Male Gaze Pattern When Judging Female Attractiveness
Christopher Philip
Researcher Primer
Science is in agreement that men look to women for cues to physical attractiveness as they predict relative fertility. Women on the other hand look to men for relative cues outlining their ability to procure resources. For men, major cues to attractiveness in women include those classified into youth and beauty. Turns out, youth and beauty are linked to things that matter including health, fertility and reproductive value.
Incidentally, the cues men tuned into are those that produces a woman who is closest to her maximum reproductive value which peaks in her early 20’s. In previous studies, even young men have chosen women to be significantly older than them (by as much as 7 years) as their ideal.
As far as physical beauty is concerned studies show that men prefer women with facial femininity and symmetry, nice skin tone and clarity, healthy long hair length, a healthy body size and shape with a well proportioned hip-to-waist ratio (0.67-0.80 – the waist measurement divided by the hips; 0.7 being the ideal). Overall BMI was also linked to attractiveness, although it turns out it may be more of a cue pointing back to hip-to-waist ratio. Additionally waist circumference seems to also be important. Features of the ideal feminine face includes full lips, relatively larger eyes, thinner jaws, small chin, high cheekbones, and a relatively short distance between the mouth and jaw.
All these traits have been influenced to a degree by higher levels estrogen which is a predictor of health and fertility in women.
Previous eye-tracking experiments have shown that both men and women focus primarily at people’s faces. Though, after an initial scan, men gazed longer at women’s breasts, whereas women gazed at men’s legs. Men also spend more time gazing at women in their 20’s versus older women and young girls and children.
The Current Study
Researchers Joseph Melnyk and David M. McCord, Western Carolina University have employed the use of eye tracking devices to read gaze patterns in men when assessing attractiveness in women.
The researchers used a device called Tobii TX 300 which looks similar to a large computer display screen. The device captures eye position remotely with cameras in a module located below the display screen. The screen itself is used to display relevant stimulus to subjects.
In total, 60 male subjects were recruited from the University.
After the instruments were calibrated, the subjects viewed four female models displayed in full body and fully dressed.
The data revealed that there are two classes of eye patterns exhibited by the men. The first, the “face only” class (figure 1), focused almost exclusively on the facial area when making attractiveness judgments. The second, the “face plus” class (figure 2), relied heavily on facial features, but to a lesser extend than the “face only” class as they included other areas of the body.
Drawing Conclusions
The study shows that different cues may matter to men when assessing women and in the long run, there may be two major classes of men.
The researchers point out that the relative stimulus, that is, fully clothed women, may have influence the men’s eye patterns. If nude women were shown instead, it likely would have affected exactly where the men looked. That being the case, however, when women were fully clothed, they did split their time between the face and body while one group almost exclusively sought the face rather than the body.
Resources
Kenrick, D. T., Keefe, R. C., Gabrielidis, C., and Cornelius, J. S. (1996). Adolescents’ Age Preferences for Dating Partners: Support for an Evolutionary Model of Life-History Strategies. Child Development, 67, 1499-1511.
Melnyk, Joseph W.and David M. McCord. Gaze Pattern Variations Among Men When Assessing Female Attractiveness. Evolutionary Psychology. 2019. 12(1): 167-177.
Learn More Starting Today!
Learn the basics of body language quickly and easily by taking one of our tailor-made video courses!
Short on cash? Then read an ENTIRE comprehensive book on body language – it’s totally FREE!
Which body language video course will you start with?
1. “The Secrets of Body Language”