The Science of Choosing a Mate
A New Scientist article reports on a study suggesting moms’ and dads’ facial features may influence a person’s choice for their mate.
Women tend to date guys that look like their fathers, but men tend to be attracted to women that look like their mothers. The Hungarian biologist Tamas Bereczkei observed 67 long-term couples and their parents, taking measurements of facial features such as the face length to width ratio, as well as nose and mouth dimensions.
According to the study’s results, the face of a woman’s boyfriend more closely resembles her father’s than the faces of other males in the study, particularly in measurements for features closer to the center of the face. Men, on the other hand, dated women whose lower facial features (jaw and lip area) tended to match those of their mothers.
Whether or not this is a function of genetics or environment (for example, if this phenomenon is observed in families with adopted children) is a question not addressed by the article, and a possibility for future study. Regardless, the findings of the study shows another reason for strong family resemblances.
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on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Home Paternity Tests.
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