Why beautiful women marry less attractive men

[MrAttitude]

Women seeking a lifelong mate might do well to choose the guy a notch below them in the looks category. New research reveals couples in which the wife is better looking than her husband are more positive and supportive than other match-ups.





The reason, researchers suspect, is that men place great value on beauty[/url] whereas women are more interested in having a supportive husband.

Researchers admit that looks are subjective, but studies show there are some universal standards, including large eyes, "baby face" features, symmetric faces (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/whybeautifulwomenmarrylessattractivemen/27046261/SIG=11re2ivc2/*http://www.livescience.com/health/080214-beauty-bias.html), so-called average faces, and specific waist-hip ratios in men versus women.

Past research has shown that individuals with comparable stunning looks are attracted to each other and once they hook up they report greater relationship satisfaction. These studies, however, are mainly based on new couples, showing that absolute beauty is important in the earliest stages of couple-hood, said lead researcher James McNulty of the University of Tennessee. But the role of physical attractiveness in well-established partnerships, such as marriage, is somewhat of a mystery.

The new study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, reveals looks continue to matter beyond that initial attraction, though in a different way.

Supportive spouses

McNulty's team assessed 82 couples who had married within the previous six months and had been together for nearly three years prior to trying the knot. Participants were on average in their early to mid-20s.

Researchers videotaped as each spouse discussed with their partner a personal problem for 10 minutes. The tapes were analyzed for whether partners were supportive of spouses' issues, which included goals to eat healthier, to land a new job and to exercise more often.

"A negative husband would've said, 'This is your problem, you deal with it,'" McNulty said, "versus 'Hey, I'm here for you; what do you want me to do?; how can I help you?'"

A group of trained "coders" rated the facial attractiveness (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/whybeautifulwomenmarrylessattractivemen/27046261/SIG=11vuabsiq/*http://www.livescience.com/health/080205-spouse-negative.html) of each spouse on a scale from 1 to 10, with the perfect 10 representing the ultimate babe. About a third of the couples had a more attractive wife, a third a more attractive husband and the remaining partners showed matching looks.

Trophy wives

Overall, wives and husbands behaved more positively when the woman was better looking.

The finding "seems very reasonable," said Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences and Sloan School of Management. "Men are very sensitive to women's attractiveness. Women seem to be sensitive to men's height and salary," said Ariely, who was not involved in the recent study.

In couples with more attractive husbands, both partners were less supportive of one another. McNulty suggests wives[url="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/whybeautifulwomenmarrylessattractivemen/27046261/SIG=11uuhs6ad/*http://www.livescience.com/health/060314_happy_marriage.html"] mirror, in some ways, the level of support they get from husbands.

"The husband who's less physically attractive than his wife is getting something more than maybe he can expect to get," . "He's getting something better than he's providing at that level. So he's going to work hard to maintain that relationship."

Men who are more attractive than their partners would theoretically have access to partners who are more attractive than their current spouses, McNulty said. The "grass could be greener" mentality could make these men less satisfied and less committed to maintain the marriage.

Physical attractiveness of husbands is not as important to women, the researchers suggest. Rather, wives are looking for supportive husbands, they say.

So it seems the mismatch in looks is actually a perfect match. "Equitable is unlikely to mean the same on every dimension," Ariely said during a telephone interview. "It just means that overall two people make sense together."


Discuss

:Paper:

[$H@MZ]

Lol that is like common knowledge!

[~AbSoLuTe DeSi~]

Yeehhhh that is soo true! we did that in psychology! :D

[PrOfFaSeE]

yay!

[Coconut Club]

Echelon's mentioned a lot of this in his posts.

[HeAvYmAcHiNeGuN]

Moneyyyyy might be a reason :sarb:

[MrAttitude]

Lol that is like common knowledge!so much for your post. :gay:

[MrAttitude]

Yeehhhh that is soo true! we did that in psychology! :Dwhat else did you study in ur psychology class? teach me something :anxious:

[MrAttitude]

Moneyyyyy might be a reason :sarb::think: how so?

[~AbSoLuTe DeSi~]

we also learnt that people will go for people who are similarly attractive to them as we have an inate fear of beig rejected lol, and the reason men look for attractiveness is because they are signs of good genes and fertility and...apparantly a mans main goal in life is to pass on their genes lol so there u go.. a psychology lesson for you.
And also men get more jelous of sexual unfaithfullness
but females get more jelous of emotional unfaithfullness x :sarb:

[KurtaPyjama]

Yeehhhh that is soo true! we did that in psychology! :D

yo den it must be true fanks for da insite, u got mnm or sumtin add me : rishabh_patel@yahoo.uk.co

[ilyas@!!oops!!]

control, money and power............:gol:

[Hands]

i dont care so long as my wife is hot and got a high sex drive, cos if i cant get my chutney at the same place as my samosay then im gonna have to go next door

[~AbSoLuTe DeSi~]

i dont care so long as my wife is hot and got a high sex drive, cos if i cant get my chutney at the same place as my samosay then im gonna have to go next door

point proven.. :cheers:

[ilyas@!!oops!!]

i dont care so long as my wife is hot and got a high sex drive, cos if i cant get my chutney at the same place as my samosay then im gonna have to go next door
:rofl: :neutral:

[Hands]

point proven.. :cheers:
yeah no sex before marriage = no marriage :cheers:

[desi_gunda]

I learnt this on the 1st day of my 1st year psychology class. This isnt the first study to prove this.
Nonetheless, thanks for posting.

[phishuff]

that shouldn't be true

[Siddy3242]

so not awesome :hand:

[miss_kuti_kamini]

that shouldn't be true

but it is

i'm proof of this theory.

[-Ziad-]

but it is

i'm proof of this theory.did you just call your hubby ugly? not kewl.

[Clueless_uk]

At least we are the more practical being.

[(sic)]

At least we are the more practical being.
practical? bah! in times of crisis your emotions seem to blind you and you lose all rationale. you're a mess!

[ArTmALik]

Most of the beautiful women become psycho after hearing good comments all the time from less attractive men Because handsome guys hardly comment on their beauty .They have no choice whatsoever to be with the less attractive men.

P.S You could have asked me before posting up that crap .I could have give you my research .

[Clueless_uk]

practical? bah! in times of crisis your emotions seem to blind you and you lose all rationale. you're a mess!

In the same way...you see a beautiful women, lose all sense of direction and drive into another car.

At least we use our emotions to our advantage....we can even kill men and get away with it....we just blame it on depression.

[(sic)]

In the same way...you see a beautiful women, lose all sense of direction and drive into another car.

At least we use our emotions to our advantage....we can even kill men and get away with it....we just blame it on depression.
that only happens to douchebags. a hysterical woman is almost impossible to reason with, its like their IQ just disappears. you know it to be true.

no you use your assets to your advantage. your emotions are your downfall.

[Clueless_uk]

that only happens to douchebags. a hysterical woman is almost impossible to reason with, its like their IQ just disappears. you know it to be true.

no you use your assets to your advantage. your emotions are your downfall.

I use both.

I pretend to be emotional :kekeke:

[Geezer]

Looks mean nothing, absolutely nothing. Looking back, I did have some really stunning girlfriends and you could probably say that they were better looking than me, if such a comparison warrants and legitimacy. What I however noticed is that if the personality as well as your compatibility do not complement those stunning good looks, then you might as well call it a day. Attraction is probably what will make you go after somebody but it has to be backed up with substance or else you won't feel fulfilled in your relationship.

[Clueless_uk]

Looks mean nothing, absolutely nothing. Looking back, I did have some really stunning girlfriends and you could probably say that they were better looking than me, if such a comparison warrants and legitimacy. What I however noticed is that if the personality as well as your compatibility do not complement those stunning good looks, then you might as well call it a day. Attraction is probably what will make you go after somebody but it has to be backed up with substance or else you won't feel fulfilled in your relationship.

But would that not mean...men would simply look for an attractive women with more persona?

Attractiveness will still be top priority.

[miss_kuti_kamini]

did you just call your hubby ugly? not kewl.

no, i'm just saying i'm more attractive looks wise.

[-Ziad-]

no, i'm just saying i'm more attractive looks wise.Bullshit. women tend to think they're attractive when they're average.

post pics.

[Geezer]

But would that not mean...men would simply look for an attractive women with more persona?

Attractiveness will still be top priority.

Well on a subconscious level it is definitely top priority. You may not say 'I just want a really hot girl' and instead 'I am looking for a nice girl with ambition and character' but what really makes the difference is the initial attraction to a person. I'd be lying if I said that looks don't matter because they do obviously but they mean nothing in the bigger picture. I hope I make sense?

[Geezer]

no, i'm just saying i'm more attractive looks wise.

Gah I hate girls like you, the type that may not necessarily say this to their partner but sure as hell think it. You're fine when you get along but when you have an argument you will look down from your pedestal thinking that you're too good looking for him anyway.

[-Ziad-]

Looks mean nothing, absolutely nothing. Looking back, I did have some really stunning girlfriends and you could probably say that they were better looking than me, if such a comparison warrants and legitimacy. What I however noticed is that if the personality as well as your compatibility do not complement those stunning good looks, then you might as well call it a day. Attraction is probably what will make you go after somebody but it has to be backed up with substance or else you won't feel fulfilled in your relationship.Looks mean nothing but 'nothing' is a relative term, looks are great if you want to shag and quit. Attractive people i tend to think are very prone to being 'used'- eitheir sex since their personality or capital isn't ever worthwhile.

[miss_kuti_kamini]

Bullshit. women tend to think they're attractive when they're average.

post pics.


i don't really care if you think i'm bullshitting or not to be honest.

i don't post pics online

[Clueless_uk]

Well on a subconscious level it is definitely top priority. You may not say 'I just want a really hot girl' and instead 'I am looking for a nice girl with ambition and character' but what really makes the difference is the initial attraction to a person. I'd be lying if I said that looks don't matter because they do obviously but they mean nothing in the bigger picture. I hope I make sense?

Yes I do see your point - the whole looks thing is inbuilt within us, we can't help it of course....but you do need more than looks to sustain a long term relationship....and I trully believe that. A man's looks alone does nothing for me personally.

[-Ziad-]

i don't really care if you think i'm bullshitting or not to be honest.

i don't post pics onlineand i dont really care if you think i care. post pics or shut your trap- missus 'im so better looking'.

[Clueless_uk]

Looks mean nothing but 'nothing' is a relative term, looks are great if you want to shag and quit. Attractive people i tend to think are very prone to being 'used'- eitheir sex since their personality or capital isn't ever worthwhile.

I don't think that is always the case - as the attractive girls can often be the "users".

Beauty can be a curse though...because it attracts good and bad attention.

[miss_kuti_kamini]

Gah I hate girls like you, the type that may not necessarily say this to their partner but sure as hell think it. You're fine when you get along but when you have an argument you will look down from your pedestal thinking that you're too good looking for him anyway.

look geezer, i'm not putting my hubby down or anything, i havent said he is ugly or minging, i just merely stated the fact that if it comes down to looks, i am more attractive. his family says it, my family says it, he says it, it's just a fact, it doesnt play a part in our relationship.
i love the guy more than anything, what makes him so attractive to me is his looks, heart & personality combined, most ppl wouldnt say he is the best looking guy if they look just at his looks.
But i would'nt change him for anything. he is the most amazing and gorgeous guy on earth in my eyes.
don't you go assuming i look down on him or think i'm better than him,
your basing all your crap just because i stated a fact? don't give me your self-righteous crap ok, you don't know me to assume such shit.

[miss_kuti_kamini]

and i dont really care if you think i care. post pics or shut your trap.

do one ziad

[-Ziad-]

I don't think that is always the case - as the attractive girls can often be the "users".

Beauty can be a curse though...because it attracts good and bad attention.I did say "either sex" didn't I.

[thebrownreason]

damn, guess my wife is still gonna be one hell of a dime-piece.

:Paper:

[Dream_GirL]

ryyytt so now i need an ugly man.. y cudn u just say dat instead of writing 20 paragraphs

[-Ziad-]

do one ziadDo one what? I'm not the one claiming im better looking than my wifey.

[Geezer]

look geezer, i'm not putting my hubby down or anything, i havent said he is ugly or minging, i just merely stated the fact that if it comes down to looks, i am more attractive. his family says it, my family says it, he says it, it's just a fact, it doesnt play a part in our relationship.
i love the guy more than anything, what makes him so attractive to me is his looks, heart & personality combined, most ppl wouldnt say he is the best looking guy if they look just at his looks.
But i would'nt change him for anything. he is the most amazing and gorgeous guy on earth in my eyes.
don't you go assuming i look down on him or think i'm better than him,
your basing all your crap just because i stated a fact? don't give me your self-righteous crap ok, you don't know me to assume such shit.

lol so both your family say it and even he does...it's a "fact" huh? Alright then, I won't go assuming anything else. Hope you live happily ever after.

[Geezer]

damn, guess my wife is still gonna be one hell of a dime-piece.

:Paper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qYFtFMsNvQ

:lol: very topical

[miss_kuti_kamini]

Do one what? I'm not the one claiming im better looking than my wifey.


LOL, i'm the wifey.

[thebrownreason]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qYFtFMsNvQ

:lol: very topical

look, listen, *****, tell your girl, if she got one of them bad mahfuckas that look like her, you know, act like her, shit, you already know what to do. hook it up!

:lol:

[miss_kuti_kamini]

lol so both your family say it and even he does...it's a "fact" huh? Alright then, I won't go assuming anything else. Hope you live happily ever after.

don't judge me Geeezer, i'm just saying.
and don't worry your bald head about it, we will Inshallah live happily ever after.

[-Ziad-]

LOL, i'm the wifey.it's vice versa. anyways just read the msg to geezer.

if it's true, good on you =)

[Geezer]

look, listen, *****, tell your girl, if she got one of them bad mahfuckas that look like her, you know, act like her, shit, you already know what to do. hook it up!

:lol:

"If I was you I'd knock that up!" :rofl:


don't judge me Geeezer, i'm just saying.
and don't worry your bald head about it, we will Inshallah live happily ever after.

Who cares if I judge you or not, my opinion doesn't really matter. And I haven't got a bald head, grew my hair out thank you very much :p