Danielle McCarthy
Relationships

These two traits make men more attractive but women less so

We all love creative, witty types and studies published by the Royal Society suggest that these traits can actually make you more attractive when looking for a partner. 

However, in a twist that should come to a surprise to no-one who is vaguely aware of society's ridiculous double standards when it comes to gender – it's only an advantage if you're a man, and could actually be detrimental to women.    

The study, Creating beauty: creativity compensates for low physical attractiveness when individuals assess the attractiveness of social and romantic partners, was conducted by Abertay University lecturer Christopher D Watkins.

The research took a sample size of 89 participants with an average age of 23, of whom 21 were male. 

One group of participants were given male and female head shots and asked to rate their attractiveness, but were given no other information.  

Meanwhile, a second group of participants rated the same people and were additionally supplied with short essays they had written to showcase their personalities, which were judged on creativity, imagination and wit.  

The volunteers rated men who were considered to be less desirable, but had also written creative essays to be more attractive overall. However, they rated the less attractive women who had written creative essays as less attractive overall. 

So, if you're a good-looking woman, it doesn't really matter if you're creative of not. 

As the study notes, "evidence for women across two of three experiments suggests that facial attractiveness enhances their overall attractiveness while creativity does not". 

Understandably, the results have left many unimpressed. 

Tell us in the comments below, what do you think of these findings?

First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.

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Tags:
women, relationships, Men, traits, less, more, attractive