A Passing Glance May Actually Signal  Love At First Sight

By Jennifer Wider, MD

Are women more susceptible than men to the phenomenon of love at first sight? A Valentine’s Day visit from cupid could be as close as the next fellow you run into, ladies.

The age-old saying, “Never judge a book by its cover,” has been challenged recently by research in the journal Personal Relationships. Results from a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health suggest that women may judge potential mates by their facial features, even before getting to know them.

The researchers tested roughly 850 male and female undergraduates, using digitally altered pictures of male faces. The pictures were adjusted to look more “masculine” or more “feminine,” and then the students were asked to fill out online questionnaires predicting behavioral patterns based on what they saw.

According to the study, women view men with “masculine features” including prominent brow ridges and large jaws, as good short-term partners. Men with more “feminine features” including rounder faces and fuller lips were viewed as better long-term partners by female participants.

“Women’s preferences depend on what type of partner she is looking for,” says the study’s author, Daniel Kruger, PhD, of the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. “She will prefer a highly masculine face for a short-term relationship where the potential genetic investment would be most important, and a more feminine face for a long-term relationship, where a stable, supportive relationship and ability and willingness to care for children would be more important.”

In other words, women in the study felt that men with more feminine facial features would probably make better parents and husbands, whereas men with more masculine facial features would be more likely to cheat on a spouse and get into fights. 

Interestingly, male participants in the study drew similar conclusions based on facial characteristics.  When asked to hypothetically choose a person to accompany their girlfriend on a weekend trip, men participating in the study preferred the feminized version. They also chose the less masculine face as a potential son-in-law for their daughter of the future, feeling he would be less likely to “desert their daughter.”

According to this and other studies, the hormone testosterone may play a role in explaining facial preferences. Traits influenced by testosterone, the hormone that promotes the development and maintenance of male facial and sexual features, including prominent brow lines and larger jaws, may be characteristics women want to pass on to offspring.

At the same time, an abundance of testosterone has been implicated in violent behavior and spousal cheating. As a result, women may want longer-term relationships with less-masculine looking men.

There are many other examples of similar features among animal models. According to Dr Kruger, other studies have shown that certain “female animals were more likely to cheat on their partners with a male that had the physiological cues of higher genetic quality, including flashy feathers, coloring, etc.”

While more studies are needed to make definitive conclusions, Kruger’s research seems to suggest that some people definitely judge a book by its cover!

Jennifer Wider, MD, is a contributor to the Society for Women’s Health Research.