http://www.news.com.au/world/men ... rfkyi-1225930133372
Men prioritise facial features when looking for long-term relationship, study finds
A PRETTY face will take a woman a long way if she is on the hunt for a husband.
But if it's just casual sex she's after, she had better hit the treadmill, because it's the body that counts.
A new study found that men keen on a short-term relationship were interested in the look of a woman's body, whereas men searching for a long-term relationship were more focused on a woman's face.
University of Texas psychologists showed 375 students photos of potential casual or long-term mates, but only head or body shots, depending on what they chose to see.
Just 25 per cent of those who were looking for long-term partners focused on the body compared with 51 per cent of those looking for short-term partners.
Unlike men, the study found women showed no major preferences for face or body when it came to selecting a partner.
Study co-author Jaime Confer said previous research had showed a woman's body provided cues about her state of fertility while her face gave an insight into her long-term reproductive value.
She said the latest findings suggested men looking for a short-term relationship had an inclination to look for partners who were fertile.
"Men's priorities shift depending on what they want in a mate, with facial features taking on more importance when a long-term relationship is the goal," Ms Confer told Newswise.
"Mating is central to the engine of natural selection. This research helps clarify people's preference."
Other studies have examined aspects that make faces and bodies attractive, such as waist-to-hip ratio, but this is the first study to look at the separate impact of faces and bodies.
