It’s a question that has confused most men for years, what do women want? Now, a new survey has revealed exactly what women value most when it comes to sexual attraction, along with men’s priorities.
The results suggest that while women place a lot of importance on age, income and personality, men focus more on appearance.
The researchers suggest that these differences may arise due to the fact that the reproductive window of women is more limited than that of men so that they “cannot risk choosing the wrong one.”
The results suggest that while women place a lot of importance on age, income, and personality, men focus more on appearance. Results from older participants suggest that while men tend to place more importance on appearance than women, this gap narrows with age.
In the study, researchers at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane surveyed 7,325 dating site users about what they were looking for in a potential partner.
Each participant was asked to rate the importance of nine traits on a scale of 0 to 100.
Dr. Stephen Whyte, who led the study, explained: “We asked participants to rate the importance of nine characteristics associated with sexual attraction – age, attractiveness, build / characteristics, intelligence, education, income, confidence, openness and emotional connection. “
The results revealed similar priorities for men and women, with an assessment of physical build, attractiveness, and all three personality traits as important.
However, women rated the importance of age, education, intelligence, income, confidence, and bonding about 9 to 14 points higher than men.
Meanwhile, men placed a higher priority on attractiveness and physical build than women.
The researchers specifically included people of different ages in their study, hoping to understand how preferences change with age.
“Most studies of sexual attractiveness rely on a limited age distribution, skewed towards the younger population,” explained Dr. Whyte.
The results showed that women rated the importance of age, education, intelligence, income, confidence and emotional connection about nine to 14 points higher than men.
“We took data from a much larger age range to judge how the pattern of sexual preferences may differ with age.
Results from older participants suggest that while younger men tended to place more importance on appearance than women, this gap narrows with age.
And while younger women value personality more than men, older men and women give the same priority to personality.
Dr. Whyte said: ‘It is as men and women age their preferences come closer together, with both genders placing greater importance on openness and trust, while the relative importance of the connection. emotional is also important for men and women of all age groups. “
Although the reason for the results remains unclear, the researchers suggest that these differences may arise because the reproductive window of women is more limited than that of men, so they cannot risk choosing the wrong one.
“Many scientific disciplines have long demonstrated the human preference for attractive mates and the ability to quickly identify attractiveness in others reflects a preference for reproducing what are considered good genes,” added Dr. Whyte.
“And while both sexes prefer a physically attractive mate or potential partner, men have been shown to report stronger preferences for attractiveness.
“Females are more selective on the other characteristics because their reproduction time is more limited and therefore cannot risk choosing the wrong one.
Beyond dating, the findings could have important implications in a wide range of situations, according to the team.
“Micro-level decision-making on gender, reproduction and relationship formation influences a wide variety of macroeconomic trends and social norms, including gender roles and equity, labor market dynamics, fertility rates, broader sexual liberalism, politics, religion and the broader institution of marriage, ”concluded Dr. Whyte.
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