Men weigh up potential partners almost instantaneously based on their appearance and make a decision on whether they fancy a woman within milliseconds, according to new research.

But their “wandering eye” and easily distracted behaviour around pretty females has nothing to do with being shallow, according to the (male) researchers.

It’s all part of their survival programming – an “ancient” genetic preference for an attractive face is evidence of the woman being fertile and able to continue the family line.

Women Longer To Decide

By contrast women take longer to decide their feelings for a man because they need to weigh up whether he will be a committed partner who will provide for them well – part of their survival programming. They are also less easily distracted and more able to remain focused in the company of a good looking man.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam tested men and women’s bias towards looks by conducting a series of tests on 20 women and 20 men, making them perform tasks while recording their brain activity, reported the Daily Telegraph..

While the subjects were doing the task they were shown a series of photographs of faces of the opposite sex, ranging from attractive to ugly. Men were easily distracted but it wasn’t because they were shallow, say the researchers.

Fertility The Cue

The researchers said men make snap judgments about women, much earlier than was previously thought, deciding on  whether a woman would be a good mating partner in milliseconds.

“Women make that decision on behaviour, whether a man is trustworthy and committed. They make their decision much later than men.”

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About the author

Jenny W
First career as newspaper and magazine journalist with daily newspapers and magazines, then as an editor who successfully launched a new national Sunday newspaper and NZ House & Garden magazine. First woman editor of NZ Listener. Enjoying a second career as a business owner and entrepreneur, health products marketer, social media habitué, blogger and web marketer. Still learning and loving it.