9/18/12

Sexual selection: Hunkier than thou | The Economist

Sexualselection

Hunkierthanthou
Scientistsarefinallysucceedingwheresomany menhavefailed:inunderstandingwhywomen findsomeguyshandsomeandothershideous
Dec9th2010|fromtheprintedition

WHENitcomestopartners,menoftenfindwomen'staste fickleandunfathomable.Butladiesmaynotbeentirelyto blame.Agrowingbodyofresearchsuggeststhattheir preferenceforcertaintypesofmalephysiognomymaybe swayedbythingsbeyondtheirconsciouscontrollike prevalenceofdiseaseorcrimeandinpredictableways. Masculinefeaturesabigjaw,say,oraprominentbrowtend toreflectphysicalandbehaviouraltraits,suchasstrengthand aggression.Theyarealsocloselylinkedtophysiologicalones, likevirilityandasturdyimmunesystem.
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9/18/12

Sexual selection: Hunkier than thou | The Economist

Theobverseofthesedesirablecharacteristicslooksless appealing.Aggressionisfinewhendirectedatexternalthreats, lesssowhenitspillsoverontothehearth.Sexualprowess ensuresplentyofprogeny,butitoftengoeshandinhandwith promiscuityandatendencytoshirkparentaldutiesorleave themotheraltogether. So,wheneverawomanhastochooseamate,shemust decidewhethertoplaceapremiumonthehunk'schoicer genesorthewimp'sloveandcare.LisaDeBruine,ofthe UniversityofAberdeen,believesthattoday'swomenstillface thisdilemmaandthattheirchoicesareaffectedby unconsciousfactors. InapaperpublishedearlierthisyearDrDeBruinefoundthat womenincountrieswithpoorhealthstatisticspreferredmen withmasculinefeaturesmorethanthosewholivedinhealthier societies.Wherediseaseisrife,thisseemedtoimply,giving birthtohealthyoffspringtrumpshavingamanstickaround longenoughtohelpcareforit.Inmoresalubriousclimes, therefore,wimpsareinwithachance. Now,though,researchersledbyRobertBrooks,ofthe UniversityofNewSouthWales,havetakenanotherlookatDr DeBruine'sdataandarrivedatadifferentconclusion.They presenttheirfindingsintheProceedingsoftheRoyalSociety. DrBrookssuggeststhatitisnothealthrelatedfactors,but rathercompetitionandviolenceamongmenthatbestexplaina woman'spenchantformanliness.Themoreroughandtumble theenvironment,theresearcher'sargumentgoes,themore womenprefermasculinemen,becausetheyarebetterthan thesoftertypesatprovidingformothersandtheiroffspring. Anunhealthyrelationship Sinceviolentcompetitionforresourcesismorepronouncedin unequalsocieties,DrBrookspredictedthatwomenwould

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9/18/12

Sexual selection: Hunkier than thou | The Economist

valuemasculinitymorehighlyincountrieswithahigherGini coefficient,whichisameasureofincomeinequality.And indeed,hefoundthatthiswasbetterthanacountry'shealth statisticsatpredictingtherelativeattractivenessofhunky faces. Therubisthatunequalcountriesalsotendtobelesshealthy. So,inordertodisentanglecausefromeffect,DrBrooks comparedDrDeBruine'shealthindexwithameasureof violenceinacountry:itsmurderrate.Again,hefoundthathis chosenindicatorpredictspreferenceforfacialmasculinitymore accuratelythanthehealthfiguresdo(thoughlesswellthan theGini). However,inarejoinderpublishedinthesameissueofthe Proceedings,DrDeBruineandhercolleaguespointtoaflawin DrBrooks'sanalysis:hisfailuretotakeintoaccountasociety's overallwealth.Whensheperformedthestatisticaltestsagain, thistimecontrollingforGNP,itturnedoutthatthemurder rate'spredictivepowerdisappears,whereasthatofthehealth indicatorspersists.Inotherwords,theprevalenceofviolent crimeseemstopredictmatingpreferencesonlyinsofarasit reflectsacountry'srelativepenury. Thestatisticaltussleshowsthedifficultyofdrawingfirm conclusionsfromcorrelationsalone.DrDeBruineandDr Brooksadmitasmuch,andagreethedisputewillnotbe settleduntilthefactorsthatshapematingpreferencesare testeddirectly. AnotherrecentstudybyDrDeBruineandothershastriedto dojustthat.Itsresultslendfurthercredencetothehealth hypothesis.Thistime,theresearchersasked124womenand 117mentorate15pairsofmalefacesand15pairsoffemale onesforattractiveness.Eachpairofimagesdepictedthesame setoffeaturestweakedtomakeoneappeareversoslightly

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9/18/12

Sexual selection: Hunkier than thou | The Economist

manlierthantheother(ifthefacewasmale)ormorefeminine (ifitwasfemale).Somewerealsomadealmostimperceptibly lopsided.Symmetry,too,indicatesamate'squalitybecausein harshenvironmentsrobustgenesareneededtoensureeven bodilydevelopment. Next,theparticipantswereshownanothersetofimages, depictingobjectsthatelicitvaryingdegreesofdisgust,suchas awhiteclotheitherstainedwithwhatlookedlikeabodilyfluid, oralessrevoltingbluedye.Disgustiswidelyassumedtobe anotheradaptation,onethatwarnshumanstostaywellaway fromplaceswheregermsandotherpathogensmaybelurking. So,accordingtoDrDeBruine'shypothesis,peopleshownthe moredisgustingpicturesoughttorespondwithanincreased preferenceformasculineladsandfemininelasses,andforthe moresymmetricalcountenances. Thatispreciselywhathappenedwhentheywereaskedtorate thesamesetoffacesonemoretime.Butitonlyworkedwith theoppositesextherevoltingimagesfailedtoalterwhat eithermenorwomenfoundattractiveabouttheirownsex. Thismeanssexualselection,nototherevolutionary mechanisms,isprobablyatwork. Moreresearchisneededtoconfirmtheseobservationsandto seewhetherotherfactors,likewitnessingviolence,bearon humanphysiognomicproclivities.Fornow,though,the majorityofmaleswhodonotresembleBradPittmayatleast takecomfortthatthismatterslessiftheirsurroundingsremain spotless.
fromtheprintedition|Scienceandtechnology
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