Increased human male attractivenesswhen presented together with a child - Gesteigerte männliche Attraktivität,wenn Männer zusammen mit einem Kind dargestellt werden

Abstract

In a previous study, it was observed that women value men's interest in infants as a desirable trait for more stable long-term relationships. Pictures of 16 male volunteers were shown to 42 female undergraduates, who were asked to rate the attractiveness by a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and to state which kind of relationship they could imagine to have with each presented man: long-term partnership date sex affair none of that. Additionally, by using a VAS, the female participants were asked to rate their desire to have a child in the next five years. Six of the 16 men were shown either alone or together with an infant, whereas the other ten men always were presented alone.The female subjects rated the men significantly more attractive when presented with an infant, and have chosen significantly more often a long-term-relationship when the men were presented with a child. Nevertheless, no significant correlation could be observed between the increased attractiveness with an infant and the desire of the female subjects to have a child.