Scientists have found out how men and women attract potential partners

Researchers from the University of Nicosia (Cyprus), whose article published In the magazine Evolutionary Psychology, found that men who try to make the most favorable impression on a potential partner subconsciously emphasize their ability to extract resourceswhile women in this situation focus on appearance.

Such strategies for finding a partner for reproduction have been developed in humans under the pressure of natural selection, because success in this area provides significant evolutionary advantages — the one who wins the competition for the most promising intimate partner, having managed to attract and retain him, potentially leaves more offspring, scientists explained.   

During the first phase of the study, which involved 326 students of both sexes, participants were asked to make a list of the actions that they themselves, as well as their friends and acquaintances, have taken in the past and are ready to take in the future in order to become more attractive to a potential partner. . As a result, 87 such actions were identified.

More than two thousand men and women took part in the second stage of the study. They were asked to imagine that they are single and want to have a romantic relationship, and on a five-point scale to rate how likely they are to do each of the 87 actions previously identified. For example: “I will talk more about my successes and achievements” or “I will wear clothes that make me look slimmer.”

As a result, it turned out that women prefer to invest in improving their appearance, thereby subconsciously signaling to potential partners about their youth, which means high fertility, and quality genes. Men, in turn, try to demonstrate their potential as a «getter» — intelligence, character, education and physical strength.