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According to a recent study, men are perceived by women as more attractive when they interact with children. A caring behavior that arouses a certain attractiveness.
A new study published in Evolutionary Psychological Science found that women perceive men as more attractive when they are seen interacting with children. This research highlights how a man’s considerate behavior toward children can significantly influence his attractiveness in the eyes of women.
Women find men more attractive when they see them with children
The study involved Dutch-speaking women aged 18 and over who identified as attracted to men. The researchers recruited 433 participants through social media platforms and the networks of the researchers and their assistants. Of these, 360 participants provided at least one valid response regarding attractiveness scores, and 314 completed the questionnaire in full. The participants were given two tasks to measure male attractiveness.
The researchers found that men depicted interacting with children were rated as significantly more attractive than those depicted alone. This effect was particularly pronounced among women with strong parental motivation or those who had or wanted to have children.
An evolutionary theory
The results demonstrate that “even very little information about aspects of personality involving attention affects judgments of attractiveness, and that such qualities are of fundamental importance in a species that depends on each other for survival”study author Peter Bos, a professor at the Institute of Education and Child Studies at Leiden University, told PsyPost.Kindness and caring are therefore important aspects of fitness,” adds the specialist.
Evolutionary theories suggest that certain traits in potential mates, such as nurturing behavior, are highly valued because they signal reliability and suitability for long-term relationships and parenting.