense they have a steady man raise the children of an unsteady man with better genes (that is when they do cheat). Dawkins even referred to it as "being cuckooed" after the cuckoo that tricks other birds into raising it's children for it.
This study is entirely consistent with that considering the question was about long term partnership and not mere sexual attraction.
Posted by: David Peterson at Apr 23, 2007 1:09:33 PM
If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.
A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall.
As soon as he marries her
Then she starts to do
The things that will break his heart.
But if you make an ugly woman your wife,
You'll be happy for the rest of your life,
An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,
She'll always give you peace of mind.
Don't let your friends say
You have no taste,
Go ahead and marry anyway,
Though her face is ugly,
Her eyes don't match,
Take it from me she's a better catch.
Posted by: Matt at Apr 23, 2007 1:29:09 PM
Am I the only one who is disturbed by the fact that a man of Dawkins' credentials would be unfamiliar with the term "cuckolded"?
Posted by: Nathan Zook at Apr 23, 2007 1:32:20 PM
Maybe I misread it then. I'd be more willing to bet that I'm wrong on it than Richard Dawkins is wrong.
Posted by: David Peterson at Apr 23, 2007 4:13:35 PM
"Am I the only one who is disturbed by the fact that a man of Dawkins' credentials would be unfamiliar with the term "cuckolded"?"
Nathan and David: "Cuckold" derives from "cuckoo," for exactly that reason -- that cuckoos trick their mates into raising other partners' chicks.
Posted by: LP at Apr 23, 2007 6:13:21 PM
Indeed, don't be sorry for those men.
Be instead sorry for those wealthy and good looking men who were "caught" and are now under perpetual suspicion for the crime of having the very qualities for which they were once so intently pursued.
Posted by: anon at Apr 23, 2007 6:53:20 PM
I think this is probably biased by the fact that the "medium" profession was teacher which is also linked to being a good father. If there are diminishing marginal returns to sexiness then that might explain why the hot architect got rated behind the hot teacher.
Posted by: Karl Smith at Apr 24, 2007 8:32:57 PM
I dont believe this is true. 10s or even 9s at a bar or club always have guys around them, and the same goes for men. But some females might see a man that is a 10 as being a player because he can get whatever girl he wants. A guy who is a 10 is looked at as "too good to be true".
Posted by: Lauren at Apr 27, 2007 11:36:53 AM
don't be sorry for those men
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it is a
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