Source: MailOnline |
Source: AnthroScape
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Men who drive expensive cars really are more
attractive to women, according to a study by university researchers.
Psychologists proved what car-dealers have boasted for generations the car one
drives is key when it comes to turning a woman's head.
The university team showed women pictures of the
same man sitting in two cars - a £70,000 silver Bentley Continental and a
battered Ford Fiesta.
The women, who were aged between 21 to 40, picked
the man sitting in the Bentley ahead of the same man in the Ford.
Dr Michael Dunn, of the University of Wales
Institute in Cardiff, said it shows women rate a man higher if he is behind the
wheels of a "fancy motor rather than in an old banger".
His research, in the latest edition of the
British Journal of Psychology, also shows that men are more interested in a
women's looks not her motor.
The researchers say the men tested in the same
way are not impressed by whatever car a woman drives because they judge purely
on her face and figure.
Dr Dunn said his findings confirmed that women
judge a man by his wealth and status whereas men are primarily concerned with
what a woman looks like.
He said he was spurred by his own interest in
evolutionary psychology along with the increasing number of women buying
so-called "high end" motors.
He said: "There's a wide variety of evidence
that does suggest that females are more influenced by wealth and status.
"It's not a recent phenomenon. It is very
ingrained and the evidence is not just anecdotal.
"Females focus on questions of wealth and status
because if the male possesses those, that male would be in a better condition
to rear healthy offspring."
Dr Dunn believes this basic human trait will not
change in the future - even as women become more independent and wealthy in
their own rights.
He said: "It appears that the stereotype of
women being positively influenced by a man's status is true and, evolutionarily
speaking, this makes sense.
"However, even with the growing number of
women in high-paid careers and the fact that they can be highly successful has
no effect on how attractive they are to men.
"What you find is that these new, wealthy
women still show a preferment for high-status males."
Now his researchers plan to carry out further
studies - to guide men buying expensive cars in their mid-life crisis.
Dr Dunn, who admits to driving an old Ford Ka,
will examine if high-status items like expensive cars can help make up for
"the attractiveness-diminishing effects of age."
In other words, do middle-aged men in expensive
cars seem more attractive to women despite their grey hair and expanding
waistline.
Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also
be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said:
"Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
References
Dunn M. & Searle R. (2010). Effect of manipulated prestige-car ownership on both sex attractiveness and ratings. Brit. J. Psychol., 101 (1): 69-80.
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